Wedgewood-Houston Neighborhood: Zoning and Development Glossary
Introduction
This glossary provides explanations of planning and zoning terminology relevant to Nashville's Wedgewood-Houston neighborhood. Terms are organized by zoning districts first, followed by an alphabetical glossary of general development terms, closing with information about the approval process.
## Wedgewood-Houston Zoning Districts
### IR - Industrial Restrictive
A zoning district prevalent in northern Wedgewood-Houston permitting light industrial uses, artisan manufacturing, and creative maker spaces. This zone preserves the neighborhood's industrial character while allowing adaptive reuse projects. Maximum building height is typically 3-5 stories depending on proximity to residential zones.
**Building Examples:**
- Fort Houston creative complex (adaptive reuse of industrial warehouse)
- Dozen Bakery (converted industrial space)
- Nashville Craft Distillery
- Co-working spaces in former warehouses
- Artist collective workshops with exhibition spaces
**Policy Requirements & Approval Process:**
- Site Plan Review required for developments over 10,000 square feet
- Industrial Emissions Compliance Form for manufacturing uses
- Sound mitigation plan for uses within 200 feet of residential zones
- Arts District Compatibility Review if within Arts District Overlay
- Traffic Impact Study for developments exceeding 20,000 square feet
- Standard approval path: Metro Planning Department's Development Services → Industrial Districts Design Review Committee → Building Permits
### MUN - Mixed Use Neighborhood
Common along Wedgewood Avenue and other major corridors, encouraging pedestrian-friendly mixed-use development with ground-floor commercial and upper-floor residential. Supports neighborhood transformation into a vibrant, walkable community. FAR limits typically range from 1.0 to 3.0, with height limits of 3-5 stories.
**Building Examples:**
- The Finery (four-story mixed-use building with ground floor retail and upper floor apartments)
- Humphreys Street development (coffee shop with residential above)
- Six10 Merritt (mixed-use building with commercial space and condominiums)
- Wedgewood-Houston corner establishments with apartments above
- Small-scale office buildings with first-floor retail
**Policy Requirements & Approval Process:**
- Mandatory ground-floor transparency (minimum 60% glazing)
- Active use requirement for first 30 feet of building depth along primary streets
- Public realm improvement plan (sidewalks, street trees, lighting)
- Community meeting required for developments over 20 units or 15,000 square feet
- Affordable housing requirement (15% of units) for projects seeking height bonuses
- Standard approval path: Concept Conference → Community Meeting → Urban Design Review Committee → Metro Planning Commission → Building Permits
### MUL - Mixed Use Limited
Applied to transition areas between commercial corridors and residential neighborhoods. Allows less intensive mixed-use development than MUN, with smaller-scale retail and office uses. Building heights typically limited to 3 stories.
**Building Examples:**
- Corner cafés with 1-2 apartments above
- Small professional offices in converted residential structures
- Boutique retail in house-scale buildings
- Live-work buildings with studios and galleries
- Small neighborhood markets with apartments above
**Policy Requirements & Approval Process:**
- Neighborhood Compatibility Form demonstrating scale relationship to adjacent properties
- Parking screening and access management plan
- Limited operating hours (typically 7am-10pm) for commercial uses
- Landscape buffer requirements when adjacent to RS zones
- Signage limited to building-mounted and small monument types
- Standard approval path: Concept Review → Neighborhood Meeting (recommended) → Administrative Approval → Building Permits
### RM20 - Multi-Family Residential (20 units/acre)
Found in sections that have transitioned from industrial to residential use. Allows medium-density residential development including townhouses and small apartment buildings. Maximum height typically 3 stories.
**Building Examples:**
- The Finery townhouses
- Martin Corner row houses
- Cottage court developments with shared courtyard
- Small-scale apartment buildings (12-24 units)
- Stacked flats in 2-3 story buildings
**Policy Requirements & Approval Process:**
- Tree density requirements (minimum 14 tree density units per acre)
- Open space requirement (minimum 15% of site area)
- Building articulation requirements for facades over 40 feet
- Stormwater management plan
- Sidewalk construction or in-lieu fee
- Standard approval path: Pre-Application Meeting → Development Services → Metro Planning Staff Review → Building Permits
### RS5 - Single-Family Residential (5,000 sq ft minimum lot)
Applied to established residential pockets to preserve single-family area character while allowing compatible infill development. Maximum building height typically 2.5 stories.
**Building Examples:**
- Traditional craftsman bungalows
- Modern infill single-family homes
- Early 20th century worker cottages
- Contemporary single-family homes with accessory dwelling units
- Renovated historic residences
**Policy Requirements & Approval Process:**
- Contextual front setback (average of adjacent properties)
- Maximum 40% lot coverage
- Accessory Dwelling Unit review if applicable
- Basic stormwater management plan
- Historic overlay review if in designated areas
- Standard approval path: Zoning Clearance → Building Permits → Optional Board of Zoning Appeals for variances
### SP - Specific Plan
Customized zoning districts with unique regulations tailored to specific development projects, often including requirements for community benefits, design standards, and mixed uses exceeding standard zoning requirements.
**Building Examples:**
- May Hosiery Mill complex (mixed-use redevelopment of historic industrial complex)
- Merritt Mansion development (combination of historic preservation and new construction)
- Nashville Warehouse Co. development
- Core Development's multi-building communities
- Innovative mixed-use developments with public plazas
**Policy Requirements & Approval Process:**
- Preliminary SP Conference with Planning Department
- Detailed Development Plan including land use mix, building massing, and public benefits
- Multiple community engagement meetings (minimum 2)
- Traffic and infrastructure impact analyses
- Council Member briefing
- Standard approval path: Pre-Application → Community Meetings → Metro Planning Commission Recommendation → Metro Council (Three Readings) → Detailed Design Review → Building Permits
### CN - Commercial Neighborhood
Applied to small commercial nodes permitting neighborhood-serving retail and services. Building heights typically limited to 2-3 stories, with requirements for pedestrian-oriented design.
**Building Examples:**
- Bastion restaurant building
- Small commercial strip centers with local businesses
- Neighborhood service centers (laundromats, convenience stores)
- Standalone shops and cafes
- Converted residential structures for small businesses
**Policy Requirements & Approval Process:**
- Corner lot orientation requirements for buildings at intersections
- Pedestrian entrance required to face primary street
- Maximum building setback of 15 feet from street
- Landscape buffer when adjacent to residential zones
- Limited delivery hours when adjacent to residential zones
- Standard approval path: Zoning Clearance → Site Plan Review → Building Permits
### CF - Core Frame
Located near the northern edge approaching downtown, allowing higher-intensity development as a transition between downtown and the neighborhood. Building heights can reach 5-8 stories, with requirements for active ground floors.
**Building Examples:**
- Southbound mixed-use development
- Office buildings with first-floor retail and restaurants
- Mid-rise residential buildings with structured parking
- Hotel developments with ground-floor activation
- Tech and creative office buildings with amenity spaces
**Policy Requirements & Approval Process:**
- Downtown Code Compliance Form
- Urban Design Review
- Public Space Provision (minimum 5% of site area)
- Transportation Demand Management Plan for projects over 50,000 square feet
- Wind study for buildings exceeding 6 stories
- Standard approval path: Concept Conference → Design Review Committee → Metro Planning Commission → Building Permits
## Glossary Terms
**Accessory Use**: A use incidental to and customarily found with the principal property use. In Wedgewood-Houston, often includes artist studios, workshops, or small-scale retail within primarily residential or mixed-use developments.
**Adaptive Reuse**: Repurposing existing buildings for uses other than original design. Common in Wedgewood-Houston for converting former industrial buildings into residential lofts, studios, galleries, or commercial spaces.
**Arterial Street**: Major thoroughfare for large traffic volumes. In Wedgewood-Houston, these include Wedgewood Avenue and 4th Avenue South, connecting to other Nashville neighborhoods.
**Arts and Crafts District Overlay**: Special overlay providing regulations and incentives to preserve spaces for artists, craftspeople, and makers, including reduced parking requirements and incentives for affordable studio spaces.
**As-of-right Development**: Development complying with all zoning regulations without special permits or variances. Most small-scale residential developments in Wedgewood-Houston qualify.
**Base Height**: Maximum permitted height of a building's front wall before required setbacks, maintaining consistent street walls in mixed-use corridors.
**Bonus Height**: Additional building height permitted for providing community benefits like affordable housing, public art, or enhanced public space, allowing 1-2 additional stories in MUN and CF zones.
**Building Code Modification for Historic Structures**: Provisions allowing modifications to standard requirements when renovating historic buildings, facilitating adaptive reuse while maintaining safety.
**Building Envelope**: Maximum three-dimensional space within which structures can be built, defined by height, setback, and yard controls.
**Commercial Overlay**: Zoning designation allowing local retail in residential districts, concentrated along major corridors like Wedgewood Avenue to foster mixed-use development.
**Community Benefits Agreement**: Contract between community groups and developers requiring specific amenities or mitigations, often including affordable housing, artist spaces, or public improvements.
**Contextual Zoning**: Regulations controlling height and bulk of new buildings to maintain consistency with neighborhood character, preserving industrial heritage while allowing new development.
**Creative Maker Space**: Designation allowing small-scale manufacturing, craft production, and artistic creation within mixed-use developments.
**Density**: Number of dwelling units permitted on a zoning lot, with higher density generally allowed along major corridors and former industrial areas.
**Design Review**: Evaluation process for proposed developments' compliance with neighborhood design guidelines, ensuring respect for the area's industrial character and scale.
**Development Services Center**: Nashville's one-stop shop for development review and permitting, where plans are submitted for zoning compliance review.
**Environmental Impact Review**: Assessment of a development's environmental effects, required for developments over 50,000 square feet or those involving potential contamination remediation.
**Floor Area Ratio (FAR)**: Ratio of a building's total floor area to its lot area, with higher FARs typically allowed in mixed-use zones to encourage corridor density.
**Historic Overlay**: Zoning designation protecting historically significant buildings, applicable to several industrial buildings to preserve neighborhood character.
**Inclusionary Housing Bonus**: Incentives for including affordable housing, typically allowing increased density or height in MUN and CF zones.
**Incentive Zoning**: Zoning granting floor area bonuses or benefits for providing public amenities like affordable housing, public art, or community spaces.
**Industrial Flex Space**: Designation allowing mixed light industrial, office, and retail uses within single buildings, common in former industrial structures.
**Infill Development**: New construction on vacant or underutilized parcels, often as townhouses, small apartment buildings, or mixed-use developments complementing existing structures.
**Live-Work Unit**: Residential unit with dedicated commercial or artistic workspace, common due to the neighborhood's artistic community.
**Lot Coverage**: Percentage of lot covered by buildings, with maximums helping maintain open space and prevent overdevelopment.
**Makerhood**: Term specific to Wedgewood-Houston describing areas with concentrations of makers, artists, and creative professionals who both live and work locally.
**Metro Planning Commission**: Appointed body reviewing and approving Nashville development applications, holding public hearings for community input.
**Mixed-Use Development**: Development combining residential uses with commercial, community facility, or light industrial uses, encouraged along major corridors.
**Neighborhood Meeting**: Required community engagement session for certain developments where plans are presented and feedback gathered for documentation with applications.
**Nonconforming Use**: Previously lawful use no longer conforming to current zoning, applying to some older industrial uses.
**Parking Reduction Zone**: Areas with reduced parking requirements to encourage walkability, transit use, and adaptive reuse of historic buildings lacking standard parking space.
**Pedestrian-Oriented Design**: Features enhancing pedestrian experience, such as street-level retail, wide sidewalks, and street-facing entrances, emphasized in design guidelines.
**Public Realm**: Publicly accessible spaces between buildings, including streets, sidewalks, parks, and plazas, a priority in development plans.
**Setback**: Required distance between buildings and property lines, varying by district but generally allowing smaller front setbacks for urban street walls.
**Special Purpose District**: Zoning district for specific planning objectives, potentially preserving artistic character and industrial heritage.
**Stormwater Management**: Measures controlling rainwater runoff, with green infrastructure like bioswales and permeable pavements encouraged.
**Street Wall**: Continuous front facades along streets, important in commercial corridors.
**Transfer of Development Rights (TDR)**: Program allowing property owners to sell unused development rights to developers for additional floor area elsewhere, sometimes used to preserve historic industrial buildings.
**Transitional Height Plane**: Requirement limiting building heights near residential zones to prevent overshadowing, applying where IR and MUN zones border residential areas.
**Upzoning**: Rezoning for higher density development, occurring in parts of Wedgewood-Houston to accommodate growth while maintaining character.
**Urban Design Overlay**: Supplementary zoning tool providing specific design guidelines to ensure positive contributions to neighborhood character.
**Variance**: Discretionary approval permitting zoning regulation deviations, potentially granted for historic buildings or unique site conditions.
**Walkability**: Measure of pedestrian-friendliness, improved through connected sidewalks, crosswalks, and pedestrian amenities.
## Public Approval Process Overview
### Typical Development Approval Timeline
**Pre-application Phase (2-4 weeks)**
- Initial concept development
- Pre-application meeting with Metro Planning staff
- Zoning compliance verification
**Community Engagement Phase (4-8 weeks)**
- Presentation to Wedgewood-Houston Neighborhood Association
- Required neighborhood meeting for projects over threshold size
- Documentation of feedback and response
**Application Review Phase (8-12 weeks)**
- Technical review by Metro departments
- Design review (if applicable)
- Staff report preparation
- Planning Commission hearing
**Legislative Approval Phase (if rezoning required) (10-14 weeks)**
- Planning Commission recommendation
- First reading at Metro Council
- Committee review
- Second reading
- Public hearing and third reading
**Permitting Phase (6-10 weeks)**
- Final development plan submission
- Building permit review
- Construction permitting
### Key Community Engagement Requirements
- Notification to property owners within 300 feet of site
- Community meeting with notice at least 14 days prior
- Signage posted on development site
- Project webpage for developments requiring Planning Commission review
- Regular construction updates for major projects
### Additional Resources
- Nashville Planning Department: https://www.nashville.gov/departments/planning
- Wedgewood-Houston Neighborhood Association
- Nashville Next Comprehensive Plan
- Wedgewood-Houston Detailed Neighborhood Design Plan
## Disclaimer
The information provided about Nashville's Wedgewood-Houston neighborhood is for general informational purposes only. While we strive to maintain accurate and up-to-date content, neighborhood characteristics, property values, business establishments, and community events may change over time.
Visitors should verify critical information independently before making decisions. We make no representations or warranties regarding completeness, accuracy, reliability, or availability of information presented. This document does not constitute professional real estate, legal, or financial advice. Property values, development plans, and zoning regulations are subject to change and should be confirmed through official Nashville Metro Government channels.
For current information about the Wedgewood-Houston neighborhood, please consult local community resources, neighborhood associations, or Nashville Metro Government offices.