By Sam Taylor, October 5, 2019
New Urbanism works in the right location
I am sitting here just south of Nashville, TN in a home in the middle of New Urbanism. It works well here. They have a Kroger in the UNgated community on the fringe of Franklin, TN.
They have a section with businesses on the ground floor and residences above. The water features (swimming pools and water park) are basically in the MIDDLE of the subdivision along with tennis courts, playground, meeting center, etc.
The houses are built close to the street, and I haven’t seen one that doesn’t have front porches to encourage interaction as people walk or jog in the neighborhood. There is a walking trail that goes through a wooded area. Oh, I might mention that that wooded area is at the back of the development, not in the middle or throughout the development.
Oh, and it’s basically flat middle Tennessee without the elevation changes that are so prevalent in the Village. The homes, many of them quite large and nice, have small yards, basically, one side of the wall of their home serves as a fence for the side yards – the backyards are basically driveways because of the lack of width.
The plan works … in the RIGHT location.
New Urbanism CMP is now a governing document for the Village
The other factor is there are all types of employment available with the full variety of income levels available to the residents within a most reasonable distance from their homes.
Many of us have complained that the CMP is a poor plan for the Village. The response is generally, well there are some parts that are good and some that aren’t.
Unbelievably that document (some good and some not so good, some things that may never work here) is now a governing document for the Village. THAT is ridiculous!
Deep angst within the Village
In the more than a year that it’s been around, I have not seen one thing eliminated from that plan. It keeps being shoved down our throats by deaf leadership! When will they learn, and what do they have to gain by their bullheadedness? They have not shown the least bit of tendency to do ANY compromising that we have been asked to do. Thus the deep division and angst within our “once upon a time” existence. The ball is in their court without any air in it anymore.
By Sam Taylor, October 5, 2019
Note from Cheryl: Click here to read about Westhaven in Franklin, TN Notice the home price ranges and the HOA fees.
Lloyd Sherman
10/05/2019 — 11:57 am
The “angst” will continue as the insistence to use the term CMP is used. This document has become the catalyst for the divide in the Village. For 48 years it was primarily a retirement community. Then one day along comes the CMP. From the RFP straight through to the implementation, the rollout was nothing short of a disaster. That CMP represented the rebranding of the Village into something the majority didn’t want, didn’t have input into, didn’t get to vote on and didn’t think could work in this environment. I personally don’t have ANY issues with new urbanism; in the areas where they can work and people want them. We don’t want it here. We didn’t move here because of it. Forget the fact that it is placing a square peg in a round hole, it’s just not practical for rural Arkansas. Can you even imagine what might have been accomplished over the last two years if staff and volunteer time had been dedicated to only what we have in place that works for us? I can! As for moving a document containing observations and recommendations into the category of a governing document, I am just dumbfounded to even try and see the logic in that. Property owners are being blamed for the divide because we don’t agree with the attempts to make our home into something we don’t want. Given that, exactly who is it that is creating this divide?
Vicki Husted
10/05/2019 — 12:26 pm
Thanks for a great article, Sam! One thing that jumped out at me from the article linked at the end of your great description of this community was:
“Although the City of Franklin began planning the community around 2000, the first homes were sold in 2003, and it has been growing section by section ever since. “We are getting ready to close on our 1,000th home,” said Bennett.”
Aside from the very real physical reasons the CMP doesn’t work here, I think that statement demonstrates another reason the CMP is so widely rejected in our 50 year old community.
Franklin has taken 16 YEARS to develop. They didn’t go in and start destroying an existing heritage, bulldozing iconic architechture, and try to replace it with ill-advised, largely unwanted projects in 16 MONTHS!!
Stop this madness before any more damage is done to this idyllic location! Listen to the majority of our residents and cut our multi-million dollar losses right now and start over again from scratch — after prioritizing the neglected maintenance of our infastructure before trying to cram new projects down our throats.
Tom Blakeman
10/05/2019 — 12:45 pm
One of the biggest issues we now have is the inability of our leaders to admit the mistake and own the failure of the CMP. Even our newly elected board members can’t just say “scrap it”. They, along with many Villagers don’t want to step on any toes so they talk about “keeping the good parts”.
What needs to happen is a total reset back to square one; the way things were before CMP was “adopted”. Anything less is just throwing good money after bad.
It kind of reminds me of Obama Care.
Melinda Noble
10/06/2019 — 10:13 am
It kind of reminds me of Trump Care, oh wait there is NO Trump Care. Tom please stay on point.
Cheri Nelson
10/05/2019 — 12:54 pm
Can we say this is an Elitist Community? It may not be gated but it is every bit as private and Elitist as any community can be, and achieved through pricing because the typical (traditional) family could never afford to live there.
Jim Langford
10/05/2019 — 5:42 pm
Cheri, I do not know how you could say the Village is an Elitist Community. We have people here that live on Social Security to Multi Millionaires. My experience in the twenty years we have lived here is that when you mingle in public you do not if the people you meet are Elite. If you play Golf, go to the Natatorium, talk to people in a Restaurant or play Pickle Ball, you have no idea how much “money people are worth” which is the typical thing that separates the normal from the Elitist. JIm
Sam Taylor
10/05/2019 — 7:59 pm
Jim I think you read something into her comment that she didn’t say. She did say it about Westhaven, and she did say that even without gates that it was as private and elitist community as one could be. She never mentioned HSV. I might throw in an aside strictly from me about past experiences. You are right. I don’t think of HSV as an elitist community either, but even from early days many local people did not share that feeling.
HSVP C
10/06/2019 — 8:22 am
Jim, Cheri did not mean HSV is an elitist community. She meant that Westhaven in Franklin, TN is an elitist community.
Anonymous
10/05/2019 — 1:38 pm
Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.
Anonymous
10/05/2019 — 1:56 pm
So what we will get in our elitist community is backdoor assessments. You play, you pay. And pay dearly. You’re going to have people sitting home watching the uppercrust have all the fun.
Watch the crime climbing through the years. The haves against the have nots.
And then….
We have to kill those gates then. Think about it folks.
Minn Daly
10/05/2019 — 3:04 pm
Great articles by Sam, terrific true statements by all above! The BOD allowed Nalley to use HSV logo for CNS, then they nodded for the CMP because all members that voted against was not on the same page as them. After all we members do not have a say with this group. Are the dues paying members the ticket for all expense for HSV.? Answer: YES! They fire a BOD member because he dared to challenge the CEO ( who is an employee) that is suppose to answer to the board members. They allow lawsuits that could be settled in good faith to materialize that seems to always be settled at the detriment of HSV. who pays for this legal help, we the members. Question, how many lawyers do the BOD/CEO have? Where is accountability for legal fees? Is accountability passed to liabilities on financial report? We have a mess! With hope the next election with DIck Garrison & Two more astute HSV members we can take back the HSV property owners to common sense status. With hopes at future BOD meetings they will treat membership with respect, Respectfully,
Minn Daly
Charlie
10/06/2019 — 5:01 am
Shouldn’t we give the CMP a chance? Pocket neighborhoods are the future. So is higher density, affordable housing.
Maybe Balboa club could be replaced with the lodge we need. And we have plenty of room for a Kroger.
We need golf cart lanes like The Villages. We took their slogan – we can take their ideas. Imagine how cool it would be to simply take the cart to the town center for all our needs.
We need to allow open access to all our amenities so that people will see how nice it is here and then move here. That is the key. Which is why our gates are so open. People must be able to see the magic that is HSV.
We need a medical center here, too, golf cart accessible. And more banks.
Seems we have enough churches.
The CMP is the only way out of this mess we are in. Get it in gear and the people will flood in and buy, buy, buy.
Without it we will simply languish.
The brave people pushing the CMP against the tide are to be commended for their courage. Once we have it fully implemented the naysayers will be proven wrong. Again.
Finally we would truly be Livin’ the Dream.
Anonymous
10/06/2019 — 7:48 am
Charlie, do we have a spare 50 years laying around we can use? We have financial problems now!
Anonymous
10/06/2019 — 8:15 am
Charlie, Cute tongue in cheek. But you are correct.
They are brave.
Melinda Noble
10/06/2019 — 10:21 am
There is a difference between Livin’ the Dream and Livin’ in a Dream.
Sue
10/06/2019 — 11:58 am
Good one, Melinda. My thoughts exactly.
Sue
10/06/2019 — 11:58 am
Good one, Melinda. My thoughts exactly.
Steve Rust
10/06/2019 — 2:50 pm
Charlie, since there is no logical reasoning to believe the CMP will work in HSV and there are statements in the CMP that I have read that seem to indicate it won’t work, I see no reason we should give it a chance. Women I invest my money I invest in companies that have a good track record.
Mel Bev West
10/29/2019 — 4:24 pm
We lived our child rearing years in California in urban environment
We retired once to New Mexico rural living
But then to a ranch in Colorado
That became too much work so we chose HSV. It has the feel of safer environment
And feel of rural living without the work. I do not want to go to the urban side by side of California and more and more traffic