Jan. 30 Community Meeting recap

Click to jump to topic: River Trace Road • Jan. 7 Follow-up (grading vs dumping concerns) • Walker Trucking Rezone request

River Trace Road Update

NDOT representatives said that more rockslide clean up in in progress, but the road should be open for good within a month. Cameras will be installed to monitor rockfall, and there may be some lane closures as clean up continues.

The rock slide occurred in May 2024.

Cont’d issue from Jan. 7th Meeting: Concerns that property owner using grading permit as guise to dump improper materials [Bull Run Rd]

The concern from the community is that land owner Tyler Serbus is using a grading permit (granted from Metro) to dump unapproved construction materials as fill, which would essentially mean: running an illegal dump, as has been done before here (Dirt Mountain being an example.)

The big dilemma in these situations is that it’s hard or impossible to prove the intent of a property owner with a grading permit, and by the time intent is clear, it’s too late to intervene because the damage has been done.

Another problem is vague language in landfill laws and grading permits about what is appropriate fill materials, and what must go to an approved landfill.

Possible ways forward:
If it is suspected a property owner is operating a landfill illegally, a council member can write a letter to Metro requesting an investigation. Joy said if she could gather enough solid information for a letter, she would consider writing Metro for an investigation.

Joy acknowledged she has already received a lot of good emails with good information that could be used for such a letter. If you are a concerned neighbor and want to contribute to that effort, you can email her SPECIFIC information such as language in grading permits, related laws or regulations that might provide clarity. (There is some vague and conflicting language in the regulations and grading permits, so this might be a gray area, one that Metro should work to solve.)

You may also take photos (be safe! do NOT trespass!) and make notes of date and times, other details of certain activities (dump trucks in/out, for example) that might indicate an illegal dumping operation.

Property owner Tyler Serbus, who owns Serbus Industries (which purchased Demo Plus Group Inc. in 2023), insists he is operating within the legal terms of his grading permit granted to him by Metro and that “it doesn’t really matter” what his final plan is (Serbus previously stated a plan to build a home) and that if the community didn’t like it, to take it up with their council member.

Some attendees expressed frustration that the burden of proof falls on neighbors and community members, instead of metro officials or the property owner himself. However, it was noted that as active members of a community, we should be the eyes and ears about what’s happening and bring it up with our council member when something seems wrong.

It was noted that this illegal dumping in District 1 is a symptom of systematic environmental racism and classicism and that this aspect could be leveraged when seeking an investigation.

If you are interested in helping Joy gather information for the investigation, please have you info/emails written to her by Feb 21st.
Joy.Kimbrough@nashville.gov

You can also first file a complaint with hubNashville and then contact Joy if you do not get a reply from them. Joy said that often, this helps get a response from Metro more so than her just emailing complaints from constituents. 

Walker Trucking: New rezoning request.

Brief Summary:
After a lot of community discussion, Joy Kimbrough said she plans to rezone the property, likely to an SP (Specific Plan) zoning so that Jason Walker (Walker Trucking & Excavating) can continue running his operation at 5000 Ashland City Hwy. But the new zoning filing was not final yet.

How it started:
Joy started this section of the packed meeting by quickly recapping the situation here, which began as complaints about the bright lights on the property. When confronted with these complaints, business owner Jason Walker complied and turned down the lights. There was later a rezoning request from Walker. The land is zoned AR2, Agricultural/residential, and they were seeking SP (Specific Plan) zoning change. Joy said she doesn’t like to grant rezoning requests without a meeting. A meeting was held in August 2024 where community members expressed overwhelming disapproved of rezoning. At that time, Kimbrough informed Metro that she would not rezone the property.

Since then, Codes issued a warrant to Jason Walker and a court date was set for Dec. 3, 2024, but was delayed and delayed because an order could not be agreed upon by Metro and Walker’s attorney. Finally, a special hearing was scheduled for Feb. 24, 2025 when a judge would decide what the order for the property would be.

Ahead of that, Jason Walker and his attorney Tom White met again with Kimbrough, presenting her a list of 80+ names of people who were okay with rezoning (we do not know how he went about collecting names,) Walker and White expressed concern that the issue going to court would result in them losing the business at 5000 Ashland City Hwy.

Kimbrough said she has decided to rezone the property to Specific Plan for Jason Walker’s current operation. She cited her track record of always fighting for the district and hearing us out, but said that she represents the whole district and doesn’t see the issue the same way as many community members present did. (She asked those who signed in favor of Walker Trucking to not attend this meeting because she was worried it would create too tense an environment.) 

Those in attendance expressed frustration at this decision, worried that Walker and White were misrepresenting the facts. Many also worried about the dangerous precedent this would set, contributing to an ongoing pattern of agriculturally zoned land being purchased in District 1 to be misused for commercial purposes.

If Walker is granted SP rezoning, that plan will be drafted and sent to Planning Commission. Part of that process involves a public hearing before a final decision is made.