East Nashville has been filled with chatter over what we perceive to be Metro Codes’ lack of response to a home in codes violation which needed demolition.  A recent Fox 17 News story dug a little deeper into the issue of the devastation of three homes on Wilburn Street in East Nashville’s McFerrin Park.  When you listen to the story passively, it can seem like a lack of response by Metro Codes (due to its misleading teaser which says nothing in the story about Councilman Hollin or the neighbor’s ‘blaming codes.’)  If you listen to the story actively, it opens the door on a major issue that affects every land owner in Nashville.

According to the story, the demolition budget is only $155,000 for Metro Codes.  The cost to demolish each home is $3,000 to $5,000.  Now, how is this Metro Codes fault?  With budget cuts every where and hundreds of priorities/agendas by us all, we as a neighbors in every Nashville neighborhood must learn that we cannot react only when a drastic event happens like this.  When the lack of service is experienced due to budget short falls, this seems to be the only time we pay attention to what happens in our neighborhoods.

Residents on the east side like Carol McCullough and Jamie Hollin represent the cause and fight the fight every day.  I am daily amazed by their dedication to make Nashville a better place to live, one change at a time.  There are scores more who exhibit similar dedication weekly.  I am not addressing you in this blog.

If you are not happy with demolition practices in Nashville as a whole (and, by the way, this is not a East Nashville only issue), then you need to get more involved in the process and understand how it all works.  $155,000 budget for demolition is laughable.  Even more laughable is that we have to have a budget to do this due to the reckless neglect of us, the landowners.  I’m not going to say “them” because we all have a stake in this.  Those of us who own the land have the responsibility to care for our land, thus taking care of others.  Any homeowner who has been ordered to demolish a property by Metro jeopardizes us all when they ignore the notices.

Our message boards, phone lines and social media blow up when a gun shot is heard in any neighborhood, yet every day, we allow bombs like 316 Wilburn to sit in an open detonation zone every day but simply driving by and shaking our heads.  Cities like Detroit, Michigan are taking abandoned properties in poor repair seriously.  They have tracked down Federal funds to demolish over 10,000 homes in Detroit in the coming year.  In fact, the first demolitions began in late March 2010 and were halted due to asbestos concerns; but, this still shows a serious model for hitting this issue head on.

So, what can we do as neighbors?  (This next statement is going to sound SO self-serving, but you need to know certain things that REALTORS like me are not trumpeting due to the fact that most people simply don’t care.)  Weekly, hundreds of Nashville REALTORS and thousands of national REALTORS are donating funds to our REALTOR Political Action Committee.  These funds go specifically to issues that directly affect our land owners.  This is not a nasty, partisan group that works on divisive issues.  It’s a body of people who care about what happens in our neighborhoods.  We put our money where our opinions are and care enough to protect our consumers, the home buyers and sellers.

I serve on our local RPAC committee and every time I go to a meeting I am amazed.  To the left of me this week, two of the most conservative Republicans I know sat across the table from one of Nashville’s most progressive Democrats scattered beside a few moderates and Independents.  The meetings are always brilliantly informed, yetno one cares about party lines.  They only care about the things that affect our clients’ interests in land ownership.  The oddest thing, however, is…the meetings are SO productive and argument-free.  In this meeting, we actually discussed the very issue that is facing us today with demolished homes.  Are we council people?  No.  We are people who care enough to make a difference via our activism and wallets.

Those two rambling paragraphs begin my action steps for you today reading this article.  What can you do about demolished home issues in Nashville?

1.  Call YOUR REALTOR and ask if s/he’s given generously to her/his RPAC.  While I typically HATE this type of stuff and the word PAC often makes me cringe, some PACS have given all PACs a bad name.  Unfortunately, most agents don’t understand the importance of giving and being involved.  If s/he say “no” and starts asking you questions, tell them “I really don’t know enough about it, but can you please call my friend Brian Copeland at (615) 554-6177 and discuss it with him.”

2.  Go to a Nashville Metro Council meeting and get involved in the process.  A call to a council person is nice, but until you truly understand how the process works…bitching, moaning and griping on a voicemail or in an email may not be your best route just yet.

3.  Keep your eyes and ears open for neighborhood grants.  While many grants are specific about what they will and won’t allow, grants do exist to improve communities.  Do your homework and help out your neighborhood association.  Going to a meeting to complain every now and then accomplishes little.  Posting your yard sale on a neighborhood listserv is fine, but don’t let that be the only thing you do in your neighborhood.  Get off your butt!

4.  Know your neighborhood’s housing stock.  Know the difference in a home that needs to be demolished vs. one that needs love.  Don’t snarl your nose at that gambling renovator who is making a little profit on making the neighborhood look better.  If a home is a danger, call or email your neighborhood association leadership and ask to help in the neighborhood audit day.

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