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Yelling matches break out during NEST meeting

By Dryden Quigley

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    NASHVILLE, Tennessee (WSMV) — A community informational meeting turned into a yelling match at some points this afternoon at a meeting about NEST.

NEST is a group of nine bills that would make changes to zoning laws and allow quadplexes to be built where there are currently single-family homes and eliminate the lot size requirements.

During the meeting, there was yelling, chanting and general chaos. Some even said the meeting was a joke.

So many people showed up for the meeting, however, security had to turn away about 100 people who wanted to attend. For those who did get inside, they said they left without feeling like their voices were heard.

One of those attendees was Paula Vanslyke. She came to the meeting with a list of questions for Council Member Quinn Evans Segall.

“She knew that everyone in that room opposed what she was doing,” Vanslyke said. “And her goal was to just drag it out by talking rather than listening to the taxpayers of Nashville.”

Segall answered written questions at the meeting but ended it early after chaos erupted.

She says the feedback is important to her.

“You cannot make good law without public feedback, right? Making sure that we’re all happy with how we’re growing, how our neighborhoods are being built, how housing is showing up in our neighborhoods is really critical to making sure we have a Nashville we all continue to love,” Segall said.

A majority of people at this meeting were here to say ‘no’ to the bills- but not everyone.

“I came here to support the proposal,” Roger Schecter said.

Schecter said it’s a good step to making neighborhoods more inclusive.

“Let our policemen live in Nashville, let our teachers live in Nashville. Let young professionals buy a house,” Schlecter said.

Some were worried about the aesthetics – although the quadplexes would have to look like single-family homes.

“I feel like that more density would take away from the beauty of the neighborhoods.”

As for Vanslyke, she said she walked away with her mind unchanged and none of her questions answered.

“The fact that she won’t even let us speak is just beyond ridiculous,” Vanslyke said.

According to the NEST website, the next public meeting will be Friday at 2:30 at the Edmondson Library.

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