Metro Passes Cumberland Hills Overlay 30-3
Metro Council on Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026, passed the Cumberland and North Hills contextual overlay 30-3, Fox 17 reported. BL2026-1420 applies the overlay to 68.2 acres along Cumberland Hills Drive and Northside Drive, south of Gallatin Pike, zoned RS40, sponsored by Jennifer Frensley Webb. Planning h
Metro Council on Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026, approved a contextual overlay for the Cumberland and North Hills area 30-3, Fox 17 reported. The companion overlay — Twin Hills and Shepherd Hills — passed 29-3 with one abstention the same night and is already live on this desk. This article is BL2026-1420, Councilmember Jennifer Frensley Webb's overlay on about 68.2 acres along Cumberland Hills Drive and Northside Drive, south of Gallatin Pike, zoned RS40. Planning Commission had unanimously disapproved both overlays. The Nashville Banner, writing the same meeting: "This shouldn't be controversial," Webb said Tuesday, stating that the overlays were desired by her constituents and wouldn't directly limit density in the area.
Austin Kyle's June 11, 2026, Metro Clerk public notice, published for the July 7 hearing, printed the bill text this desk is using: "BILL BL2026-1420 Amending Title 17 of the Metropolitan Code of Laws, the Zoning Ordinance of The Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, by applying a Contextual Overlay District to various properties along Cumberland Hills Drive and Northside Drive, south of Gallatin Pike, zoned RS40 (68.2 acres)." MyTownView's July 7 recap said the ordinance was deferred that night to the first meeting in August. Fox 17, dated Friday, Aug. 21, said Metro Council "this week" approved both overlays. The Banner's Aug. 18 meeting file is the third-and-final-vote date. This desk will not invent a roll-call list beyond 30-3.
What did the 30-3 Cumberland Hills overlay actually do?
It applied a Contextual Overlay District. It did not rezone RS40 to a denser district. Metro Planning's own overlay page, opened for this file: a Contextual Overlay establishes design standards in a particular residential area and can maintain and protect neighborhood form or character. It must apply throughout the residential portion of a complete block face and cannot be applied in an adopted historic overlay district. Contextual Overlays do not affect the base zoning of a property. Design standards under Ordinance BL2014-771 include setback, height, lot coverage, and access, garages, and parking. New construction or additions require a site plan reviewed by the Zoning Administrator through building-permit review. The application fee listed on that page is $1,375.
Fox 17: the rules can address the height of new homes, how far they sit from the street, and how much of a lot a home can cover. For some residents, the issue is not stopping growth but having some control over how growth affects the communities where they already live. Planning had voted against the overlays, with some commissioners raising concerns that more restrictions could make housing harder or more expensive to build. Metro Council approved both measures despite that recommendation. Twin Hills resident Chip Ellis spoke in public comment on that overlay, not this one: investors replacing houses with buildings that do not fit, "tall and skinnies," multiple homes on lots. Copy Ellis only as the same-night Twin Hills tape. Do not put him on Cumberland Hills Drive unless a clip does.
The Banner put Webb's two Madison / Gallatin Pike overlays together on third and final votes after Planning's unanimous disapproval, which had triggered contention at the Aug. 4 meeting when Webb criticized the commission and its Metro Council representative, Rollin Horton. Unanimous Planning disapproval meant a higher vote threshold. 30-3 cleared it. Gallatin Avenue's Auto-Diesel SP amendment also had a final vote that night and is already a live URL. Music City Center refinance and the $300 million East Bank transfer moved the same docket and are already live. Vanderbilt's Innovation District is already live. If you own in Madison along Cumberland Hills or Northside, this overlay is the file. If you own on Twin Hills or Shepherd Hills, open the companion URL.
| Cumberland / North Hills overlay tape | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Final vote | Tue., Aug. 18, 2026; passed 30-3 | Fox 17, Aug. 21, 2026; Nashville Banner, Aug. 18, 2026 |
| Bill | BL2026-1420; Contextual Overlay; Cumberland Hills Drive and Northside Drive, south of Gallatin Pike; RS40; 68.2 acres | Metro Clerk public notice, June 11, 2026 (Austin Kyle) |
| Sponsor | Councilmember Jennifer Frensley Webb | Nashville Banner; MyTownView July 7 recap |
| Planning | Unanimous disapproval; higher council threshold | Nashville Banner, Aug. 18, 2026 |
| What an overlay does | Setback, height, lot coverage, access/garages/parking; does not change base zoning | nashville.gov Contextual Overlays; Ordinance BL2014-771 |
| Application fee (tool, not this bill's cost) | $1,375 | nashville.gov |
| Companion overlay | Twin Hills / Shepherd Hills, 29-3 with one abstention; BL2026-1416, 137.6 acres R20 | Fox 17; Metro Clerk notice; live KORE URL |
| July 7 status | Deferred to first meeting in August | MyTownView |
| GNR July residential median | $520,000 on 2,627 closings; 15,636 inventory; 54 DOM | Greater Nashville REALTORS via live KORE desk |
| 30-year fixed | 6.65% as of Aug. 20 | Freddie Mac PMMS |
Does a 30-3 overlay reprice a Madison house?
No. Greater Nashville REALTORS' July tape, copied from the live desk: residential median $520,000 on 2,627 closings; condo median $334,900 on 456 closings; 15,636 inventory; 54 days on market. That is a nine-county board. Your house on Cumberland Hills Drive, Northside Drive, or a block off Gallatin Pike in Madison is the last three solds an appraiser will use. A contextual overlay can change what a spec builder will pay for a teardown, because height, setback, and lot coverage now go through permit review. It does not add $40,000 to a well-kept ranch because council voted 30-3. It does not cut $40,000 because Planning said no. Disclose the overlay. Price the house.
Do not use Twin Hills' 137.6 acres as this neighborhood's acreage. That is BL2026-1416. This is 68.2 acres RS40. Do not tell an East Nashville Auto-Diesel neighbor that Webb's overlay is their SP. Parker's Gallatin Avenue amendment is a different live URL. Freddie Mac's Aug. 20 survey put the 30-year at 6.65%, down from 6.67% on Aug. 13. Two basis points will not reprice Madison. Waiting for a full point off will. Other Madison sellers will list into that dip.
Can I buy the next Nashville house before this one sells?
You can write the offer. A contingent contract in a 54-day, 15,636-listing market is a maybe. The next seller in Madison often has a buyer who is not waiting on a contextual-overlay explainer. Our proven system puts a written sale date under this house so the next offer is a real buyer.* If you need a date certain, ask about a cash offer. The two-house trap did not change Tuesday: you cannot honor the next address until this one is settled, and you will not list until you know where you are going.
What should Madison and Northside owners do this week?
- If you own on Cumberland Hills Drive, Northside Drive, or inside the 68.2-acre RS40 map, keep the Banner clip, the Fox 17 30-3, and the Metro Clerk notice. Base zoning is still RS40. The overlay is design standards on new construction and additions.
- If you own on Twin Hills or Shepherd Hills, open the companion live URL. That vote was 29-3 with one abstention on 137.6 acres R20.
- Price off July closed comps, not off Planning's housing-supply argument or Ellis's Twin Hills public comment.
- Start with a home evaluation. Ask about a cash offer if the 54-day clock is the problem.
Call Kings of Real Estate at 865-365-2280. Nashville/Brentwood office: 214 Overlook Circle. Licensed agents: $250/mo desk fee.
What's happening in Nashville this week
- Cumberland / North Hills overlay — final vote Tue., Aug. 18, 30-3 (Fox 17 / Banner)
- Next Metro Council — Tue., Sept. 1 (MCC / East Bank third reading already on this desk)
- Nashville Farmers Market weekend vendors — check nashvillefarmersmarket.org for this week's list
Sources: Fox 17 / WZTV, Aug. 21, 2026 (30-3 Cumberland and North Hills; 29-3 Twin Hills); Nashville Banner, Aug. 18, 2026 (Stephen Elliott; Webb, Planning unanimous disapproval, third and final votes); Metro Clerk public notice week of June 11, 2026 (BL2026-1420, 68.2 acres RS40); nashville.gov Contextual Overlays (BL2014-771 standards; base zoning unchanged); MyTownView July 7, 2026 recap (deferral); Greater Nashville REALTORS July 2026 as published on news.kingsofrealestate.com; Freddie Mac PMMS, Aug. 20, 2026.
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*Tracy and seller must agree upon price and possession date. Kings of Real Estate, LLC DBA "Your Home Sold Guaranteed Realty"
Source links
- Fox 17 — Growth vs. neighborhood character: Nashville residents turn to zoning protections, Aug. 21, 2026
- Nashville Banner — Metro Council advances Music City Center and zone legislation, Aug. 18, 2026
- Main Street Media — Public Notices Week of June 11, 2026 (Metro Clerk Austin Kyle; BL2026-1420, 68.2 acres RS40)
- Nashville.gov — Residential Design Standards: Contextual Overlays (BL2014-771)
- MyTownView — Metropolitan Council July 7, 2026 (BL2026-1420 deferred)
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey, week of Aug. 20, 2026
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- Twin Hills / Shepherd Hills contextual overlay 29-3
- Gallatin Avenue Auto-Diesel SP amendment
- How to Sell Your Home in Nashville TN 2026
- Music City Center / East Bank $300 million
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