The Alliance for Green Hills - A Q&A with Ed Cole
by Bob Faricy - answers edited for clarity
Explosive growth has meant energy and opportunity across Nashville and Middle Tennessee. Increasingly, it’s also driving tension between development and quality of life as demolition and construction leaks from downtown to neighborhoods across the city.
In Green Hills, that tension resulted in a lawsuit by neighbors and a voluntary halt in construction by Southern Land of a 17-story mixed use development on the corner of Hillsboro Pike and Richard Jones. But from division has come cooperation, and possibly a model for how Nashville needs to deal with continued growth in the coming years.
Earlier this year, the Alliance for Green Hills was established to bring people together and begin a proactive approach to dealing with growth. The roots of the organization begin with the Green Hills Action Partners, led by long-time Green Hills advocate Mary Jon Hicks. But where the Action Partners help raise and discuss issues, the Alliance for Green Hills will take action.
Now with legal standing and a board of directors – including representatives from the neighborhood, business and Southern Land – we sat down with Ed Cole, executive director of the Alliance, to talk about the group’s founding, mission and future.
SxW: Southern Land has given $100,000 to get the Alliance started, what would you say to people concerned that because of that, they may have an undo influence on the group?
The most important thing is we have been totally transparent about it. We had a meeting of Green Hills leaders and Charlotte Cooper, head of the Green Hills Neighborhood Association, was present. Also present were executives from Southern Land. I appreciated Charlotte’s honesty as we all talked together. The Southern Land folks said we’ll put some money in to get a truly representative Green Hills organization started. We all said OK, but agreed that we’re not going to limit funding to Southern Land…we’re going to have all these other voices present. If there’s a fear that this is just a front for Southern Land, for the developers, the only way I know to deal with that is to say come and “be involved in it.” Every decision we make, every endorsement we make, will be transparent. And then very quickly – and this is what we’re doing now – is to ask others to contribute so that we don’t have a single source. In my many years of involvement, and I’ve started non-profit organizations, I think if you’re transparent and you have that opportunity to have that seed money to get you started, it’s so powerful. We were able to jumpstart the process because of that initial funding, but we’re totally open. And I just love when our board comes together and here you have Southern Land people on the board and you have the very neighborhood folks that were in court against them and other neighborhood people as well.
The controversial SouthernLand development at the corner of Hillsboro & Richard Jones ended up a catalyst for the Alliance for Green Hills.
SxW: While there has been some tension related to development downtown, is it more likely to see push-back in an area like Green Hills since it literally hits close to where people live?
Cole: In many ways, downtown residents, by their decision to live downtown, have a said a lifestyle and an environment that is more dense, more mixed-use, is OK. Whereas in Green Hills, many of us, and I’m one of those having lived there for over forty years, chose to live in a suburban area where you’d like to have a yard, a little space, so there is more of that tension. I think the number one thing that’s helped us deal with this issue is the “Nashville Next” process. We had this huge community-wide effort to envision the future of Nashville and the region. And it became clear to many that the best development that meets the most needs are those areas where concentrations of development are occurring and where there are resulting “tiers” where infrastructure needs and costs can be addressed most efficiently, including transportation investments. Green Hills is “Exhibit A” of this kind of development. So, number one, there is an evolving urban form in Nashville that will clearly center on development in places like Green Hills. Ultimately, it’s about education and dialogue. It won’t be easy at times. We’re going to have good, vigorous debates about exactly what the future should be.
SxW: The Nashville Next project sought to involve citizens in the process. Does that make it a useful model to direct where the Alliance will be involved?
Cole: Yes, I think the Nashville Next process is a good guide, I think that’s a good way to describe effective public involvement. And, since the Metro Planning Commission has adopted it, it is an overarching policy that will direct future development patterns. But there will be a constant set of issues and discussions on specifics as we move forward. There will still be folks, and on some days I am one of them, who just wish Green Hills could be the way it used to be … “with my nice yard, and my nice, quiet street in front of my house and when I run to Green Hills to buy something I can find a place to park and I can get back home quickly.” That’s changing. The idea that in Green Hills one could always park in front of wherever one wants to shop... well we know what that does to congestion. Every movement of a car from one shop to another is another trip on Hillsboro Road and it doesn’t matter whether it’s that trip or a trip of someone driving to Franklin, it becomes congestion. To try to limit those trips is part of the work that we have to do. I think having the planning folks and other city agencies involved with us is critical so that whenever incremental decisions are made we can involve people and together make the best decisions possible.
SxW: During the mayor’s race, there was an emphasis on the mayor’s office, planning and other departments to be more involved with issues in neighborhoods. What would you like to see from the new administration to convince you that city officials will be engaged with neighborhoods? How can you affect that?
Cole: Number one is political. We are here. To let people know that. There is the Alliance and we represent this area and our first and our primary choice in action is to be positive. We want to support, we want to build. If there are issues where we can partner with the city and the administration, we want to do that. Second is to talk about the ingredients of Nashville Next, the ingredients of the existing Green Hills transportation plan, the MTA process looking at transit planning right now, the Hillsboro High School project, the reuse of the land the fire department is vacating, the possibility of expanding Green Hills Park over near John Trotwood Moore, maybe doing some gateways on Hillsboro Road and Abbott Martin to let people know we’re here. We want to get into those issues with the new administration. As with any administration, the earlier the involvement, the better. We have our Metro Council members: Russ Pulley has been very active, just elected in the 25th district; Kathleen Murphy in 24th district; Angie Henderson in the 35th; Mina Johnson in the 23rd; and, Burkley Allen in the 18th. We want to work through these Council members so we have as much interaction with the Council as possible.
SxW: You just mentioned a number of different plans and agencies. Do you think those different plans are well coordinated or there’s room for improvement?
Cole: Clearly there is room for improvement. I don’t mean this to be a negative statement, and I’ll blame myself. I’ve been in government bureaucracy a long, long time, most frequently in transportation planning and environment … and I think the biggest issue we have always faced is the coordination of the efforts of different agencies with different organizations and the public at large. There are reasons why this is a problem. The primary reasons involve the funding streams. One set of activities, like sidewalk construction is funded one way, the work on the highways or the roadways, in this case you have state and local roads, is funded another way. You have all these fund-driven rules and regulations and qualifications, you end up with a lot of silos, all with well-meaning people trying to address common problems. So, hopefully, an organization like the Alliance, that has a broader constituency in a positive way can say, “what can we do? How can we help?” That’s where a Mayor is important, having an Office of Neighborhoods, having a transportation person in the mayor’s office, not just relying on different agencies is important. And let us, with our Council members, put a focus on that integrated approach even when addressing a particular location.
One of the things we’re planning right now is an event focused on traffic. I want to say transportation, but I think for most people the issue is traffic, so let’s just call it what it is, and bring together the city folks, the TDOT folks, private sector businesses who have a lot of impact on parking patterns and curb cuts, and MTA, who will have a growing role … bring everybody together and say “we’re going to talk about, from your perspective, how does Green Hills look today and what are your plans for the future?” Let’s get that common base and then we’ll start talking about future issues and options we ought to weigh in on and support.
SxW: Are you aware of any group like this in Nashville or other city?
Cole: The Hermitage-Donelson Chamber has done some of this. At one point there was an organization out in Madison, I’m not current on that right now. But no, not specifically. For one thing, there are not that many parts of Nashville that have the mix of commercial, retail and residential so interwoven as in Green Hills. This kind of broader commercial and residential area that is Green Hills is unique.
SxW: Do you see the group taking a membership structure at any point?
Cole: We’ve talked about it, and it’s a good question. We’ve decided not to decide yet. If we can get a financial model together that is sustaining with sponsors and contributions, then maybe we don’t have to go that way. Because we want it to be as open as possible, have as broad a constituency as we can get. There may be a hybrid where you can be a member, it will cost you this and you get certain benefits, but when you come to meetings, if you’re not a member don’t worry about it. We’ve kind of kicked that can down the road just a little ways. We’ll get the Board, we’ll get started, we’ll look at our finances and then decide.
SxW: What is your personal motivation to be involved with this organization at this time?
Cole: I retired formally from my career in government and non-profits in June of 2014. I knew very well I wasn’t retiring from total involvement. I went through a very conscious process of what can I do. What are the things that are important to me? And knowing I want to spend as much of my time doing those things as I can. Clearly my family, my wife, son and daughter-in-law and grandkids were my first priority. And then, secondly, people like Mary Jon Hicks. I talked to Mary Jon and saw her passion over the years. I live in Green Hills. I saw the missed opportunities because of the lack of coordination. And I saw the potential. Green Hills is not an economic question mark. It’s here and it’s going to stay, and so the question is how do we make it work? And out of that I thought that this is probably a place I might want to spend some time. Mary Jon, again, was critical and I talked with some other folks, and then, as I mentioned earlier, the Southern Land thing came up and I knew some of those folks, and knew the neighbors, and I just felt comfortable getting involved. And I think that we have an obligation because we have that strength, to contribute to the regional health of our city … affordable housing, income equality … all of those things, they should be as important to us as anywhere in Metro.
