BELLE MEADE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Months after a local group filed suit to stop the city from adding sidewalks along Belle Meade Boulevard, Belle Meade commissioners adopted an ordinance that would forever prohibit sidewalks inside the road median.

At its Thursday, May 23, meeting, the Belle Meade Board of Commissioners adopted Ordinance 2025-6, which adds new rules for any proposed changes to Belle Meade Boulevard, on first reading.

The new ordinance came from a controversy surrounding sidewalks in the city.

In March, a group called the Friends of Belle Meade Boulevard sued the city over what it said was the city's plans to install sidewalks along the "spine" of the city. The group said it was fighting to keep the boulevard's historic character intact, stating Belle Meade Boulevard is a roadway, not a walkway.

"We do not want to change what Belle Meade Boulevard is and what it was designed to be," resident Steve Fridrich told News 2 in March.

The city told News 2 there are no current plans to construct sidewalks on the roadway; rather, there is a long-term beautification and safety plan currently in the works for the road. That preliminary plan is expected to be complete in August, according to Belle Meade City Manager Jennifer Moody, but there are no construction plans to be reviewed.

Instead, the city put forth an ordinance that preserves the median greenspace along Belle Meade Boulevard, "that future generations may travel its length—not on paved sidewalks, but along the same median greenspace and under the same arching canopies envisioned at its birth—and know that they are a part of a living history."

The ordinance expressly prohibits "sidewalks, paved paths, gravel paths, or multi-use trails" from being constructed within the right-of-way of Belle Meade Boulevard. Further, any infrastructure improvements proposed along the roadway would require at least two public meetings, allowing any resident the opportunity to offer comments.

Multiple residents spoke in favor of the ordinance, stating they were pleased with the efforts of commissioners to preserve the integrity of the historic roadway.

Mayor Rusty Moore said the city has spent about six years preserving and protecting the "distinctive character" of the city by multiple means, including establishing the city's first tree ordinance, a comprehensive rewrite of the city's zoning code, and implementing a city-wide historic zoning overlay. The ordinance would be the latest step the city took to keep Belle Meade the way it is.

Vice Mayor Haley Dale said the ordinance was necessary to firmly put to bed any concern that sidewalks will ever be installed along Belle Meade Boulevard, stating "no other commission has had the courage" to put the prohibition in writing and instead letting the issue be raised multiple times over the years.

"I'm quite frankly shocked that there is not already something in place for it," she said during the meeting.

Concerns came from Commissioner Louise Bryan, who worried it would effectively dissolve the Belle Meade Boulevard Advisory Committee and render it moot. She also expressed concern about the speed of consideration for the ordinance.

Mayor Moore said he understood her concerns, but by going through the ordinance process—which requires two readings and public comment periods—there was actually ample time to hear from residents about the ordinance.

"We have been kicking this can down the road for decades," Commissioner Neal Clayton said of the sidewalks issue. "It's time that we have the spine to stand up and do what commissions long ago should have done, and that is to stop anything that would harm the median of Belle Meade Boulevard, whether it's a sidewalk, a bike path, or anything. It's time to kill this now."

Mayor Moore felt the best course of action was to approve on first reading in order to further solicit public comment on the proposal, speaking to Bryan's timeline concerns. If residents spoke against the ordinance following the first reading approval, he pledged not to vote for it on second reading.

After about 40 minutes of debate on the ordinance, it passed 4-0, with Commissioner Tom Starkey abstaining.

The legal battle between the city and the Friends of Belle Meade Boulevard currently has a hearing set for June 13 in Davidson County Chancery Court, per Moody.

News Source : https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/middle-tn-neighborhood-news/belle-meade-passes-ordinance-banning-sidewalks-on-belle-meade-boulevard-on-first-reading/