HENDERSONVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Hendersonville could temporarily ban new apartments.

The Hendersonville Board of Mayor and Aldermen will consider a nine-month moratorium at a meeting on Tuesday.

Hendersonville Mayor Jamie Clary said the pause would help the city catch up with its tremendous growth.

“My husband and I were born and raised here,” Hendersonville resident Kennedy Kemp said. “We grew up going to the parks, playing sports, and we’ve gone to elementary, middle and high school here. We both graduated from high school alongside a lot of my family.”

Kemp wants to protect and preserve her community, which she said feels like a battle amid new construction.

“We have so many not only residential places but also commercial spaces that are just a waste,” she said. “It’s a waste of greenery. It’s a waste of space. It could have been used for something else. There’s a lack of planning.”

Hendersonville’s leaders said they've heard these concerns from residents and have an idea to help.

“We looked at Goodlettsville, and they were a lot more strict than what we’re doing,” Henderson Ward 2 Alderman Michael Martin said. “It all comes down to the safety of the community. And that’s why we’re doing this.”

Martin supports the proposed ordinance, which would place a nine-month pause on approving new apartments and other multifamily housing plans.

“I think it’s going to be a great thing for the city,” Martin said. “We’ve struggled with growth just like a lot of other cities around Nashville. We’ve reached a point where it’s become a health and public safety issue, and that’s something we take very seriously.”

Kemp said she fully supports the ordinance and hopes the city also examines its commercial planning.

“I think it needs to be longer for sure,” she said. “I think nine months is just to put kind of a bandage on the wound for right now.”

Kemp hopes this is a step in the right direction to preserve the parts of her community she loves most.

The City of Hendersonville will have its first reading of the moratorium ordinance on Tuesday night.

News Source : https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/hendersonville-to-consider-temporary-ban-on-new-apartments/