Developer offers 64 for-sale homes at 2750 Bell Road; neighbors raise traffic and safety concerns

A developer presented a conceptual plan on Oct. 12 to neighborhood residents and Councilmember Russ Bradford for a proposed 6.25-acre, for-sale community at 2750 Bell Road, seeking a specific plan (SP) that would allow attached and zero-lot-line homes instead of the single-family development the parcel’s base zoning currently permits.

Patricio, a developer with Ruya Development, told residents the concept — which he said they may call "Haven set at Bell Road" — would aim for 64 units, two-story homes with two-car garages, roughly 1,600 square feet, and a target sale price near $300,000. "We're trying to hit that, like, middle ground," Patricio said, describing the proposal as an attempt to provide more attainable homeownership in Nashville.

The meeting was organized by Councilmember Russ Bradford as a pre-application community briefing. Bradford said he would debrief with the developer and would not allow an application to proceed to planning commission until he was confident a compromise acceptable to the neighborhood and developer could be reached.

Why it matters

Neighbors said the proposal could substantially increase traffic on Harbor Lights Drive and Bell Road, create emergency access problems in winter, reduce private open space and wildlife habitat, and lower residents’ quality of life if buffers are inadequate. Residents also asked whether the project would be owner-occupied or become predominantly rental units and whether the developer could be held to commitments if the plan is changed after rezoning.

What the plan would do and what’s binding

Patricio said the developer prefers the SP route because a specific plan allows the city and council to write binding commitments into the approval (materials, setbacks, parking, and other conditions). He contrasted that with a "by-right" single-family buildout — which he said could produce roughly 25–30 homes under current zoning — where fewer restrictions and no community-enforceable commitments would apply. "With an SP ... the city holds us to kind of exactly what we're telling them we're gonna do," Patricio said.

Transportation and public-safety questions

Matt Purvis, a transportation official who spoke for the state/local transportation office during the meeting, said the department has had preliminary talks with the developer but has not yet reviewed a finalized traffic study for this parcel. "If this were to move forward ... we would absolutely require a multimodal traffic analysis, and require them to make the improvement that would make it as good as possible," Purvis said. He also said Harbor Lights Drive and Bell Road are public streets maintained by Metro.

Residents described recurring winter hazards at the Harbor Lights/Bell Road area, including stalled vehicles and an ambulance that required assisted clearing last winter. "Cars slide, get abandoned, we get stuck, and it happens every time there's enough snow," said a resident identified in the meeting as Miss Kenna, who urged that emergency access be addressed before additional homes are added. Another resident said a speeding car previously knocked a fire hydrant out of a yard and it took months to replace.

Access options and connectivity

Patricio said the developer initially sought an entrance directly onto Bell Road but was told by the transportation office that access should tie to the existing signalized Harbor Lights Drive intersection because sight-distance and safety concerns make a Bell Road entrance unlikely. He offered to explore a secondary connection near Bayview Drive if right-of-way, utility and ownership questions (NES, gas, ROW) can be resolved. Several residents responded that a previously open informal path near Old Smith Springs Road had been closed years earlier because of safety and trespass concerns.

Neighborhood impacts and buffers

Residents urged larger landscape buffers and noise mitigation between the new development and existing Bayview and Harbor Lights homes. One speaker described backyards and shared common areas that the site plan's parking and turnaround areas appear to approach within about 25 feet; others pressed for the developer to remove the row of units nearest existing houses or to increase the setback. Patricio said the city’s urban-forestry and planning rules would require canopy plantings and that those plantings could be prioritized along the shared edges.

Ownership, rentals and HOA enforcement

Multiple residents asked how the developer would prevent the units from becoming short-term rentals or investor-owned rental stock. Patricio said limits on rentals can be pursued via an HOA but noted recent court decisions that can complicate enforceability; he said an SP cannot directly require owner-occupancy but the SP process allows negotiable, enforceable conditions in other areas. Neighbors asked whether the developer would fund snow removal, traffic improvements, turn lanes or other mitigation for Harbor Lights Drive; Patricio said some mitigations could be specified in an SP or by contract among HOAs, but also said there is no obligation to provide such measures without an agreed condition.

Process and next steps

Bradford told meeting participants that no planning commission filing would move forward unless the developer and neighborhood reach an arrangement both sides can accept. He encouraged residents to follow council communications and said the council office had mailed notices to addresses within 500 feet of the parcel’s edge; several residents said more direct outreach to the larger Harbor Lights and Enclave at Bayview communities would be necessary.

What was not decided

No formal application was approved or denied at the meeting. There was no vote and no formal commitment to any specific engineering or roadway change. Purvis and other officials said final requirements and improvements will depend on the traffic study results if the developer files a formal application with Metro planning.

Ending

Bradford said he would debrief the developer in the days after the meeting and return to the community with updates if the developer chose to revise the plan. "There won't be anything filed with the planning commission until I feel confident that we have reached a compromise," he told residents.