Stormwater commission approves Nashville Gun Club floodway variance with mitigation conditions

The Metro Nashville Stormwater Management Commission approved a variance request to allow construction of a building and associated stormwater measures within a mapped floodway at the Nashville Gun Club property, 1100 County Hospital Road.

The commission voted to approve the variance by a count of five in favor, one opposed and one abstention. The approval followed presentation of a third-party no-rise analysis, a compensating-cut exhibit sized to provide roughly a 2:1 cut-to-fill volume below a planning benchmark (the applicant reported roughly 1,408 cubic feet of cut vs. about 703.7 cubic feet of fill below the 413-foot elevation), and stormwater treatment proposals including urban bioretention boxes and conversion of some parking to pervious or grass-pave systems.

Andrew Walthers of Catalyst Design Group presented for the applicant and said the project team had followed the commission’s prior guidance: retaining a third party to perform the no-rise assessment, providing structural anchoring details for the building foundation and planning compensating cut volumes sized against a potential updated base flood elevation. “We did have a waiver approved to place the structure in the floodway back in August 2024,” Walthers said, and the team then refined calculations and mitigation approaches before returning to the commission.

Staff and the applicant noted the structure’s finished-floor elevation would sit well above the currently mapped base flood elevation (the applicant reported a finished-floor elevation of about 415.5 while the current mapped base is near 411). Commissioners reviewed the no-rise report and the compensating-cut exhibit; staff said the submitted no-rise analysis raised no objection.

Commissioners debated the variance standards, including whether the applicant had demonstrated an “exceptional hardship” on the property — a legal element the commission must consider — and referenced a prior Court of Appeals decision (Precision Homes) about how hardship is evaluated. Several commissioners said they were troubled by building inside a floodway in principle, while others said the site’s topography and the mitigation package reduced harm and provided community benefit through continued use of the facility.

The record reflects additional technical context: Metro staff said a new remapping of the Cumberland River by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has produced preliminary results showing higher base flood elevations in some reaches; staff said those updated results have been reviewed internally and by consulting experts and will be submitted to FEMA for formal review. The applicant used the commission’s conservative planning benchmark (an assumed 413-foot elevation for purposes of compensating cut) when sizing mitigation.

The commission’s approval carries conditions requiring the applicant to implement the mitigation package presented: the compensating cut at the stated ratios, the urban bioretention treatment for roof runoff, and structural anchoring details. The decision was recorded as a variance approval; staff will confirm final construction plans and ensure the approved mitigation is implemented as the project moves forward.