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BZA upholds zoning administrator's finding that Fine and Pico operated beyond an accessory salon use
Summary
After testimony from the owner, counsel and neighbors, the Board of Zoning Appeals voted that the zoning administrator did not err in revoking zoning approval for an accessory wine-bar at Fine and Pico; enforcement (stop-work order and related proceedings) remains in effect while the matter proceeds.
The Board of Zoning Appeals on Feb. 5 upheld the zoning administrator's determination that the operation at Fine and Pico at 2015 10th Avenue South had grown into a separate bar use rather than remaining an accessory offering to a legally nonconforming salon.
Applicant counsel John Cooper argued the 2024 state law creating a "restricted retail" category for certain barbershops and salons allows limited alcohol sales as an accessory use (statutory criteria cited: on-site food service, no more than 20 seats for food service, alcohol sales limited to 15% of gross sales). Cooper said the applicant obtained a certificate of occupancy in 2020, a beer-board approval and a state restricted-retail liquor license, and that the beer board and health department inspected with no findings.
Zoning administrator Joey Hargis presented inspection photographs and social-media posts that, he said, show the premises operating as a neighborhood wine bar at times when the salon area was not in active service; he said his department issued a stop-work order and revoked its zoning approval because the evidence indicated a freestanding bar. "This is a bar," Hargis told the board while showing photos and an Instagram post for Pico Nashville.
Neighbor counsel Jim Murphy argued that state liquor licensing does not change local zoning rights: even if a state license was available, the property must still comply with Metro zoning rules governing permitted uses and changes in legally nonconforming uses, and Murphy said the operation extended hours, traffic and noise beyond typical salon impacts.
Board members asked for and reviewed the beer-board and health-department communications included in the record. After deliberation the board adopted a motion that the zoning administrator did not err in his determination; the motion passed and the stop-work order/revocation remains in place while enforcement and court proceedings continue. The board did not award additional remedies in the motion; legal and enforcement staff will proceed under existing administrative processes.
What happens next: the codes department and legal counsel continue enforcement steps; the applicant may pursue further administrative review or court remedies if desired.
