Nashville lawsuit targets state law that makes it easier to change Fairgrounds Speedway

• Gov. Bill Lee signed the law on May 5, lowering the approval threshold needed to renovate the Nashville Fairgrounds from a 27-vote Metro Council supermajority to 21 votes.
• The change creates a smoother path toward Metro Council approval for a proposed deal with Bristol Motor Speedway to execute $100M in racetrack renovations.
• The law is one of several recently passed pieces of state legislation overturning or altering local measures put into place by Nashville voters through referendums.

Nashville filed a lawsuit Wednesday seeking to strike down a new state law lowering the approval threshold needed for Metro Council to greenlight renovations to the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway.

The law, approved by the Tennessee General Assembly and signed by Gov. Bill Lee on May 5, overrides a provision in Nashville's charter that requires 27 votes — a supermajority of Nashville's 40-member council — to approve any demolition on the fairgrounds premises. Instead, any improvements, renovations, or demolition and replacement of existing facilities owned by Metro would need only a simple majority of 21 votes to move forward, so long as the improvements will be used for "substantially the same use" as their predecessors.

The law creates a smoother path toward approval for Bristol Motor Speedway's proposal to lease the fairgrounds track and execute a roughly $100 million dollar renovation, including the construction of a new 30,000-seat grandstand.

The 27-vote supermajority rule for fairgrounds demolition was part of an amendment to Nashville's charter proposed by voters seeking to protect fairgrounds uses. Voters approved the amendment on the August 2011 ballot by a two-to-one margin.

Metro's lawsuit, first reported by The Tennessee Lookout, argues the new statute violates the Home Rule Amendment of the Tennessee Constitution, which bars the state from passing laws that impact only a particular county or city in its governmental capacity without local voter approval.

The law "applies and will only ever apply to the Metro Nashville Charter," the suit states — imposing the requirement on Metro Nashville alone, without putting the change on a local ballot.

The speedway deal, orchestrated by Nashville Mayor John Cooper's administration, garnered support from state legislators and Lee, who approved a $17 million state contribution to the project. The Nashville Convention and Visitors Corp. would contribute another $17 million, and the Metro Sports Authority would issue revenue bonds to help fund the project.

Nashville's Fair Board voted in favor of the proposal in March, but the deal has yet to advance toward its final hurdle: consideration and approval by Metro Council.

Community members in neighborhoods surrounding the racetrack have consistently raised their concern over disruptive noise, increased traffic and the public subsidy involved in the deal. Union-backed advocacy group Stand Up Nashville and the fairgrounds-area Neighborhood Impact Advisory Council have voiced their opposition. Supporters say it's long past time for speedway upgrades.

Sen. Jon Lundberg, R-Bristol, who sponsored the legislation in the Senate, told fellow lawmakers in a committee hearing the bill was specifically intended to "clarify language" regarding improvements to the Nashville Fairgrounds.

"Supermajority votes are generally implemented to make something more difficult to pass, and the proposed improvements to the fairgrounds are an economic driver and a positive project for the state and obviously welcomed by voters," Lundberg said.

The city's lawsuit points to Lundberg's statements as evidence the law solely targets a specific portion of Nashville's code. Attorneys representing Metro are seeking a permanent injunction and a judgment declaring the law unconstitutional.

Nashville attorney and former council member Jamie Hollin helped drive the effort for the original petition-led amendment process. In a March letter to Lundberg, Hollin wrote that the amendment's purpose "was to protect the uses of, among others, the Fairgrounds Speedway," noting that improvements have been made to the fairgrounds since 2011. The change, he wrote, is "not an attack on Nashville," but a clarification of the code's original intent.

"Metro has recently taken the position that a supermajority would be required for the demolition of any structure on the site, regardless of condition or insignificance," Hollin wrote. "Such a standard would do nothing more than cement decaying structures in place and undermine the ability to meet the charter obligations in the future."

The new law is the latest in a string of state legislation overturning or altering Metro Nashville laws created through local voter referendums.

Lee signed a bill eliminating police watchdog panels with investigative powers known as community oversight boards on May 18. The law disbands current boards in Nashville and Memphis if they do not conform to new requirements. Local government entities can create oversight committees, but the new structure strips them of investigative authority. The creation of Nashville's Community Oversight Board was approved by more than 59% of Nashville voters in a public-driven referendum in 2018. Metro Nashville Community Oversight Executive Director Jill Fitcheard indicated to the Tennessee Lookout earlier this month that Metro Nashville is unlikely to file a lawsuit challenging this law.

Nashville is currently engaged in another legal battle with the state over a law that slashes Nashville's council in half, limiting city and metropolitan councils to 20 members or less.

The law was intended to go into effect before Nashville's Aug. 3 elections, but a panel of judges chosen by the Tennessee Supreme Court granted an injunction temporarily halting the law's implementation in April. The state opted not to appeal the injunction. The court battle over the law's constitutionality continues.