Councilmember Robert Swope does not view himself as a politician, but says identifies as a public servant. He has represented District 4 for the past eight years.
The Contributor talked with Swope as part of a series called A Few Questions With where we interview councilmembers about their district’s most pressing issues.
How would you describe District 4 and the people who live there?
I would say [District 4 is] on the wealthier side of the range. Half of it is Brentwood, the other half is Nippers Corner. Predominantly single family homes, large lots, well-maintained. I don’t even have a beautification commissioner because everybody [takes care of their property].
What are the main concerns you hear from your constituents?
Traffic. That’s it. Traffic.
Do you hear concerns about public transit?
There is no public transit in my district. There is one route on Nolensville Road. It goes down to Lennox Village. But Lennox Village is not in my district. It’s across the street. So, I have zero public transportation. Again, everybody in my district drives, which creates traffic.
This is your last term. When you reflect over the past eight years, what would you describe as some of the most significant changes the city went through?
Overdevelopment. That’s the single answer. Overdevelopment. There has been way too much building in this city. Not in my district. I think my district has the least amount of new development out of the 35 [districts].
What direction would you hope the city would move forward when it comes to development?
Much more responsible development. Learn how to say no. I say no to nine out of 10 developers. Period.
We don’t need more housing. We need more affordable housing. And when you keep building more million-dollar homes, that doesn’t make things affordable. Now in my district, they’re appropriate because half of my district’s lot sizes are one acre or bigger. So, yes, that’s appropriate. But when you [build] a multi-million home on an eighth of an acre, alongside three others on a half-acre, it just doesn’t make a whole lot of responsible sense to me.
Would you call for a restructuring of the zoning code?
Not necessarily. I would call for a restructuring of the Planning Department. They need to give councilmembers more authority to say yes or no because councilmembers know their districts, or at least they should.
Starting in your first term, you made transportation a priority. What are some next steps you would like to see Nashville take to improve its transit system?
Autonomic vehicles. Go to intelligenttransit.org. That’s my plan. It spells out everything from road infrastructure to what kind of vehicles we should be buying and using. It’s quite extensive.
What triggered you to develop that site?
Stupid planning. Building trains that are 150 years outdated, costing hundreds of billions of dollars, doesn’t make any bloody sense at all. Technology has improved so much in the past 20 years alone that … in the time it takes you to build one mile of train track, the world will be different. So why would we spend $2.5 billion on trains when they’re outdated the moment you pass the legislation? It’s a waste of taxpayer money.
Your background is in communication and entertainment. Is Nashville still the Music City you’d like to see, and are there any policy changes you’d like to highlight or still see to support and improve Nashville’s status as Music City USA?
No. Having spent an entire lifetime in music, film, and television, specifically TV live, I fought very hard for a permanent Film and Television Commission — not in the Mayor’s Office — but as part of Metro City Council. I lost that fight, and now we have an Entertainment Commission.
I’ve sat on the last three Entertainment Commissions over the last 30 years. When you try to mix a multi-billion-dollar industry like the music industry with a [burgeoning] industry like the film industry, it’s a recipe for disaster. I know because I watched three of them fail. So, we’re doing the same thing again. Lucky us!
They are separate industries. I’ve owned a record label for 30 years; I’ve owned a film and television production company for 30 years. I promise you, they are two completely different businesses. They operate differently, they produce differently, they distribute differently. We’re mixing apples and mangos and trying to call it entertainment. Well, to the lay person out there, that’s fine. That’s exactly how they view it. But from a business standpoint, which is the way we need to be approaching this from, it makes no sense whatsoever.
You said the right place would be in the Metro Council versus the Mayor’s Office, why?
Correct. As a matter of fact, I would love to see it housed — not necessarily actually housed, but physically housed — in the CVC (Nashville Convention & Visitors Corporation) because it’s all about film and television incentives. We don’t have to incentivize music. Everybody comes here for music already. But film and TV is always a ballgame. We’re fighting this state by state on a national basis, and we don’t have an income tax so there is no dedicated funding for film and television incentives. And there never will be.
So, we have to offer different things, and we have to get creative with it. And that’s exactly what the CVC does, [which] is market and promote this city. So, why wouldn’t you house it there?
What are some of the measures you’d like a next mayor to tackle when it comes to serving highly vulnerable populations such as people experiencing homelessness, seniors with a fixed income, people with disabilities, etc.?
Having been partially disabled myself for years during these last two terms because of operations on my knees, I can tell you right now this city is the most un-ADA-compliant city I have ever been in in my life (ADA stands for Americans with Disabilities Act), and I have worked in 68 countries on five continents.
I would make a sincere effort in the urban environments — not in my district. In my district people don’t walk. We don’t ride bikes. We drive cars. I don’t need sidewalks in District 4. But what we need is ADA-compliant sidewalks and crosswalks in the urban core, which don’t exist right now. That should be a bloody priority for the next Mayor’s Office.
As far as homelessness goes, quit giving money to crazy institutions like the Barnes Fund, which do absolutely nothing but take money and waste it. When you spend a million dollars on “affordable” housing units, that is not affordable. Think modular. If you want to do affordable housing, then build it. There are techniques in construction around the world that save hundreds of millions of dollars over what we’re spending right now. So, if you want to keep blowing money with the same old people, fine, go ahead and do it. But you’re not solving the problem.
Again, look at technology. Housing has changed drastically in the last 15 years. Look at Holland, look at Sweden. They know how to do modular construction. Go to Australia. Australia is brilliant at it. That’s where we need to focus our attentions and start building some real affordable housing units, not splitting up an eighth-acre lot putting up $3-million condos on it.