By: Diane Benjamin
I was contacted last week by a resident of Nashville Tn after she found stories I wrote about Opticos Designs. No surprise their plans for Nashville are Missing Middle Housing, same story as Bloomington.
Nashville has a bigger problem than Bloomington because the population growth is huge as people flee states like Illinois for lower taxes and less government. The solution Opticos offered is the same however.
Nashville was presented the same dense housing in single family neighborhoods plan.
See if this website sounds familiar? https://engage.nashville.gov/housingandinfrastructure
This one will: https://www.nashvillescene.com/news/pithinthewind/nashville-zoning-reform-push/article_f2b9588b-4c17-5caa-a584-bc8f15ccc720.html
Excerpt:
“By necessitating this urban sprawl development pattern, the city’s zoning code forces Nashvillians into car-dependent lifestyles so that it is necessary to drive to meet nearly every daily need, discouraging walkable neighborhoods. This has led to increased vehicular traffic, longer commute times and ever-increasing congestion.”
Horton’s bills would accomplish four goals: allow certain residential structures of up to six stories to be served by a single stairwell, eliminate minimum lot sizes in multifamily districts, permit housing by right in commercial districts and ask Metro departments to create pre-approved pattern books for missing middle housing.
The Metropolitan Planning Commission produced this document: https://www.nashville.gov/sites/default/files/2025-09/092525StaffReport.pdf?ct=1759747429
It mentions “missing middle” 5 times and Opticos ZERO.
Did the Bloomington staff know Opticos is telling every city that will pay them the same story before signing a contract? $49,900 + $2,000 got Bloomington citizens the Missing Middle plan every city gets.
https://blnnews.com/2025/08/27/the-only-paper-that-matters-is-what-jeff-jurgens-signed/
See the latest list of people in Administrative Court, alderman and admin aren’t on it and never will be: https://www.bloomingtonil.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/28541/638935490968200000
From the article ~ “By necessitating this urban sprawl development pattern, the city’s zoning code forces Nashvillians into car-dependent lifestyles so that it is necessary to drive to meet nearly every daily need, discouraging walkable neighborhoods. This has led to increased vehicular traffic, longer commute times and ever-increasing congestion.”
Interestingly ~ The city’s zoning codes are mostly decided by planners. Car dependency a far cry from the horse and buggy days as man has progressed from walking everywhere which offers efficient mobility. Ever-increasing congestion brought to you by poor planning and city council grifters posing as servants to the people. Planners can’t make a living as a planner unless they are constantly selling you new plans.
Of course the plan for Nashville is the same basic cookie cutter plan for Bloomington. Put on a different color of icing and call it new.
Take a look at the Wildlands Project https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2puemm Look around explore the WIldlands Project for yourself. Important note is that the smart cities, eliminating vehicles, etc are all precursors to the Wildlands Project. Everyone needs to pay attention and spread the word.
I wonder how much more it will cost a business to establish itself in these small patches of prime property? Higher priced donuts with no place for customers to park. Eventually a ghost town walkable neighborhood.
The law of unintended consequences strikes again.
There can only be 2 reasons why local government administrators/managers would hire this consulting firm :
1. They are too ignorant to see the firm is only selling cookie cutter plans.
-or-
2. They get kickbacks off the fee.
They are either too stupid to see the scam or they are in on it.
…and they’re not stupid. (Almost) any time government does something stupid, they meant to do it, for reasons that smart people don’t want you to know about.