Rouzan moving forward as Southside neighbors seek to renew Blue Ribbon Commission

With new approval from the Metro Council Zoning board, Rouzan developer Tommy Spinosa says he hopes to break ground within the next month on the newest phase of the traditional neighborhood development in Southdowns. Meanwhile, the Southside Civic Association says it hopes to re-establish a Blue Ribbon Commission—including participation by Spinosa—that was active during the planning stages of the TND years ago to continue addressing concerns some neighbors have about the development. “We hope to be under construction within the next 30 days,” Spinosa says of the Creekside phase of the TND, which is to include 34 single-family homes on roughly six acres. “We’ll start with the groundwork, then we’ll do the streets and utilities, and we’ll probably have four to five homes to start initially. You’ll see homes going up within the next 120 days.” On Wednesday, the Metro Council Zoning board approved revisions to the overall plan for Creekside despite opposition from some neighbors. While the Southside Civic Association says it was disappointed with the zoning board’s ruling, the group adds it hopes to work with Spinosa as the development progresses. “The Southside neighbors are prepared to step forward and ask our fellow neighborhoods, CPEX, Planning Commission staff, and JTS [Spinosa’s firm] to join us in re-establishing the Rouzan Blue Ribbon Commission in hopes of improving communications, at the very least, which we believe will lead to the best possible outcome,” a SCA statement reads. “We also plan to ramp up our participation in the Zoning Advisory Committee in order to support the Planning Commission in their efforts to hone the TND ordinance so that it can be as effective and functional as possible.” —Steve Sanoski