Cheekwood Estate & Gardens won an important victory in its effort to address long standing parking and traffic concerns after Nashville’s Board of Zoning Appeals unanimously upheld the permit for its planned on-site parking facility.
The Aug. 20 decision allows Cheekwood to continue moving forward with the project, which is designed to bring more visitor parking onto its own property and reduce its reliance on nearby Metro-owned land.
The parking project comes as Cheekwood faces a city mandate to discontinue overflow parking on public property by the end of 2027. Cheekwood has presented the new facility as a practical solution to that requirement and to some of the traffic concerns that have surrounded the popular botanical garden for years.
More than 56,000 people have signed a ‘Save Cheekwood’ petition supporting the institution as it faces legal and zoning challenges from a group of nearby Belle Meade Highlands residents known as Neighbors for Safety.
“Yesterday, the Metro Nashville Board of Zoning Appeals upheld Cheekwood’s permit to move forward with our on-site parking solution,” Cheekwood said in a message to supporters following the vote. “Today, our most important words are simple: thank you.”
Cheekwood said supporters have shared hundreds of stories about family traditions, first visits, seasonal events, quiet walks and celebrations at the 55-acre estate.
The dispute, however, extends beyond the parking facility. Neighbors for Safety has questioned whether Cheekwood’s current operations comply with zoning restrictions and has raised concerns about traffic through surrounding residential neighborhoods.
The group appealed the construction permit, arguing that the parking project should have required additional zoning approval. Zoning Administrator Joey Hargis disagreed, concluding that construction of the parking facility did not represent an expansion of Cheekwood’s permitted use.
“What it really boils down to, for me, this is not an expansion of Cheekwood’s use as Cheekwood,” Hargis said during the hearing. “This is parking associated with it.”
Cheekwood’s attorneys have also argued that the institution’s long standing operations are protected under state law and Nashville zoning provisions governing existing uses. Metro Associate Director of Law Lora Fox similarly noted that Cheekwood has grandfathered protections dating to zoning regulations from 1947.
The parking plan could actually result in fewer total spaces associated with Cheekwood. Attorneys for the institution said moving overflow parking off Metro property and opening the new facility would produce a net reduction of approximately 112 spaces from the nearly 950 currently available.
That distinction is important because the disagreement surrounding Cheekwood has increasingly focused on whether its growth has contributed to neighborhood traffic. A 2024 traffic study found traffic volumes in the surrounding neighborhood were approximately three times levels recommended by the Tennessee Department of Transportation.
One possible longer-term solution is an additional access point connecting Cheekwood with Highway 100, potentially allowing more visitors to enter and leave without traveling through residential streets. That proposal faces a separate legal challenge involving descendants of Luke Lea, who deeded the land that became Percy Warner Park to Nashville in 1927.
Meanwhile, Neighbors for Safety has indicated it intends to continue challenging Cheekwood’s zoning status and appeal the latest decision in Davidson County Chancery Court. The group has also sued Metro, alleging the city has failed to properly enforce zoning restrictions associated with Cheekwood.
Metro has asked the court to dismiss that lawsuit, arguing, among other things, that the neighbors lack standing and that deadlines for challenging earlier zoning decisions have passed. A hearing on Metro’s motion is scheduled for Sept. 18.
While the legal questions continue, Cheekwood characterized the unanimous zoning vote as an important step toward protecting the institution’s future.
“We’ll continue to need our community standing with us to ensure Cheekwood remains a place for everyone for generations to come,” the organization said.
For Cheekwood, the controversy presents the challenge of balancing the needs of a major Nashville cultural institution with the concerns of the residential community surrounding it. The Aug. 20 decision gives Cheekwood the immediate ability to proceed with a parking solution intended to move more vehicles onto its own property—while the broader debate over traffic, access and zoning continues.
