The Cookeville City Council approved the first reading of a zoning amendment Thursday that would allow developers to convert existing motels into affordable multi-family housing units.
The proposal stems from a request by the owners of HomeBridge Extended Stay off Highway 111. Owner Michael Bowie said the motel has largely served long-term renters in recent years.
“If we can now mean, in Cookeville, with Putnam County in Cookeville, taxes are almost 20 percent occupancy and sales tax, it’s like over 18 percent,” Bowie said. “So you are giving hundreds of dollars immediately into these people’s pockets. You might as well say they won the lottery.”
Community Development Director Jon Ward said the ordinance includes several safeguards, such as limiting conversions to existing buildings and requiring that at least 20 percent of units be reserved for households earning no more than 50 percent of the area median income. Ward said the Board of Zoning Appeals would evaluate each conversion request individually through a special exception process rather than allowing it as a permitted use by right.
“Our guests are ‘I’m in my car, I’ve been in my car in the Walmart parking lot for a month. I have a kid. I’m working two jobs,’” Bowie said. “The apartment that I went wants me to have my parents sign and I also need to have a few thousand dollars upfront. I’ve got 500 dollars. No credit is trashed. Might even have a criminal record at some point. Where do I go?”
The ordinance creates a new “adaptive residential multi-family reuse” category specifically for the commercial industrial mixed-use district.
Council members expressed concerns regarding the potential rent caps and how the transition from hotel to apartment status would affect tax collections. Council Member Chad Gilbert said he was concerned that the proposed rent caps, which could reach over $1,000 for a studio, might still be high compared to other local housing options.
Vice Mayor Luke Eldridge said the council needs to see more detailed analysis of the “appreciable math” behind the affordability benchmarks before the second reading. Eldridge said the council wants to ensure the initiative helps provide a truly affordable product without becoming predatory.
“I think that everyone up here agrees we need to find some way to help with the people who are, you know, the kids who’s living in their mom’s car in Walmart,” Mayor Laurin Wheaton said. “I think that everybody wants to fix that. If this is a way to do it, let’s find a way to do it.”