Building inside Belle Meade’s limits
Belle Meade is its own city, with 2,901 residents at the 2020 Census, and it runs its own permits through the City’s Building and Codes Office rather than Metro Nashville. Lots are large: the smallest residential zone starts at 20,000 square feet and the Estates zones at 75,000 and 200,000. The rules are tight in proportion. All the hardscape on a lot, pool included, can cover no more than 8 percent of it, so a new terrace or walk is designed around what the driveway and existing paving already use.
Fences and garden walls
A fence or wall 3 feet tall or less can go anywhere on the lot. Up to 6 feet is allowed only along the rear lot line, and along the side lines behind the back corner of the house, with posts allowed 8 inches above the fence. The finished side faces out, and every fence or masonry wall needs a building permit. A low brick or stone wall with capped columns at the front, and a taller fence behind the house, fits the rules on most lots.
Pergolas, fireplaces and pools
Garden structures such as arbors, pergolas, gazebos and outdoor fireplaces don’t need the Board of Zoning Appeals as long as each is under 250 square feet, sits behind the house and stays 10 feet from the side and rear lines. Patios and decks don’t go to the board either. A pool, pool house or sports court does, as a conditional use, and a pool needs a fence or wall at least 6 feet tall around it.
Retaining walls, grading and driveways
Retaining walls up to 3 feet are allowed anywhere, and stepped walls need a terrace at least 6 feet wide between them. The code also limits how far the ground can be raised or lowered across the lot. Front-yard driveway paving can take up no more than 22 percent of the front yard, all driving and parking areas together no more than 12 percent of the lot, and a 5-foot green strip has to separate a driveway from the property line.
Sources
- City of Belle Meade, building permits — the city’s own permits for terraces, decks, fences, walls, driveways, fireplaces
- Belle Meade Ordinance 2024-14, Title 14 Zoning — 14-203 lot sizes, 14-204 accessory uses, 14-205 hardscape, fences, walls, driveways
- Belle Meade, Tennessee (Wikipedia) — 2020 Census population