A Metro community between river and lake
Hermitage is part of Metro Nashville in Davidson County, not a separate city. Its ZIP code, 37076, had an estimated 37,814 people in 2016. The Stones River and its bottom lands at Clover Bottom divide it from Donelson, and the lake held back by J. Percy Priest Dam is part of its landscape. Clover Bottom is the name for the low ground along that stretch of the river.
Bottom land and the grading permit
Grading here follows Metro Water Services rules. The permit threshold is disturbance above 10,000 square feet. An exempt job also has to stay at or under 100 cubic yards of soil, and yard maintenance keeps its exemption with no more than 18 inches of grade change.
River bottoms are where those exemptions can vanish. Metro does not apply them in a designated floodplain, so filling a low corner or reshaping a yard near the Stones River can need a permit even when the job is small. We check the flood map first, and the permit question comes up at the free estimate.
On low ground, a lasting drainage fix usually gives water a graded path off the lot. More pipe in a yard with nowhere for the water to go only moves the puddle. Metro counts rerouting a drainage channel or cutting a ditch as land disturbance, so on bottom land a drainage fix is a grading question too.
Call before trenching
Any trench for a drain line, a downspout tie-in or a utility run starts with Tennessee 811. The law asks for at least three working days’ notice, and the ticket expires 15 calendar days after the start date you request. Inside the marked safety zone, state code calls for hand digging where practical, and pneumatic hand tools are allowed.