NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- One Metro councilman said he can't get any straight answers from the owners of the Bellevue Mall, so he has taken steps that he hopes will force a decision.

Video: Councilman Attempts To Re-Zone Bellevue Mall

Councilman Eric Crafton said the land around the mall is valuable space because there can only be so much land in Bellevue zoned for commercial use.

Rita Moran and Joyce Wooten love to shop at the Bellevue mall, but they both agree the area needs more nice restaurants in addition to the mall.

Crafton is now trying to force the owners of the mall to do something with the land they own around it.

Open parcels of land around the mall are designated as commercial, but Crafton introduced a bill Tuesday that would re-zone them to residential.

“What that does is that frees up other areas in Bellevue to be zoned commercial to let restaurants go in,” said Crafton.

Crafton said he has tried to talk with the mall's owners about their plans to revitalize the area, but he said they will not give him a straight answer.

“They always say, ‘Well we've got a plan in the works, but we can't tell you what it is because it's a secret,’ ” said Crafton.

Crafton said some may accuse him of bullying the landowners, but he sees rezoning the property differently.

“Zoning is a privilege that the community bestows on a piece of property. It’s not a right. So some people may say they can do anything they want, but the community has the right to take that privilege away if it’s abused,” said Crafton.

A representative for the Bellevue Center released a statement on Tuesday that said representatives will be meeting with Crafton in the upcoming days.

The statement said:

“We hope to explain to Councilman Crafton that the drastic zoning change he advocates will hurt the property no matter who owns it. It will also hamper our efforts to sell the property to a new owner committed to redeveloping the mall. The owners of Bellevue Center are acting in the best interests of the community, and we hope we are able to resolve this issue quickly so the sale of the property won't be adversely affected.”

Crafton said rezoning the property to residential would drop the value of the mall's property by as much as $10 million.

The councilman said that the mall is leasing space inside the center as office space with very low rent, and the low prices are hurting other office space available throughout Bellevue.