A zoning panel voted against a developer on a contentious issue that has been a flashpoint for Ooltewah residents since December 2009 -- the construction of roughly 230 apartments on a 23-acre plot surrounded by single-family neighborhoods.
Angry residents filled the seats before the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Regional Planning Commission on Monday, fed up with what they see as Florida developer David McDaniel's efforts to circumvent the zoning panel by appealing to the city for annexation.
The panel first voted to deny the developer's original zoning request for R3, or medium density multi-family zoning, in early 2010, before the owner petitioned Chattanooga to annex the land, a request that was granted effective May 21. The land became temporarily zoned R1 in an unusual situation requiring the zoning panel to apply a permanent zone to the plat within 90 days.
A resident of the adjacent Windhaven subdivision, Clay Smith, was frustrated with both the developer and the Regional Planning Authority's Greg Haynes.
"I'm a little bit frustrated at my own naiveté," Mr. Smith said. "We gave him all our objections, he acted real sincere, then he put together one of the best sales presentations I've ever seen (for the developer)."
Panel member Bobby Scott, who said he travels often on Hunter Road, agreed with residents that engineers appeared to be undercounting traffic.
"That traffic is what I call heavy. The traffic engineer might not call it heavy, 'cause he doesn't want to spend any money on the road," he said.
For his part, RPA spokesman Mr. Haynes attempted to present both sides to the commission during his roughly 20-minute presentation, longer than usual, that drew a quip from Chairman Dale Mabee who asked him if he would "care to recap that."
Mike Price, a civil engineer representing the property owner, said that the development group had tried to address residents' concerns stemming from previous meetings, including traffic, density and design concerns.
"This developer has been most patient. This landscaping exceeds by two to three times the county landscaping ordinance," he said. "Traffic was one of the original reasons we heard. Now you've got eight to ten seconds to pull out, and the traffic engineer agrees."
But panel members said they had heard these arguments before.
Panelist Mike Langley expressed frustration with the entire process.
"This isn't about traffic, this isn't about density, this isn't about design, this is about a neighborhood," he said, setting the tone for other panelists.
"I'm pro-development, but I'm a little concerned that we voted to deny this, then it got brought to the mayor, and now the proposal is back here without any major changes," Mr. Langley continued.
An estimated 586 neighbors have signed a petition to block the construction of the apartment buildings, said neighborhood representatives.
Mr. Price will continue to press his case before the City Council.
"We hope that the planning staff recommendation, along with the revised plan, will gain support and approval," he said.