Lookout Mountain Conservancy seeks land annexation

Robyn Carlton, with the Lookout Mountain Conservancy
Robyn Carlton, with the Lookout Mountain Conservancy

The Lookout Mountain Conservancy wants Chattanooga to annex 43 acres it owns off Old Wauhatchie Pike as it finishes work on a park and uses some of the land for new housing.

Robyn Carlton, the Conservancy's chief executive, said the group is expected to ask the Chattanooga- Hamilton County Regional Planning Commission on Monday to approve the annexation.

The aim is to gain access to city police, sewer, water and fire services, she said.

As the Conservancy completes the park on a 50-acre tract it owns - seven acres already are in the city - it wants to develop four of the acres to hold about 24 single-family houses, Carlton said.

The idea is to help provide a safe environment at the park, she said.

"When you're building something, you're going to minimize the activity you do not want," Carlton said about the proposed new residences. "Having ears and eyes is incredibly important to us."

She said the Conservancy will seek a planned unit development, or PUD, from the planning commission.

Carlton said that once the Conservancy identifies a developer, strategies will emerge on how to move forward. She said the group would like to see ground broken on the housing in 2018.

Also, Carlton said, the new housing will help tell the story of the Old Wauhatchie Pike area, which used to be considered part of the St. Elmo neighborhood. The artery once was the main way to get to the top of the mountain, but later became abandoned with the opening of Cummings Highway.

Homes off Old Wauhatchie fell into disrepair, and the Conservancy has spent about $500,000 buying the property over the past six years, Carlton said.

The group's board decided that creation of a connection from the Tennessee Riverwalk extension in St. Elmo to the Conservancy's Guild and Hardy trails was a natural. The group acquired land in the Old Wauhatchie Pike neighborhood to make it possible, according to the Conservancy.

"Part of our mission is to restore and protect the historical value of the mountain," Carlton said.

She said 90 percent of a trail around the park's perimeter that will connect to the Riverwalk is complete. The park will have 26 boulders on which people can climb, ranging from novices to the more experienced, the group's CEO said.

Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318.

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