City Council to vote on Hixson development

Chattanooga City Council will have its first vote concerning the proposed 190-acre Chattanooga Village development near the intersection of Highway 153 and Boy Scout Road at its meeting Tuesday, May 8 at 6 p.m. The Council Chamber is at 1000 Lindsay St.

The North Chickamauga Creek Conservancy is holding an opposition meeting at Greenway Farms Saturday, May 5 at 10 a.m.

The Planning Commission and Chattanooga-Hamilton County Regional Planning Agency have both recommended the council deny the proposal made by Duane Horton of the Scenic Land Company, based on reasons including increased traffic, stormwater concerns, environmental issues and complaints from local residents.

"The fight itself isn't over," said NCCC Executive Director Gregory Vickery, a leader in the fight against the development, as the North Chickamauga Creek lies a short distance from the hilltop to be removed if the development moves forward. "The City Council has the ultimate rezoning authority, and we want to make sure the City Council hears the community in a really loud fashion just like the RPA and the Planning Commission did."

He said the MCCCmeeting will be mostly informational, an opportunity for the community to ask questions about the project. The group will distribute flyers in the Hixson community later in the day, and T-shirts will be handed out to those who plan to attend the City Council meeting so the group will stand out and can be identified.

"We obviously are encouraging our members to show up for the rally if they can, pass out flyers if they so choose and definitely to show up for the vote," said Frank Eaton, president of the recently formed North Hixson Neighborhood Association, which encompasses the area between Grubb Road north to Boy Scout Road, bordered by Sandswitch Road to the east and Dayton Boulevard to the west. "I definitely think our City Council members are very interested in what the community has to say and I want to make sure our voices are included in the process."

He said the association is not against development in general.

"Something of that scope we think needs to be better planned for," he said of the consensus among the 25-30 attendees at the group's first meeting regarding Scenic Land Co.'s proposed development. "The infrastructure needs to be in place, and there are probably better places for something of that size."

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