How they voted:
HOW THEY VOTED Chris Anderson - yes Carol Berz - yes Moses Freeman - yes Russell Gilbert - yes Larry Grohn - no Yusuf Hakeem - no Jerry Mitchell - yes Ken Smith - no Chip Henderson - no
After heated debate, a few backhanded comments and a healthy dose of good old-fashioned rhetoric, the City Council agreed by a 5-4 vote to grant a 14-year tax break for a 64-unit downtown apartment complex.
The $800,000 payment-in-lieu-of-tax agreement for the apartment complex will go before Hamilton County commissioners for an agenda session at 9:30 a.m. today.
According to the resolution, the development will have its city and county property taxes frozen for 10 years -- while still paying full school taxes -- and will pay graduated property taxes for four years after 2024.
That means the developer would have its taxes locked at roughly $48,000 a year for the next decade. The developer, UTC Five, is a limited liability company owned by Walk2Campus Properties, which owns seven other housing properties downtown.
In exchange for the tax break, the company will rent 16 of the units in the new development project for $750 a month to residents who have annual income at or below 20 percent of Hamilton County's median income -- $31,000. That rental price is $20 below the price deemed affordable by a city housing task force.
In response to criticism from some council members that $750 a month for a 400-square-foot efficiency wasn't ideal for "affordable" family housing, River City Company President and CEO Kim White stressed that the aim of the project is to attract young professionals to downtown. There are other housing agreements in the mix for lower-income families.
A slim majority of the council lauded the agreement with UTC Five.
Councilman Chris Anderson called the company's project a good development for downtown, and said there was a "severe lack for workforce housing" in the city's center.
Councilman Russell Gilbert called it a good deal.
"This council and other councils have said they wanted young professionals to come to the city, work in the city and live in the city," he said.
But others didn't feel the developer was giving up enough for a $800,000 benefit over 10 years.
Councilman Larry Grohn said he didn't think it was a good expenditure of tax dollars, and Councilman Yusuf Hakeem teetered on calling the development discriminatory.
Rents in Chattanooga's downtown are rising, and developers don't need help from the city, Hakeem said. Then his questions drew a more pointed, racially charged tone.
"How many black subcontractors do you have working? How many black employees do you have?" Hakeem asked developer Roe Elam. "If you don't want to answer, that says something."
Elam said at the meeting he didn't think the question was relevant. After the meeting, he was led out by an apologetic cadre of city officials and declined to comment on Hakeem's question.
In the end, Anderson called the item to question as Hakeem continued to comment.
"I think we've used my district to play politics enough for today, and I call to question," Anderson said.
Contact staff writer Louie Brogdon at lbrogdon@timesfreepress.com, @glbrogdoniv on Twitter or at 423-757-6481.