Lookout Mountain is seen through the trees from the Hawkins Ridge footpath on Wednesday, Apr. 20, 2016, in Chattanooga, Tenn. The Trust for Public Land is seeking to purchase 52 acres atop Hawkins Ridge between St. Elmo and Alton Park.
Sunnyside Properties, private owners of Hawkins Ridge, recently designated the hilltop acreage as a conservation easement, protecting it from development.
In late 2014, Sunnyside Properties purchased the landmark property at auction. Since that time, conservationists, members of the neighboring St. Elmo community and other stakeholders have voiced concern about the future of the ridge.
On Wednesday, Chattanooga City Councilman Chris Anderson addressed an audience of two dozen about the current status of the Hawkins Ridge preservation efforts.
“This massive site that runs between Alton Park and St. Elmo is protected from development effectively immediately and permanently,” he said.
Sunnyside Properties and The Trust for Public Land will engage a third-party appraiser to determine a purchase price for the land, Anderson said.
The objective is to conclude purchase negotiations within the next 45 days, said Rick Wood, state director for Tennessee’s The Trust for Public Land.
“We’re excited about conservation in the middle of our city because creating close-to-home parks gives people access to parks,” he said. “They use them more often and it’s an amenity for not just St. Elmo but for the city.”
Wood discussed the possibility of including hiking trails on the land.
Until the land is transferred to The Trust for Public Land, the property is protected by prohibitions against building structures or roads, disturbing plants and wildlife and polluting or draining of water, Anderson said. Other protections preclude mineral exploration or changes in the topography.
The Atlantic Coast Conservancy will monitor and enforce these conditions, he said.
“Once that land transfer is complete, Hawkins Ridge will continue to be preserved and it will exist for the public enjoyment of all citizens,” said Anderson, declaring the agreement “a huge victory for St. Elmo, my district and the people of Chattanooga who wish to preserve our natural beauty.”
Audience members questioned the future of a 1-acre tract of Hawkins Ridge property retained by Sunnyside Properties and located at the east end of West 46th Street.
About 20 people voiced opposition to a proposal to build a $350,000 single-family home on the property at a Chattanooga-Hamilton County Planning Commission meeting this month.
During that meeting, the planning commission recommended approving a request to rezone the property from manufacturing to residential purposes. The matter will come before the City Council in May.
Anderson said he would propose limiting the property to one primary structure and requiring that no more than half of the 1-acre parcel be disturbed as conditions for approving the rezoning request.
“I’m pretty satisfied with this,” said Jeffrey Cross, a St. Elmo community leader. “It may take it a little while to sink in, but this is what we were looking for.”
Contact staff writer Paul Leach at 423-757-6481 or pleach@timesfreepress.com.