Mike Price is seen in this file photo.A Chattanooga regulatory board on Wednesday flushed two years of work on how better to stop raw sewage from pouring into the Tennessee River when it rains.
Under pressure from developers who argued that proposed stormwater requirements could slow growth in the Scenic City, the Stormwater Regulations Board voted 5-3 to recommend that the city pull back from an ambitious plan aimed at saving the environment and bolstering Chattanooga’s position as a green city and instead follow minimum state environmental requirements for stormwater permits.
The recommendation — which will need City Council approval — essentially ignores two years of efforts toward better compliance with state regulations and incentives to help developers, said board Chairman Doug Stein.
“I think [developers] gave up more than they gained,” Stein said.
But Mike Price, owner of MAP Engineers, said the extra requirements could have driven developers to build outside Chattanooga, in the unincorporated part of Hamilton County or beyond.