The Chattanooga City Council is backing a study that officials believe could help ease tensions between residents and incoming developers.
Last week, city council members green-lit a resolution that commissions the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Regional Planning Agency to conduct a study that will advise policy recommendations for dealing with three components of concern during rezoning cases: areas with steep slopes, areas that are prone to flooding, and areas with remaining forested land.
Right now, zoning decisions are made on a case-by-case basis, said Councilman Darrin Ledford of District 4, who co-sponsored the resolution along with Council Chairman Jerry Mitchell of District 2. Ledford said the lack of responsible development tools like policy recommendations has led to some of the “huge uprisings” he has seen during planning commission meetings.
“I’m seeing neighbors come forward in huge groups. They’re coming and they’re voicing opposition against developers who are basically trying to develop the absolute last piece of the land that we have,” said Ledford, who also sits on the planning commission. “There’s a toxic environment really starting to develop, and I would like to be proactive and try to curtail that and try to head off this ‘us versus them’ all the time.”
Ledford said he hopes the study will foster better communication between developers and residents through education, allowing both parties to “start the conversation off on a good, solid factual foundation.”