The Regional Planning Agency is giving East Hamilton-area residents a chance to shape what their community will look like in the next 10 years.
The RPA is hosting two public input meetings: one on Thursday, March 30 and another on Saturday, April 1. The meetings are meant to kick off the comprehensive growth planning process for the area.
After a presentation about the process, attendees will be invited to share challenges and opportunities they see for Apison, Collegedale, East Brainerd, Ooltewah and Summit, collectively labeled Area 12 in the RPA’s growth studies.
In addition to a written survey, maps will be provided for residents to note areas they feel have potential for development or special characteristics that must be preserved. They will also be able to mark problem areas harboring concerns such as flooding or traffic congestion.
“The overall [goal] of the community meeting is to get us toward forming a community vision,” said RPA principal planner Pam Glaser.
All comments made during the meetings will be recorded, and RPA officials will work with representatives from East Hamilton’s 22-member advisory committee to identify common themes.
“As we always say, there are no bad ideas,” Glaser said. “Everyone’s comments and concerns are of value.”
In the spirit of transparency, community comments will also be made public. Glaser said those comments will be used as a sort of checklist to make sure concerns have been addressed as the plan is put together in the coming months.
In the meantime, the planning team will continue to gather information.
RPA representatives have spent the last month doing field observations with the help of advisory committee members, who provided insider knowledge about the areas visited. So far, the team has inspected sites like Old Apison, Old Ooltewah, Southern Adventist University and the Collegedale greenway, and Glaser said she has been impressed by the area’s natural assets and rich history.
The RPA will continue to collect data that will help guide the growth. Glaser said the plan is to take a look at everything from the area’s road and street network to housing density and patterns. She hopes the community will help by highlighting features that may only be privy to locals.
In future meetings, scheduled for May, planning officials will look at all the data and start talking about some of the challenges identified by community members.
“This is an opportunity to kind of think about and have a say about the future of their community,” Glaser said. “It’s really kind of exciting.”
The March 30 meeting will be held at Collegedale City Hall from 6:30-8 p.m., and the April 1 meeting will be held in open-house format at East Hamilton Middle-High School from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.