Despite pleas from some local residents for restrictions and delays, Chattanooga City Council members on Tuesday approved the broadest industrial zoning for the former Harriet Tubman site.
The members voted 8-1 for M-1 industrial zoning at the former public housing site, and for conditions limiting the kinds of industries that could go there and other restrictions. Councilman Russell Gilbert was the dissenter in both votes.
Mayor Andy Berke’s administration is hoping the site will lure a top-notch employer who will bring living-wage jobs to depressed East Chattanooga, but some residents lobbied for a mixed-use site and some sweeteners for the neighborhood.
At Tuesday’s public hearing, Dr. Everlena Holmes asked the council to wait until the Area 3 neighborhood plan, under development by the Regional Planning Agency, is complete. She said local residents feel they haven’t been heard, and “the level of distrust, apathy and cynicism among residents of the area is unbelievable.”
Unity Group Corresponding Secretary Eric Atkins said the group would like to see more flexible M-2 zoning, and that implementation be delayed to April 2. He said the group wants to hammer out a Community Benefits Agreement that would bind an eventual buyer.