After Mayor Andy Berke was elected, he promised a stimulus to the city’s dwindling stock of affordable housing.
But delays have plagued the city’s plan to address a deficit of thousands of reasonably priced housing options, leaving year-end goals unmet. Officials said 21 blighted properties out of almost 300 acquired by the city would be transformed into usable and affordable rental units by fall 2014, but none has been completed.
Recommendations from the Chattanooga Forward task forces:
Arts and Culture Explore ways to assure permanent funding for an art teacher in every school throughout Hamilton County. Hire new staff to coordinate high-quality art education programs at the Youth and Family Development Centers. Develop usage policies, fee structures and a mechanism that encourages the use of public parks for performances. Downtown: Turn one-way-streets into two-ways, so traffic can flow in both directions. Create more protective bike lanes to create a connected path from Missionary Ridge to Stringer’s Ridge. Create a long-term parking plan, including strategies for fares and new parking. Entertainment: Develop the Southside as the entertainment and music hub. Create a not-for-profit organization that will assume responsibility for the Tivoli Theatre and Memorial Auditorium. Develop clearer guidelines for closing city streets and using the waterfront. Housing: Establish a land bank authority in the city. Create an affordable housing trust to provide assistance. Create a rental registry. Sports and Outdoors: Revamp Outdoor Chattanooga to adhere closer to its original intent. Establish a Mayor’s Wellness Campaign to strengthen and enhance the Outdoor Initiative, as well as combating poor health trends in the region. Streamline the event permitting process to make it more accessible, efficient, and standardized. Technology, Gig and Entrepreneurs: Appoint a committee to study how to implement an innovation district. Work on a solution to bridge the digital divide and bring Internet access to Chattanooga’s poorest communities. Create a committee to pursue opportunities for establishing Chattanooga as the nation’s most advantageous place to develop and test the full range of the gig.
Berke’s plan called for giving dilapidated properties to private developers to build on or fix up and then rent at set, affordable rates. It’s a plan one housing expert called a potential breakthrough in the way the city provides homes to low-income residents.
The mayor’s staff says state laws, zoning hurdles and legal barriers have hindered the program.