By 2040, Hamilton County could see a projected 60,000 additional jobs and 46,000 additional households, according to the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Regional Planning Agency.
To keep up with those projections, both Chattanooga and the county are working with planners on a comprehensive vision for development, Karen Rennich, the agency’s deputy administrator, said Tuesday at a Friends of Hixson meeting.
“When we get to the zoning, that is how we implement our plans,” Rennich said at the meeting.
(READ MORE: Hamilton County planners postpone vote on 186-unit project in Hixson)
The final plan for Hamilton County is set to be reviewed by county commissioners in November before a final vote in December.
Concerns quickly rose up among the meeting’s attendees: Will development make traffic worse? How about flooding and erosion? Why are developers moving forward before knowing if sewer and fire services will be able to reach the new neighborhoods they’re creating?
“I’m just trying to understand why the infrastructure isn’t put into place first, before allowing these large developments,” Middle Valley resident Tori Rogers said to planners during the meeting.
It’s a delicate balance to create responsible growth, Nathan Janeway, director of development services for Hamilton County, said.
“A lot of residents don’t like growth because it creates constraints on the roads, constraints on the schools,” Janeway said at the meeting. “Developers love growth because that’s their job.”
About half the growth in Hamilton County is “organic,” Janeway said — the natural kind of growth that comes from kids growing up and starting families themselves. The other half comes from people moving from outside the area, seeking more freedom or Chattanooga’s natural beauty, he said.
Janeway’s job and department was added under county Mayor Weston Wamp to focus on strategic growth, Janeway said.
“Places like Ooltewah that have just seen massive growth over the past 10 years are seeing constraints,” Janeway said. “Thankfully, out here on this side of the river, we have less of an issue with that.”
Chattanooga-Hamilton County Regional Planning Agency / A map shows draft proposals for planning in the unincorporated areas around Middle Valley and Lakesite.A draft map shows a swath of land from Gann Road north to Sequoyah Access Road, where fire and road service is adequate to accommodate rezoning from agricultural to residential, Janeway said. Much of that area has already changed to a type of residential zoning that allows up to seven single-family houses per acre, he said.
Farther out, fire service, largely provided by volunteer departments, isn’t as reliable. During the day, many volunteers are working other jobs, Janeway said.
The map also includes a suggested town center around Hixson Pike and Daisy Dallas Road, where a Food City, Elder’s Ace Hardware and several restaurants are.
Around Chester Frost Park, Janeway suggested, there could be room to add lodging and stores for camping and fishing supplies.
“Not everybody has a camper, or not everybody wants to tent camp, but they’d probably still like to use the park,” he said.
Rogers, who works as a realtor, said she’s concerned that Middle Valley Road doesn’t have the capacity needed to accommodate an additional few hundred drivers from developments planned in the area. Even in the five years since she’s lived in the Valleybrook neighborhood, Rogers said after the meeting, traffic has gotten worse. Another parcel along the road was recently razed for development, she said, which she expects will bring even more congestion.
The county has set aside $5.8 million to address road issues like that, Janeway said, and hopes to multiply that with grants. The biggest concerns now, he said, are Hunter and Snow Hill roads in Ooltewah.
Staff Photo by Ellen Gerst / Attendees at a Friends of Hixson meeting Oct. 16, 2024, listen to Nathan Janeway, director of development services for Hamilton County, speak about a draft plan for development in the area.Middle Valley Road will probably never have a third lane added, he said, because the county would have to buy a lot of land on parcels that run up against the road. They plan to do other improvements for safety on Middle Valley, he said.
“Say there’s a parcel and a new neighborhood wants to build on that parcel,” he said. “We are starting to require them to either make a dedicated turn lane in a lot of places, or a decel (deceleration) lane into the neighborhood.”
Kay Billingsley, who also lives in Valleybrook, said the creek behind her house used to be small enough for her young kids to jump across — she held her hands a few feet apart to estimate. Now, as development has progressed, she said it’s gotten much wider — she looked up from her hands and across the room, estimating it’s between 10 and 15 feet across now.
With more traffic, she’s also noticed drivers increasingly trying to skirt congestion by coming through her neighborhood, a circle that spits them back out on Middle Valley Road.
“We need to learn from Ooltewah,” Billingsley said after the meeting.
Contact Ellen Gerst at egerst@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6319.