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Former Chattanooga planner alleges bias in process, says he was forced to resign

Staff photo by Matt Hamilton/ Dan Reuter, right, talks with visitors during an open house on Plan Chattanooga at the Chattanooga Public Library on Monday, October 28, 2024. Reuter has since left office. Reuter issued a statement Friday with several allegations against city officials, industry leaders and planning commissioners. Staff photo by Matt Hamilton/ Dan Reuter, right, talks with visitors during an open house on Plan Chattanooga at the Chattanooga Public Library on Monday, October 28, 2024. Reuter has since left office. Reuter issued a statement Friday with several allegations against city officials, industry leaders and planning commissioners.

By Ellen Gerst August 8, 2025 8 min read

Chattanooga’s former head planner is alleging his resignation last month was forced and that local planning processes are biased in favor of developers and the city.

Dan Reuter said he “will be required to challenge the city of Chattanooga in every manner legally available to address” damage to his “professional reputation and potential future income,” in a statement attributed to him at Chattanoogan.com.

Reuter was appointed in January 2022 by Mayor Tim Kelly as the head of Chattanooga’s planning agency and the executive director of the Regional Planning Agency, which also made him secretary of the Regional Planning Commission.

The statement attributed to Reuter said he immediately found the commission to be “inexperienced and unusually oriented to serve the interests of the private developers, builders and engineering companies.”