Staff Photo by Seth Carpenter/ The Rev. David Carter of the Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul speaks against a rezoning request at 19 Patten Parkway at the Planning Commission on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (This caption has been corrected from an earlier version tha misidentified the speaker.) Staff Photo by Seth Carpenter/ The Rev. David Carter of the Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul speaks against a rezoning request at 19 Patten Parkway at the Planning Commission on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (This caption has been corrected from an earlier version tha misidentified the speaker.)
By Raymon Troncoso, Kailee Shores 7 min read
Holiness and history trumped development Monday when a zoning board recommended the Chattanooga City Council reject a petition for a proposed downtown building following pushback from members of a nearby historic church and the personal intervention of Hamilton County Mayor Weston Wamp.
The Chattanooga-Hamilton County Regional Planning Commission chose last month to defer the rezoning request at 19 Patten Parkway, which would allow for a 12-story mixed-use development with 266 units to be built on the location of the now-defunct Honest Pint.
Rezoning the parcel from its six-story height limit has been opposed by members of the Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul. They say the structural integrity of the historic church would be put at risk by the construction necessary to make a taller building feasible in the seismic zone of the block due to caves and tunnels beneath the block. They also say the proposed development would block light from reaching the church and illuminating its stained glass windows during Mass and other church services.
Staff Photo by Seth Carpenter/ Planning Commission Chair Ethan Collier speaks during a hearing on a rezoning request at 19 Patten Parkway on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026.Staff Photo by Seth Carpenter/ Planning Commissioner Nathan Bird, Mayor Weston Wamp and Commissioner Brenda Jean Adamson listen during a hearing on a rezoning request at 19 Patten Parkway at the Hamilton County Commission on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026.Staff Photo by Seth Carpenter/ Hannah-Claire Boggess, the rezoning applicant and lawyer representing Evelyn Capital, speaks in favor of a rezoning request at 19 Patten Parkway at the Planning Commission on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026.Staff Photo by Seth Carpenter/ Hamilton County Commissioner Steve Highlander raises his hand during a hearing on a rezoning request at 19 Patten Parkway at the Planning Commission on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026.Staff Photo by Seth Carpenter/ The Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul is seen at East Eighth Street on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026.Staff Photo by Seth Carpenter/ Hannah-Claire Boggess, the rezoning applicant and lawyer representing Evelyn Capital, speaks in favor of a rezoning request at 19 Patten Parkway at the Planning Commission on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026.Staff Photo by Seth Carpenter/ Birds circle the Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul at East Eighth Street on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026.Staff Photo by Seth Carpenter/ The Rev. David Carter of the Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul speaks against a rezoning request at 19 Patten Parkway at the Planning Commission on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (This caption has been corrected from an earlier version tha misidentified the speaker.)
A petition opposing the rezoning had amassed over 2,300 signatures by the time of the meeting, the Rev. David Carter, priest at the Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, said during public comment.
