In 1977, the Chattanooga Landmark Survey used federal funds to inventory thousands of structures throughout Hamilton County in order to create a preservation plan for the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Regional Planning Commission. The idea was that the plan would protect historic areas and buildings.
Now, a new Preserve Chattanooga initiative backed by some City Council members and funded by the Lyndhurst Foundation and Tennessee Historical Commission would create a modern preservation plan to address what its proponents characterize as rapid growth.
“It’s gonna make some people mad,” Dennis Clark, City Council member for the Cherokee Woods area, said during a town hall meeting Wednesday evening at City Hall while promising action from city officials. “We will not allow grass to grow on our feet any longer.”
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Curation — the maintenance of community identities as separate neighborhoods and local cultures throughout the county — was a major theme among a panel of speakers at the town hall. They said ensuring that new development respects the city’s history is a top priority.