UPDATE: The Chattanooga-Hamilton County Planning Commission on Monday denied rezoning sought by a grocer who wants to put a neighborhood market on a largely undeveloped site at the foot of Signal Mountain.
Regional Planning Agency staff had recommended denying the rezoning request, saying the proposed Crossroads IGA store isn’t compatible with nearby residences, would set a precedent for expansion onto “sensitive land” and prompt turning conflicts and safety concerns for Signal Mountain Road and Glendale Drive users.
Signal Mountain resident Wendi Morgan said putting the neighborhood market on the site would make the intersection more dangerous.
But, the company, Houchens Industries of Bowling Green, Ky., plans to provide a traffic study in an effort to keep the project alive when it goes next to the City Council.
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Citing traffic safety and other issues, Chattanooga planners are recommending against a requested rezoning for a neighborhood market proposed for a largely undeveloped site at the foot of Signal Mountain.
Planners said the proposed Crossroads IGA store isn’t compatible with nearby residences, would set a precedent for expansion onto “sensitive land” and prompt vehicle turning conflicts and safety concerns for Signal Mountain Road and Glendale Drive users.
The Chattanooga-Hamilton County Planning Commission will consider the request on Monday.
Signal Mountain resident Wendi Morgan said the 2.7-acre site is an “absolutely ridiculous” spot for the market, which Houchens Industries is proposing to put up along with a fuel center.
“It’s the first major curve of the road going up the mountain,” she said.
Morgan said a meeting is slated for 6 p.m. tonight at the disc golf park across Signal Mountain Road from the proposed site.
“It’s the gateway to Signal Mountain,” she said. “We need to protect that land.”
Bowling Green, Ky.-based Houchens said last month it wants to enter the Chattanooga market with three of the neighborhood stores. The Signal Mountain Road unit would be built in addition to an outlet in East Brainerd at Shallowford and Jenkins roads, and at another site the grocery is looking for elsewhere in Chattanooga.
Terri Holder, the company’s real estate coordinator, said plans are to spend about $1.4 million on each store, which will be about 11,000 square feet in size.
“It will have everything from meat to produce, just about everything you’d find in a grocery store at grocery store prices, not convenience store prices,” she said.
Some residents on Glendale earlier expressed support for the store near their houses.
But Morgan said Glendale is a narrow, curvy road with speed bumps, and the store would only increase traffic on that road.
She also questioned the need, saying there already are five fuel centers on Signal Mountain Road from Glendale to U.S. Highway 27.
Down the road from the Crossroads IGA site, Weigel’s convenience store has proposed building a unit near U.S. 27, though the company has changed its construction timeline.
Bill Weigel, chief executive of the Powell, Tenn.-based chain, said on Wednesday the building of stores in other markets has come first. The company is still committed to expanding to Chattanooga, but he wouldn’t set a timetable.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do before we get there,” he said.
While the Planning Commission will recommend whether to rezone the property for the Crossroads IGA store on Monday, the City Council has the final say over the company’s request.
Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 757-6318.