First input meeting is Jan. 30
With the East Brainerd area confirmed as one of the fastest-growing, Hamilton County District 7 officials have put together an advisory panel of 18 individuals who will hear recommendations from residents about what they want the area’s growth to look like. The first meeting, which will cover what the panel is tasked to do, is Monday, Jan. 30 at Heritage House from approximately 6:30-8 p.m. Heritage House is at 1428 Jenkins Road.
Barry Payne was general contractor of Cambridge Square, a mixed-use development in Ooltewah.
East Brainerd Road’s newest proposed development would be placed across from Westview Elementary School, if approved.A request to rezone a 21-acre tract of land across from Westview Elementary School is scheduled to come before the Hamilton County Planning Commission Monday, Feb. 13.
Originally on the agenda for Jan. 9, the proposal was deferred due to a paperwork error.
If approved by that body and the Hamilton County Commission, the development – which requires rezoning from A1, for light agricultural use, to R1, for single-family residential homes – could bring up to 78 new homes to the area.
Discussions about the proposed development on East Brainerd Road showed citizen concern about growth in the East Hamilton area when developers Mike Moon and Barry Payne of East Haven Partners Jan. 3.
“This is the least intrusive thing you can do in terms of residential development,” Payne said, referencing the R1 zoning’s low density in comparison to other residential designations and the planned three units per acre the proposed development is expected to have.
The subdivision would have a single entrance on East Brainerd Road, and though the developers plan to request a turning lane for the property, they said they have no control over that, as the road is state-owned and overseen by the Tennessee Department of Transportation.
“We’ll do whatever they tell us to do,” said Moon.
Initial designs for the property show 24 percent of the land being set aside as green space, walking trails that will serve as a buffer between the property and nearby shopping centers, and four retention ponds to reduce stormwater runoff. With no house planned to be closer than several feet from the road, the subdivision will not be visible from the road, the developers said.
Though attendees voiced concerns about the starting price of the homes, which has not yet been determined, most were more concerned with developers’ apparent lack of long-term planning area-wide. They cited the many nearby residential developments bringing homes to the area with little to no road improvements to accommodate the growing number of families – and cars – to come.
“I think the pressure needs to put on planning more than anything,” one resident said.
“And that’s why we’re all here,” another added. “Not because you want to put 78 houses down.”
And roads were not their only concern.
“We need some things that bring more amenities to the people living out here that make it a community so that it is a favorable place to live,” one attendee said. “We just approve one neighborhood here, one neighborhood here, one neighborhood here, and [we’re] not really thinking about the plan of East Brainerd.”
Moon and Payne pointed to developments like Cambridge Square, which are bringing restaurants, retail and recreation to the area, but residents asked about amenities like public libraries. Collegedale Public Library is the only institution of its kind in the area, but nonresidents must pay a fee in order to obtain a card. The lack of nearby resources like these mean trudging through traffic longer to get to amenities in other, farther areas.
Hamilton County Commissioner Sabrena Smedley, who hosted the meeting, said she has been working with Regional Planning Agency officials to fast-track the comprehensive growth plan for the East Brainerd area, which was given priority after it was confirmed as the fastest-growing in the region. State representatives will be brought in when matters of transportation are discussed, she added, and meetings starting Monday, Jan. 30 will give residents an opportunity to share their vision for the area.
“They want feedback from all of you,” she said. “They said [they’re] going to give everyone that wants to participate a chance to weigh in on what they want to see the future growth look like.”