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Groups say city trying to sneak in water quality fee hike [documents]

Chattanooga Stormwater Regulations Board member Linda Harris holds up a map Friday afternoon of the South Chickamauga Creek watershed. Harris favors the city's current rule to retain 1.6 inches of stormwater runoof in some new developments in the creek's watershed.
Chattanooga Stormwater Regulations Board member Linda Harris holds up a map Friday afternoon of the South Chickamauga Creek watershed. Harris favors the city's current rule to retain 1.6 inches of stormwater runoof in some new developments in the creek's watershed. Chattanooga Stormwater Regulations Board member Linda Harris holds up a map Friday afternoon of the South Chickamauga Creek watershed. Harris favors the city's current rule to retain 1.6 inches of stormwater runoof in some new developments in the creek's watershed.

By Judy Walton 6 min read

If you go

The Stormwater Regulations Board will meet at 3 p.m. Monday in conference room 1-A at the Development Resource Center, 125o Market St.

The building industry and environmental groups say they’ve been blindsided by a proposal to sharply hike water quality and development fees to pay for stormwater improvements.

Chattanooga’s Stormwater Regulations Board is set to vote Monday whether to boost water quality fees charged to land developers by about 63 percent over five years to raise around $13 million for needed stormwater projects.

“More money is needed to have the availability of additional capital projects,” board member Jamie Blanton said at a public hearing Thursday.

But builders, contractors, real estate agents and environmentalists charged they were never consulted about the proposals and were only briefed last Monday, given no time to study them or form an opinion.