OOLTEWAH — The meeting was going nowhere.
A packed house of about 150 northeastern Hamilton County residents had listened to planners, flipped through an information packet and milled around a room lined with large maps. They showed how a proposed plan for the area could change zoning in the unincorporated areas around Birchwood, Georgetown, Harrison and Snow Hill.
As they milled, people exchanged murmurs of dissatisfaction — the plan would add too much density, make traffic worse, there wasn’t enough notice about the changes planners had made.
Kim Helton, a Snow Hill resident toting a file of documents, circulated, telling attendees to stick around until planners took questions during the back half of the meeting (at the insistence of another resident).
“We want to get them to delay the vote,” Helton told attendees Monday, referring to upcoming action by the planning commission.