A proposal to change how Hamilton County calculates density for new housing developments will be withdrawn after a majority of county commissioners indicated they would be against the change.
Right now, the county calculates the number of homes that can be built on a piece of land using the gross, or total, area.
Commissioner Steve Highlander, R-Ooltewah, proposed using the net buildable area that’s left after subtracting non-buildable land like ponds, steep slopes and sewage areas. In general, that would mean developers would be able to build fewer and less dense homes.
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Residents in Highlander’s district have raised concerns about worsening traffic and other strains on infrastructure in the unincorporated county because of a rapid increase in development there.
“You all are elected to represent the people. And I’m a people,” Rodney Spooner, an Ooltewah area resident, said at Wednesday’s meeting. “I am not against development, but it has to be reasonable.”
On the other hand, home builders and real estate agents say any limits on building will make housing more expensive and prevent the growth needed to meet the area’s housing crisis, said Bill Panebianco, chair of the Greater Chattanooga Realtors governmental affairs committee.
“The only way to lower taxes is to build more homes,” Panebianco told commissioners. “We either raise taxes, or you add more taxpayers to the docket.”
The Chattanooga-Hamilton County Regional Planning Agency, which makes planning recommendations for the area, has already been studying the idea and potential impacts of switching to a net buildable area model for density calculations, agency development services director Bryan Shults told commissioners.
Shults agreed to give a presentation on his research to commissioners at a future committee meeting.
When commissioners discussed the proposal earlier this month, several said they would vote against the change.
“Has anyone changed their mind – may I ask that, chairman?” Highlander said at a commission meeting Wednesday.
When no one volunteered, Highlander said he intends to pull his proposal, along with another attempt to place a moratorium on new rezoning cases in that part of the county while a strategic growth plan is being finalized.
Commissioners earlier said they worried the plan has no completion date in sight.
“I don’t like the idea of slowing down growth,” commissioner Joe Graham, R-Lookout Valley, said at the meeting. “I think it sends the signal that we’re not open for business, we’re not open for growth. … That’s not the signal, in my opinion, that we want to project for Hamilton County.”
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Kim Helton, a Snow Hill Road area resident, proposed limiting the moratorium to 90 days after commissioners balked at an indefinite freeze on rezonings.
“We’d like the opportunity to have a plan in place before any rezonings are approved,” Helton told commissioners. “We feel a large sense of frustration in our current plan, that is old, yes, but is not followed.”
Helton and Spooner are among a group of residents who have been meeting with development officials weekly to make suggestions about their area’s part of the strategic Plan Hamilton.
“Zoning should be done on a case-by-case basis,” said Panebianco, with the Realtors. “Everyone on this panel has the ability to not approve a project if it doesn’t make sense. There doesn’t need to be a moratorium.”
Commissioner Lee Helton, R-East Ridge, said he wanted to see people on both sides of the issue come to a more moderate compromise.
“Shut it down, or go full blast – neither one is probably a perfect position,” the commissioner said.
Contact Ellen Gerst at egerst@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6319.
Staff Photo by Robin Rudd / Commissioner Steve Highlander, R-Ooltewah, speaks during a meeting Hamilton County Commission meeting on Feb. 19, 2025. Highlander withdrew proposals Wednesday to change how the county calculates density and to place a temporary freeze on some new rezoning cases.