Hamilton County Mayor Weston Wamp has dropped his proposal for industrial development on 500 acres of Enterprise South Nature Park, his office announced Tuesday.
Wamp’s original plan to open up 500 acres of the nature park to industrial development will no longer move forward after public input, according to a press release from Wamp’s office.
The proposal was announced in October after the Chattanooga Times Free Press revealed the long-secret plan. It drew waves of opposition as a nonprofit formed specifically for the park’s protection and a petition cleared 12,000 signatures. Residents’ concerns ranged from the destruction of a mountain bike trail to disturbing human remains at an abandoned cemetery to industry in their backyards.
Wamp and his spokesperson, Haley Burton, reiterated several times that no trails or cemeteries would be affected by the plans, but those opposed remained skeptical.