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Hamilton County finalizing details for own planning agency, faces tight window for staffing

Staff File Photo by Seth Carpenter / From left, Planning Commissioner Nathan Bird, County Mayor Weston Wamp and Planning Commissioner Brenda Jean Adamson listen during a hearing on a rezoning request. Wamp chose to withdraw the county from a joint planning agency with Chattanooga in favor of an in-house department.
Staff File Photo by Seth Carpenter / From left, Planning Commissioner Nathan Bird, County Mayor Weston Wamp and Planning Commissioner Brenda Jean Adamson listen during a hearing on a rezoning request. Wamp chose to withdraw the county from a joint planning agency with Chattanooga in favor of an in-house department. Staff File Photo by Seth Carpenter / From left, Planning Commissioner Nathan Bird, County Mayor Weston Wamp and Planning Commissioner Brenda Jean Adamson listen during a hearing on a rezoning request. Wamp chose to withdraw the county from a joint planning agency with Chattanooga in favor of an in-house department.

By Raymon Troncoso 4 min read

Starting July 1, Chattanooga and Hamilton County will have separate staff making reports to the shared Regional Planning Commission, a board that makes recommendations on zoning cases and proposed subdivisions.

The Hamilton County Commission approved a budget this month that includes over $900,000 for the new county Department of Planning, about the same as what the county was previously paying for the city’s Regional Planning Agency to make reports on cases in unincorporated areas such as Apison and Ooltewah.

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Five salaried positions, so far listed as undetermined roles in the county budget, will be provided for.

A county spokesperson did not answer whether those positions included a top administrator for the department or whether an existing employee of either the Public Works Division 0r Development Services would be tapped to lead, pending an upcoming meeting Wednesday. The Planning Department is part of the Public Works Division. Nathan Janeway, who represents Hamilton County Mayor Weston Wamp on the Planning Commission, works in Development Services.