Planners reject rezoning for Kanku's to sell beer at Shallowford-Tunnel Boulevard

photo Kanku's

Chattanooga planners Monday rejected a request by Kanku's to rezone a lot at the corner of Shallowford Road and Tunnel Boulevard in order to sell beer.

Developers want a vacant piece of property at the intersection changed from its C-5 Neighborhood Commercial zoning, which explicitly prohibits the sale of alcoholic beverages.

Kanku's could build in the C-5 Neighborhood Commercial zone and sell strictly grocery and drug items. The proposed Kanku's owner does not plan to sell gas, but to sell beer, so the C-2 commercial zoning is required. The zone was laid down in 1991 in the midst of neighborhood trouble caused, in part, by the sale of liquor at a club called Jahara on Tunnel Boulevard.

Jahara has been closed for at least a decade, but community leaders and neighbors of the proposed Kanku's store want the C-5 Neighborhood Commercial zoning upheld because they say alcohol-related problems continue to plague the neighborhood.

Robert Schreane, chairman of the North Brainerd Community Council, said community members recently met to discuss the new convenience store's rezoning request

"At the meeting, there was some strong opposition to changing the zoning," said Schreane.

Immediately across Tunnel Boulevard from the proposed store is Greater Second Baptist Church. The church's pastor, Steve Caudle, also spoke in opposition at Monday's meeting.

He said the church's congregation is overwhelmingly against the sale of beer at a convenience store in the church's front door.

Caudle also said there are plenty of opportunities to buy alcohol already in the neighborhood, with Frank's One Stop Market a few buildings away and an existing Kanku's less than a mile up Tunnel Boulevard at the intersection with Wilcox Boulevard.

There are other stores farther down Tunnel Boulevard that sell alcohol, which "are wino shops, and we are having a ton of problems with that," said Caudle.

Janet Jobe, newly-elected mayor of Ridgeside, spoke out against the proposed Kanku's rezoning also.

Ridgeside's city limits end just before Tunnel Boulevard, going east off Missionary Ridge.

Jobe said allowing a store to sell beer at the Shallowford-Tunnel Boulevard intersection would increase the chances of violence in the area.

"We hear gun shots all the time," she said. "We have foot traffic and crime [already] in the neighborhood."

Charles Campbell, owner of Dalton, Ga.-based Charles Campbell Construction, spoke on behalf of the proposed Kanku's on Monday. He asked planning commissioners why other stores nearby are allowed to sell alcohol.

"Legally, I think we're in our legal bounds," he said, citing that the store is adequately removed from Greater Second Baptist Church.

Campbell did not say whether Rajesh Chaudhari, owner of the property in question, intends to build a store regardless of the zoning denial Monday.

The Chattanooga City Council will hear the rezoning request on Jan. 13.

Contact staff writer Alex Green at agreen@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6480.

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