Draft for long-term growth plan in eastern Hamilton County released publicly

Residents from the eastern pocket of Hamilton County examine maps during one of the RPA's public input meetings for the area's comprehensive growth plan. (Contributed photo)
Residents from the eastern pocket of Hamilton County examine maps during one of the RPA's public input meetings for the area's comprehensive growth plan. (Contributed photo)

Yearlong efforts to better accommodate the growth coming to the eastern portion of Hamilton County will soon bear fruit.

On Thursday, Feb. 15, local planners will present a draft of their comprehensive growth plan for the White Oak Mountain Area during a public meeting at Collegedale City Hall.

The White Oak Mountain Area encompasses Apison, Collegedale, East Brainerd, Ooltewah and Summit. The Chattanooga-Hamilton County Regional Planning Agency has been collecting resident feedback to help design the plan for the fast-growing area since early 2017.

This will be the first time the document is revealed to the public since the RPA began drafting it in December.

Once implemented, the plan will be used to guide future decision making about development in the coverage area, said RPA Principal Planner Pam Glaser. It is expected to balance the incoming growth with needed services, such as road infrastructure, utilities, schools and other resources.

The meeting will be geared toward once again obtaining feedback from the public about the document, Glaser said. After providing an overview of the draft and sharing how past recommendations from the community have been implemented in its framework, RPA representatives will solicit questions and comments from attendees.

The feedback will be used to make revisions to the draft document before the final plan is sent to the Planning Commission in March.

"It's all about the community involvement, because it's the community's plan," Glaser said. "This takes them from having, really, no plan for the area to having a plan document that lays out some goals and recommendations and can serve as a guide."

The meeting starts at 6:30 p.m.

The draft will be available online at chcrpa.org starting Feb. 16 for those unable to attend.

Email Myron Madden at mmadden@timesfreepress.com

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