Despite a four-month moratorium on construction on Fairmount Avenue in North Chattanooga, the Chattanooga Housing Authority is going ahead with plans to renovate an apartment complex on the street.
The City Council approved the moratorium Tuesday night, and housing authority officials said they were not told that the Fairmount Avenue project would be discussed at the meeting. Still, they said, their plans concerning the site have not changed.
"We have no choice but to move ahead," said Naveed Minhas, CHA's vice president of development. "Until directed by HUD or by the CHA board, my job as vice president of development is to continue with the project the way it is."
Construction wasn't scheduled to begin until October, so Mr. Minhas said he doesn't see how the mayor's request to hold development does any good.
Using $4.2 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the housing authority plans to renovate the 28-unit complex, increasing the number of units to 36 and making them more energy efficient.
But there has been resident and political opposition to the project, including vehement statements against it from Mayor Ron Littlefield.
Along with the construction moratorium, Mr. Littlefield is asking the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Regional Planning Agency to determine if the Fairmount Avenue site is zoned appropriately for the renovated apartment complex.
"If the zoning is changed, (CHA) will have to redesign the project to fit with the new zoning," Mr. Littlefield said Wednesday. "In that sense, they should not be moving ahead with the same degree of confidence that they might have had before we started this process."
The property, which the housing authority has owned since the 1970s, has an R-3 zoning -- designated for high-density apartments -- and already has a 28-unit apartment complex on site. Most of the apartments are empty.
Regional Planning Agency Executive Director Barry Bennett said Wednesday that the agency could conclude that the R-3 zoning should remain or it could choose a lesser zoning.
A lesser zoning would be for townhouses, Mr. Bennett said, and while an R-3 zoning allows for 19 units to be built per acre, the density for townhouses is about eight units per acre.
Regional Planning Agency officials expect to have results of their study or at least some discussion about the matter at their next board meeting Feb. 8.
In a statement released Wednesday, housing agency officials said they were "very disappointed" in the four-month moratorium passed by the City Council, saying it "was seemingly rushed through by the council without giving us a chance to present our position."
"We had always expected our elected officials would welcome an opportunity to hear both sides of this matter before voting on a resolution of this nature," the statement said. "Unfortunately, the City Council has done exactly what CHA has been criticized (for) doing."
PROJECT TIMELINE
December 2009: Start design
Mid-April 2010: Go for bids
September 2010: Award contracts
October 2010: Construction starts
February 2012: Construction complete
Source: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
IF YOU GO
What: Chattanooga-Hamilton County Regional Planning Agency meeting
When: 1 p.m. on Feb. 8
Why: Discuss progress or results of zoning study on Fairmount Avenue Apartments