CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF)- A controversial plan to guide future growth in unincorporated Hamilton County took the next step Wednesday.
The contention over Plan Hamilton came to a head Wednesday morning as residents and developers squared off over what they want the future of Hamilton County to look like.
Much of the audience were displeased with the Hamilton County Commission’s decision to pass by a 6-5 vote the version of Plan Hamilton proposed by Commissioner Lee Helton.
One resident yelled at the Commission, “(You’re) Bought and paid for! The rest of you are going to lose your positions come Election Day!”
This was after Commissioner Helton had worked with the Chattanooga Homebuilders Association on a compromise, something numerous residents say they’re upset with.
Resident Kim Helton said, “The citizens have put in two years work on this and that has been completely crumbled up and tossed into a garbage can, and it disregards what everyone in the community wants. They are not listening to the citizens.”
Developers such as Jason Farmer who spoke at Wednesday’s meeting say the plan, which calls for higher density levels than previous versions of Plan Hamilton called for, is still not their ideal version either.
Farmer said, “I think this county needs to grow, and we’ve called evil and greedy and kinds of things through this process. I sit next to a whole bunch of those people at church on Sundays.”
Commissioner David Sharpe, who was one of the six to vote for the plan, says it is not completely ideal in his view.
However, he views it as a launching pad for future amendments to further tailor growth especially as urban areas of Hamilton County face tax increases.
He said, “When addressing issues in rural Hamilton County that require finances that are the topic at hand, often the revenue of that is left out of the conversation.”
Chairman Jeff Eversole, who was one of the five votes against this version of plan, feels it was a slap in the face to the citizens who worked on it.
He said, ” Your goal should not be, “When you’re hurting and you’re hurting”, it should be find a reasonable solution.”
For residents who watched the vote, including State Representative Greg Vital of Georgetown, Wednesday’s vote does not sit right.
Rep. Vital said, “By the RPA’s own admission, over 90 percent of the people in the county’s unincorporated areas did not want to see the density numbers changed to the level that that they were… Plan Hamilton has been sabotaged and taken over by outside development resources, but we’ll learn to live with that.”
The Regional Planning Agency will have to approve this plan at their September meeting.
Then it will be sent off to the state for certification, who will then send it back to the Hamilton County Commission for final adoption.
