HAMILTON COUNTY, Tenn. (WDEF)- The future of unincorporated Hamilton County will be decided in a different manner going forward.
Hamilton County Commissioners voted 7 to 4 to create a separate planning commission to focus on those specific cases.
Introduced last week, the Commission will terminate its interlocal agreement with the Regional Planning Agency in lieu of creating a separate planning commission.
What this body will do is hear any zoning cases that occur in unincorporated Hamilton County, and whether or not they should be recommended to the County Commission for final approval.
However, some wondered if this will leave a bad taste in the mouths of the city of Chattanooga.
Commissioner Warren Mackey of District 4 said, “Are we not one county? Do you want to be one county or do you want the rural parts of this county to do one thing and the urban parts of this county to go in a different direction?”
Commission candidate Katherlyn Geter for District 5 said, “Planning done in silos is crazy talk. It is not effective.”
Residents from unincorporated Hamilton County who spoke Wednesday evening said that they believe they haven’t been properly represented by the Regional Planning Agency, accusing the board of being controlled by developers.
Ooltewah resident Kim Helton said, “Last week we heard a comment that we are “One Chattanooga”. We’ve heard that today, but we aren’t. We are “One Unincorporated Hamilton County”. We’re not “One Red Bank”, “One East Ridge”, “One Collegedale” either, we are unincorporated Hamilton County.”
Developer Mike Price, who frequently presents projects in front of the County Commission, said that last year’s passage of Plan Hamilton, a roadmap for future development, makes this new commission redundant.
Price said, “At the end of the day there wasn’t one rezoning case that it’s ever been passed in this county that didn’t go by this body. It’s not the Planning Commission, it’s not staff. This is the body that makes the decisions.”
Commissioner Jeff Eversole for District 10, who sponsored the resolution, said Plan Hamilton will guide this commission, and said that he felt led astray by the RPA.
Eversole said, “The regional planning agency has let us down in the unincorporated parts of the county! They did not live up to the end of the bargain… Not once did they say here’s how many new roads you’re going to have to build. Not once did they say here’s what you need to do in five years because you’re gonna get X number of students and pupils coming in so you’re gonna have to expand or build a new elementary school.”
It is unclear when this new planning commission will begin meeting.
