OOLTEWAH, Tenn. (WDEF)- The pace of growth in Ooltewah has been a topic of concern among residents there for some time.
This as two different developments went in front of the Regional Planning Agency.
Snow Hill Road and Mountain View Road are just two of the many roads in the Ooltewah area that have been under increasing scrutiny.
This is due to increasing traffic counts, and several fatal incidents.
At Monday’s Regional Planning Agency meeting, two developments in these areas highlighted resident’s concerns whether or not Ooltewah continues to grow out of control.
Resident Karen Eaves said, “I know statistics, but when you are visually there on the road holding towels on a child’s head who has just been thrown through a door, it’s different.”
One of the proposed projects discussed and approved Monday was preliminary plans for 83 new homes to be built off of Mountain View Road.
These are to be located on Proffitt Lane, which is currently just a driveway, leading to a property that was recently sold.
Eaves said, “So instead of three cars passing my front door every single day, your decision affects if thousands go past my front door.”
Developers say there are plans in the works to upgrade Proffitt Lane into a standard county road, and says they are considering how to deal with potential traffic as a traffic study is underway on that project.
Meanwhile, the RPA voted to approve changes to a new development catered to adults above the age of 55 off of Snow Hill Road near Ooltewah High School.
That development includes well over 400 new housing units in addition to commercial space.
This is the same portion of that road that’s been under scrutiny following a fatal crash last year that killed 16 year old Maxwell Quarles.
Resident Kim Helton said, “It’s just a really bad area in general for wrecks, and traffic because of the high school right there is going to cause issues.”
Residents are concerned these projects could fly in the face of the troubled Plan Hamilton.
Helton said, “They would both clash with the proposed Plan Hamilton would recommend because Plan Hamilton takes into the consideration the traffic and the infrastructure, and the infrastructure cannot handle what’s there now, and it’s not going to be able to handle what’s coming.”
Eight commissioners must vote at a future meeting to untable Plan Hamilton for it to be reconsidered.
