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Board postpones final vote on 2045 comprehensive plan; several rezoning items split the council
Summary
On second reading the board postponed adoption of the 2045 comprehensive plan to allow aldermen to coordinate proposed amendments (including a Tree Board heat‑map request). The council split on multiple rezoning requests: rezoning 401 Lamont (R‑1 to R‑2) and a Toole Street parcel both failed on 3–3 votes, while rezonings at 700 S. Washington and 1809 Old Estill Springs passed 6–0.
The Board of Mayor and Aldermen postponed final action on the city’s 2045 comprehensive plan (ordinance 16‑75) after aldermen asked for time to assemble coordinated amendments including the University of Tennessee Chattanooga heat‑risk/tree‑planting map requested by the Tree Board. Planning staff said the planning commission reviewed and voted to include the heat‑risk map, but aldermen said they wanted the public record to reflect the legislative body’s recommended revisions and to follow the statutory amendment process as cited in the meeting ("TCA 13 3 0 4"). The motion to postpone passed 4–2.
Separately, the council considered several rezoning petitions on first reading. Planning staff explained that rezoning decisions should account for the maximum development potential of a parcel and that an applicant’s stated intent is not legally binding. The board deadlocked 3–3 on a rezoning request for 401 Lamont Street (from low‑density R‑1 to medium‑density R‑2), with concerns raised about surrounding agricultural zoning, water system capacity and road infrastructure. Planning staff described R‑2 as permitting duplexes and townhomes with slightly smaller lot size requirements than R‑1.
The council approved rezoning for the Skills Development Center parcel at 700 South Washington Street from light industrial (I‑1) to general commercial (C‑2) so the building may be leased for office use; planning staff noted the building is currently legal nonconforming and could lose that status if it remains vacant for more than a year. A request to rezone roughly 6.5 acres of the Tennessee Apparel property on Old Estill Springs Road from I‑1 to R‑1 to allow a neighboring resident to purchase the strip as a buffer was also approved 6–0.
What’s next: The comprehensive plan remains on the board’s calendar for a future meeting after the aldermen consolidate proposed amendments and discuss them as a legislative body; several rezoning items will return on subsequent readings where required by ordinance.
