Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Zoning topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council defers Agawilla rezoning after resident traffic and flooding concerns; approves other zoning changes with conditions
Summary
After staff and the applicant presented a rezoning request at Agawilla Drive (case 20250190) and an alternative no-rezone plan, residents raised traffic, sightline and flood-runoff concerns and the council voted to defer the rezoning to March 24. The council approved a separate zoning change (2149 West Shepard Road) with conditions including a 35-ft height limit, 100-ft maximum building mass width and a 10-ft landscape buffer.
The Chattanooga City Council on March 10 deferred a contentious rezoning request for property at Agawilla/Agawella Drive after neighborhood speakers raised traffic-safety and drainage concerns and asked for more time to meet with the developer and the absent district council member.
Staff described planning case 20250190 as a request to rezone from RN16 to RN3 with an initial unit count proposed at 79 and later reduced in the process to 67 units with conditions recommended by staff and the planning commission. Karen Renick, planning staff, told council the site is located at a neighborhood node near transit and that staff had proposed conditions to limit building height and massing to achieve townhouse-style rather than large apartment footprints.
Applicant Alan Jones (Stone Creek Consulting) presented an alternative site plan that would not require rezoning: a 36-unit "cottage court" scheme built under the existing RN16 standards. Jones said the property owner would develop the site and that the higher density option was offered to produce a higher-quality market product; he also said the owner is interested in incentives for first responders but acknowledged zoning cannot legally require occupant income limits.
Neighbors including Shelley Stevens and Cynthia Stanley Cash said the lot is low-lying and has a drainage outlet into South Chickamauga Creek, described a blind 90° bend at the neighborhood entrance and asked for traffic-timing and left-turn-signal changes to ease safe egress. They said they are not opposed to development per se but wanted time to address sightline, traffic and flood-runoff questions.
Given the absence of the district council member and outstanding neighborhood concerns, Councilman Elliot moved to defer the rezoning to March 24 so the applicant, district representative and staff can follow up on signal timing and drainage remedies; the motion passed. Staff and the applicant acknowledged the land-disturbance permit process would require on-site stormwater control and that drainage and sightline issues would be evaluated as part of that permitting process.
Separately, the council approved planning case 20250189 (2149 West Shepard Road) as amended. Council adopted three conditions recommended after neighborhood engagement: a maximum building height of 35 feet, a 100-foot maximum width per building mass, and a 10-foot landscape buffer along the southern property line. The motion to amend and approve passed on the record at the March 10 meeting.
Why this matters: Rezoning decisions affect neighborhood character, traffic patterns and stormwater flows; residents and developers typically exchange revised plans and conditions during deferral periods. The March 10 deferral preserves council oversight while staff and applicants explore mitigation measures and neighborhood accommodations.
Ending: The Agawilla rezoning was deferred to March 24 for additional meetings and technical follow-up; the council approved another nearby rezoning with explicit scale and buffer conditions.
