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East Ridge council denies rezoning request for 1502 Swope Drive after neighborhood outcry
Summary
After more than an hour of public comment citing safety, noise and displacement concerns, the East Ridge City Council voted 3–2 to deny a request to rezone 1502 Swope Drive from R-2 to C-2. The applicant offered restrictions and said it would stage truck unloading off-site.
The East Ridge City Council voted to deny a rezoning request for 1502 Swope Drive on May 14, rejecting a proposal to change the parcel from R-2 Residential Duplex to C-2 General Commercial.
The motion to deny ordinance 1244 was made by Councilmember Cagle and seconded by Councilmember Ezell. On roll call the motion carried 3–2 (Yes: Cagle, Ezell, Mayor Williams; No: Vice Mayor Tyler, Councilmember Witt). The parcel in question is listed in staff materials as tax map 169K-BD-003.
Planning staff told the council the Planning Commission recommended approval, but staff proposed conditions to limit impacts if the property were rezoned, including installing a six-foot privacy fence along the southern property line, limiting building height and implementing exterior-lighting guidelines. “Staff strongly recommends that the following conditions be placed on the rezoning,” planning staff said during the presentation.
The applicant, William Benjamin Chandler of EA Powersports, told the council his company is local and would use the site for final assembly of franchise Segway units. Chandler said EA Powersports would stage large deliveries at the EasyAuto property across the street and that “we have no problem with the restrictions staff has proposed, and we look forward to expanding our business.” He estimated the location would support roughly five to eight units a month.
Neighbors objected at length. Ashley Bankston, who identified herself as the daughter of a longtime occupant of 1502, said the proposed change had already disrupted families and that construction and deliveries had been sited close to a neighbor’s bedroom window. “This has been a horrible experience for my family,” she said, adding that the household she described had lived in the area for decades.
Other residents and speakers raised safety concerns about staging heavy freight on the opposite car lot and moving large crates through a tight neighborhood entrance. Frank DeGarmo, who said he spoke for neighbors on Woodard Circle and Swope Drive, warned that forklifts carrying crates could create a “point of conflict” at the neighborhood entrance and increase risks for collisions and first responders.
Council members noted the property’s complex zoning history: staff explained the parcel had been rezoned multiple times over the past three decades, creating a spot‑zoning situation the council was now asked to resolve. Council members also said the parcel across the street (1504 Swope Drive) already carries commercial zoning and that the city cannot place restrictions on that lot because of its prior rezoning.
After hearing public comment and questioning the applicant about unloading and hours of operation, the council concluded that the neighborhood’s concerns outweighed the applicant’s proposal in this case and denied the rezoning. The council did not adopt any further conditions related to the property tonight.
Next steps: The denial ends this application as presented to the council; the applicant or a future purchaser may pursue other sites or applications consistent with existing zoning. The council noted that nearby parcels that are already zoned C-2 remain available and that any sale of those parcels would not be constrained by this body.
