Residents press council on apartment traffic and high tax rates during citizen appearances

Several residents used the appearance-of-citizens period to press council on housing developments and long-term tax trends.

Yash Shachowski, speaking for neighbors of the Grand Point (Crown Point) apartment proposal, asked whether an entrance could be designated as a fire lane to reduce traffic through the Wolf Creek neighborhood if the 360-unit development proceeds. He also asked for the status of nearby zoned land and asked staff to confirm whether the neighborhood access could be reconfigured; staff said they would follow up with answers to the neighbors’ questions.

Martin McBride reviewed 27 years of Tennessee Comptroller tax data and said Oak Ridge remains in a high tax-rate percentile (around the 97.2 percentile) for the Anderson County portion of the city, arguing that the city has lost ground relative to others despite modest rate reductions. "When you run the percentiles, we were in 97.2... 25 years later, in 2024, we're still 97.2," McBride said, and offered to provide his spreadsheet analysis to staff.

Council thanked residents for raising the concerns and asked staff to follow up on traffic/fire-lane questions and to accept the tax-rate data for further review. The council did not act on these matters at the meeting but directed staff to gather more information and respond to residents.

What happens next: Staff will follow up with neighbors on the apartment-access/fire-lane questions and provide clarifications about nearby zoned land; the manager and planning staff will review tax-data inquiries and coordinate any necessary briefings to address long-term fiscal strategy.