(upbeat music) - [Announcer] You're watching highlights of the Chattanooga City Council Meeting, a production of WTCI PBS.

- Okay, good evening, everyone.

Welcome to our Tuesday, October 25th City Council Business Agenda.

I will now call this meeting to order.

Thank you Dr. Burs.

We have a special presentation on our agenda this evening, a public hearing for the Westside Evolves plan.

The public hearing will consist of a 30-minute time limit as set by council, and each member will have two minutes a piece to make any comments reflecting the Westside Evolves plan.

But before we start, Eric, are you kicking off for us this afternoon?

All right, if you don't mind, would you come up and give us a brief overview of the Westside Evolves plan so that we'll have some context before we start the hearing?

- Can everyone hear me okay?

- Yes.

- Good evening, Hope you're doing well.

Thank you for having me here, council.

I have a few slides to share with you.

I promise this won't be long.

We've briefed you before, and the purpose of these slides and the images that you'll see on your screen are to show you some highlights of the Westside Evolves transformation plan.

It is a plan that has been made public.

There's a website that has been communicated, the entire process and the plan itself.

The plan does a very good job of acknowledging the history of this area of our community, the history prior to the interstate being built and the history during the construction of the interstate, the neighborhoods that existed prior to the interstate being built, Violet Hill, Cameron Hill, Boynton Hill, et cetera, and noticing how that history changed throughout time.

The history was written by a local renowned author.

Her name is Rita Lorraine Hubbard.

So she did a very good job of documenting the people's history of this place.

Just to orient you in context, so the highlighted area that you see is bordered by, on the north side, West MLK Boulevard, on the western side, Riverfront Parkway, or some people I now know are calling it Riverside Drive, whichever one you call it, Riverfront Parkway, Riverside Drive.

Main Street on the south, and US 27 on the east.

And so that was the study boundary that we began with this process in August of 2020.

The plan recommends quite a few very specific recommendations for improvements, long-term improvements, to this district.

I wanna highlight for you as it relates to the Chattanooga Housing Authority, the targeted sites of housing improvements as it relates to the Chattanooga Housing Authority.

So you can see the shaded areas on this plan that are high highlighted in sort of a yellow color.

That is the College Hill Courts area.

College Hill Courts is 80 years old, 81 years old, excuse me.

And then the Gateway Tower.

Those are distressed housing units, family housing units, that the housing authority currently owns.

And so those parts of the housing plan are targeted areas for the Chattanooga Housing Authority.

The plan recommends not only housing improvements to the site, but physical space improvements, those including infrastructure, new streets and new street connections and what we call sort of re-stitching the community to get together.

If you think about what you saw in that first slide, you saw a really, a densely gridded street network in the 1920s prior to the interstate.

The plan recommends a return to that kind of thinking, where you would have a much more connected neighborhood.

And we heard that throughout the planning process from neighbors and families that live in the Westside.

They feel isolated.

They feel fairly disconnected from downtown, the river, and the area south of the community.

And so the plan recommends new street network and enhancement of the existing street network.

And I'll highlight one area there that you see on your screen, is that area that's 12th Street and 12th Street extending over to The Bend site.

Those are where these two communities can directly link.

In the planning of The Bend site, we know that there's a major boulevard that connects from Riverfront Parkway straight to the river.

You've probably seen that in the conversations of The Bend site.

And so 12th Street could connect directly through that Bend site and afford residents an opportunity to walk directly to the Riverwalk.

This is an illustrative view of that 12th Street extension and what it means to have 12th Street run along the north side of Sheila Jennings Park, you see on the left side of this image.

And then enhancing the front-porch life in the buildings.

They do show some massing increase, three and four-story buildings here, but we feel that that's appropriate, appropriately placed.

We did hear from residents, no high-rise living conditions as replacement housing, but the three and four-story dwellings were ones that residents felt that could be improvements and especially directly adjacent to a park.

The plan also recommends some very targeted open-space networks, connected open-space networks.

And so those are green spaces that could be used in a variety of different uses.

They have different shapes.

They have different forms.

They have different locations throughout the neighborhood.

And so those include three or four central spine open-lawn places that you'll see right running through from Main Street all the way through the neighborhood.

And then that's a Boynton Street connector that you see coming from the left-hand side, the upper left-hand side, existing Boynton Drive, and down into the neighborhood proper.

Those open spaces allowed us in physical form to respond to several of the things that we heard from the community, which are we need to save the flagpole.

The flagpole has been a historical gathering space for a long time in the community, and it's a historical memory that needs to be honored.

And so the parks and open space do that.

And then the renovation of Sheila Jennings Park is central to this plan, and it's central to how the community gathering spot can be a heart of the community.

This is a rendering of kind of how that parks and open-space network and the street network can be a festival street.

We heard a lot about the neighborhood wanting to have Back to the Westside events and things like such as that, where you have the ability to close Grove Street, which is pictured here in this street, and then have the James A. Henry School, prominently featured here, as a community hub, as an activity hub for the community for year-round events.

The housing plan, we did a lot of engagement with the community about what types of housing were appropriate if the housing were to be replaced in the coming years.

And on those circle medallions that you see, those are the images that residents that declared to us that were very appropriate.

Again, they didn't wanna see any high-rise housing.

Many of the residents wanted to stay away from that level of density.

But many residents saw great benefit in stacked flats or town homes or that type of unit structure.

And so we've planned for some density towards Main Street, and you can kind of see that pictured here in this diagram, where that might be four, five-story units towards Main Street, which seems appropriate on the main arteries.

But as you come towards north of the site into the interior of the neighborhood, the density would step down into lower-scale units.

And this is the rendering of when I mentioned to you the extension of Boynton Drive, and you can see the flagpole permanently pictured in the open space in the background of this image on the left-hand side.

That's an open park space and Boynton Drive being extended here.

You can see the imagery of the housing really, really depicting that front-porch life that we heard a lot about.

That's very important to this community and central to the success of the streets.

Having eyes on the street and people participating in the street life of the community is very important.

So how all that comes together is this plan.

It's the roadmap for a longer-term plan of improvements in the community that begins with the phase one of the James A. Henry restoration, James A. Henry School restoration, that allows for the expansion of the Head Start programming in the community from 60 seats to 100 seats.

It allows for expansion of, you probably know of Splash Youth Arts, which is a nonprofit led by Charlie Newton.

And it allows for a new clinic.

And the plan is also to link that in with a phase-two approach, which would improve Sheila Jennings Park and also provide new improvements to the recreational facility.

That's the Sheila Jennings Rec Center.

We heard a lot from, a lot of comments from the elderly residents that have grandchildren that if you know the topography in that area, you know the Sheila Jennings Rec Center is about 30 feet up from Sheila Jennings Park proper.

And so it's not really directly linked to, and it's very hard to get to if you have an aftercare program that your child needs to get to, and they might be five or six-years-old.

And you're wanting to get 'em there in a timely manner.

So having all that co-located in a very proximate place will be very beneficial for this community, especially the Head Start programs.

I think I mentioned to you before that one of the things that was very eyeopening, and it's not uncommon, for a family to have a three-year-old and a five-year-old and have to drop the three-year-old off at Newton Childcare Center and then drop the five-year-old, the five-year-old child up on the hill when the Head start program was on the hill at the 25th District School.

And so those challenges of just not being proximate, not being on the same block, not having services co-located, can be met by what this plan's recommending.

Overall, the plan's recommending a greater density and one-for-one replacement of the deeply subsidized units that are here today, an expansion of the affordable housing.

We know that in our community, affordable housing is a need, and so we're recommending 30% AMI and above housing units in this mix and also an infusion of a market rate mix.

We know that over time, that having some market rate units in the community, you can set kind of see in that foreground of this picture what might be more looking like a market-rate type apartment or a multifamily unit.

We know that that could be a really beneficial thing to provide services long term where you might have ground floor retail in a building like that that could have barber shops and things like that, all the things that we heard from residents that they want.

And so I'm willing to take any questions.

Betsy is here with me as well tonight.

We can answer any of your questions you might have.

Thank you again.

- [Darrin] Thank you, Eric.

Madam vice-chair, I see your light.

You have the floor.

- Hey, Eric, I had a question in regards to, I know in the development of this plan and with community input, there was always talk of one-for-one replacement.

Is that still something that will be a part of this plan, and if so, will people have to relocate off the footprint?

- That is an excellent question.

So the one-for-one replacement, the incredible news here is the one-of-one replacement in partnership with the City of Chattanooga also comes with a build-first strategy.

And so the site that you see, if you see the medallion that's labeled number two in this slide, directly adjacent to that in the plan is a 12th Street property that's currently owned by the City of Chattanooga.

And it went through mandatory referral process just recently.

That 12th Street property is essential to building the first 100-plus family units on that site that will allow folks from College Hill Courts to have the option to move on to that site.

That is what I call the build-first strategy.

That's what we've been calling the built-first strategy all along.

And it's a way that we can begin the one-for-one replacement process and do that with every phase and every block that that continues on.

Does that help?

- Okay.

Almost.

The other part of it was, will people have to leave the footprint and then come back to the Westside?

Like if you build first, but you build 100 units, but you need to replace 115, those other 15 units, will those people have to leave?

- The goal right now is to continue to study building units and replacing units at each phase.

- Okay.

- So each phase would build a new block of housing, and then that block of housing would be available to residents to move.

And then so those vacant units would be demolished, and new housing can be built on that site.

But it takes a delicate phasing, takes eight phases, really, to accomplish that without people moving off the footprint.

- Okay, I just wanted to make sure 'cause I know that is one of the biggest issues.

I love the plan, but that was one of the biggest issues I've heard with constituents, is we say one-for-one replacement, but then people may have to move and come back.

And most of the time if you move off, you're not gonna come back when that wasn't what the process these past two years was saying.

So I just wanted to make sure that that was clear and that it's on the record that, hey, it's gonna be built in phases, and the goal is to make sure that people are able to go one for one and not be displaced because once they're displaced, again, they may not come back.

So, okay, that's good.

Thank you.

- All right, Eric, I'm seeing no other lights from council, so I appreciate your unpacking this for us before we go into the public hearing.

So, at this time, thanks, Eric.

If you have questions, specific questions for Eric and Betsy, I would encourage you to get with them after the meeting, but right now we're going to open the public hearing on the Westside Evolves plan, which is your opportunity to come and tell us what you think.

And then Eric and Betsy will be available if you have specific questions if you'll stick around for that.

So at this time I will open the public hearing for Westside Evolves plan.

Anyone wishing to speak on this, please come forward.

And we will have two minutes per person for the public hearing.

Good evening, Ms. Janice.

- Good evening.

Janice Gooden.

I'm in District Eight, but actually I'm a member of Renaissance Presbyterian Church, which is on the Westside.

And we are very much supportive of this plan.

We've been involved in the process, and there has been a lot of engagement with community.

Everything that Eric said is actually true.

I consider this a model for what planning should be.

It's not just buildings.

It's building community.

So I support it.

Thank you.

- Thank you very much.

Anyone else wish to make comments during this time on the Westside Evolves plan?

Yes, please.

- Good evening.

I'm RC Reeves.

I'm in District Five.

I just want to make sure when I see the mixed use, and I see the thought process around the different density, I'm excited about that, but I wanna ensure that there is plans to have the right mixed use, so 10, 12 years down, that we're kind of thinking forward.

So that's just the thought process that I have.

And then the other piece is, I know this is probably a little bit for the county too, but I would see a larger influx of children 'cause when I see multifamily, when I see town homes, typically that will have children.

So just wondering, do we have a plan outside of the city for schools?

Are we kind of anticipating X amount to come into this area based on the plan?

And are we having that kind of discussion at the county level to ensure that when you bring these individuals in the area, yes, you got, I see the retail component, but are we thinking about the education component as well?

So just want to put those two things on the record.

Otherwise I do feel like this is a comprehensive plan, and I'm glad to actually see that there is a plan for this area 'cause it's been overlooked for quite some time.

Thank you.

- Thank you, Ms. Reeves.

Anyone else wishing to make any comments on the Westside of Evolves plan?

Yes sir, please.

- Hi, my name is James Mathis.

I have property over in on Ohls Avenue, 3519 Ohls Avenue.

But my concern tonight, I think it's a great plan also.

I was involved some upfront, but I wanted to know how will you all or how will they include minority participation for contractors in the construction and the building of the project?

- [Darrin] Very good.

Betsy and Eric, can you address that with Mr. Matthews?

That'd be great.

- Thank you.

No, I don't know.

- [Darrin] We can do this after the meeting.

- Oh, I'm sorry.

- If you don't mind.

- Sure.

I thought you called.

- This is the opportunity for the conversation to come to us, and that would be fantastic.

Thanks, Betsy.

I appreciate your eagerness, yeah.

- [Betsy] He gave me a nudge.

- Yeah, that's okay.

(attendees laugh) Well, you know, what do we do with Eric, all right?

He's a great guy.

But yeah, if you don't mind, that would be fantastic.

Thank you.

Anyone else wishing to make a comment about the Westside Evolves plan?

Council, I'm seeing no other comments to be made about the plan, so I will close the public hearing on the Westside Evolves plan at this time, and appreciate those who made comments.

And now would be a great opportunity if you would like to answer some questions for those who had them to do that outside of the, maybe in the hallway.

So I appreciate it.

Thank you.

Before we move on with our agenda, and I'm going to ask for our minute approval, I would like to say real quickly a big hello to a dear friend of mine, Mr. Lee Ferguson.

Many of you may have heard me mention his name in the past.

Many, many years ago when I was like five, it was Lee who sparked my interest in planning and zoning through his work in Chattanooga Neighborhood Enterprise, and I appreciate his friendship and mentorship over the years.

And it's really good to see you, sir.

Welcome back to Chattanooga, as you retired.

So, thank you.

Council will approve the minutes upon a motion, please.

- Minutes.

- I have a motion to approve the minutes.

Without objection, the minutes will stand.

Madame Clerk, we have ordinances on final reading, public works item A, please.

- [Clerk] An ordinance closing and abandoning a pedestrian easement on property located at 715 Market Street, as detailed on the attached map, subject to certain conditions.

- Madam Vice-Chair.

- [Raquetta] Move to approve.

- I have a motion to approve.

I had a second to that motion.

Questions, comments before we vote?

All those in favor say aye.

- Aye.

- Opposed?

Item carries.

Ordinances on first reading, planning item A, Madame Clerk.

- [Clerk] An ordinance to amend Chattanooga City Code, part two, chapter 38 zoning ordinance so as to rezone an unaddressed property located in the 1000 block of East 10th Street from URD two, residential detached zone, to URM three, residential multi-unit zone.

- Is the applicant present?

Is there any opposition present?

Councilwoman Noel, you have the floor.

- [Marvene] Thank you, Mr.

Chair.

First of all, let me thank you for working with us on several defers.

So we finally met the neighbors and the developers, and I would like to see a presentation, please.

- Okay, Karen?

And since we have no applicant, we'll go straight to the presentation from Karen.

- Okay, as the presentation pulls up, I'll go ahead and get us started.

This is a request in the 1000, excuse me, the 1000 block of East 10th Street to rezone from one form-based code district to the other.

In this case, it's a URD two, urban residential detach zone, to the URM three, urban residential multi-unit zone.

And this is to develop remote parking for the redevelopment of the Lamar's site restaurant and hotel.

And that was approved by council probably about a month ago at this point.

And so the use of this site is to provide parking for that development.

The form-based code does allow remote parking, so this is not intended to be a full public-pay parking lot, but offsite parking for the other use.

Both staff and planning commission found the rezoning compatible with the MLK plan.

It's an older plan from 2009, found it compatible with adjacent land uses and development form.

And it does come with a recommendation from planning commission to approve.

However, there was opposition at planning commission.

There was concern about, I think one of the items was the brick wall along 10th Street, property values, and light pollution.

So this is the site and the site plan.

I know Councilwoman Noel's been working with the community and received some feedback about, the URM three zone is a pretty wide-open zone.

And I believe the community has some concerns about all the uses in that zone perhaps not being compatible.

So a condition that has been developed to address the community's concerns is subject to remote parking only for that site, which is tax map number 146HQ20, and subject to the parking location, as shown on the site plan.

And I believe that that helps reinforce the frontage along 10th Street where it's pushed back a little bit from 10th Street, and the intention is to maintain that stone wall, I believe, along 10th Street.

- [Darrin] Very good.

Councilwoman Noel?

- Thank you, Karen.

Mr.

Chair, I make a motion to approve.

- I have a motion to approve.

I have a second.

Questions, comments?

Councilwoman.

- [Marvene] Mr.

Chair, I move to amend by adding the condition subject to remote parking only for tax map number 146HQ020 and subject to parking location, as show shown on the site plan.

- Have a motion to amend.

I do have a second to that motion.

Questions, comments?

We are voting on the amendment.

All those in favor say aye.

- [Council Members] Aye.

- Opposed?

Councilwoman Noel.

- [Marvene] Mr.

Chair, I move to approve as amended.

- A motion to approve as amended.

I have a second to that motion, several seconds.

Questions, comments, before we vote?

This is to approve as amended.

All those in favor say aye.

- [Council Members] Aye.

- Opposed?

Item carries as amended.

Thank you, Councilwoman.

- [Marvene] Thank you, Mr.

Chair.

- Yes, ma'am.

Madame Clerk, resolutions, economic development.

Without objections from council, will you please read A, B, and C?

And we'll take those as a package.

- [Clerk] Yes, sir.

Item A, a resolution authorized the mayor or his designee to enter into a third agreement to exercise option to renew with the Forgotten Child Fund, Inc. in substantially the form attached to lease approximately 1,142 square feet of office space at 1715 East Main Street, identified as tax map number 156BD011, for an additional term of three months through January 31, 2023 for the rent of $1 per term.

Item B, a resolution authorizing the mayor or his designee to enter into a third agreement to exercise option to renew with the Forgotten Child Fund, Inc. in substantially the form attached to lease approximately 19,516 square feet of warehouse space at 1815 East Main Street, identified as tax map number 156BD009 for an additional term of three months through January 31st, 2023 for the rent of $1 per term.

Item C, a resolution authorizing the mayor to execute quitclaim deeds conveying six certain or certain combinations of parcels in substantially the form attached to the approved highest bidders on jointly owned properties of the City of Chattanooga and Hamilton County, as acquired through previous delinquent tax sales.

- Have a motion to approve.

I do have a second to that motion.

Questions, comments, on items A through C?

All those in favor say aye.

- Aye.

- Opposed?

Items A through C carry.

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