During a commission meeting Monday night, the Collegedale Board of Commissioners voted to rezone parts of Edgmon Road and approve Empire Communities’ proposed unit development (PUD) overlay for certain properties on the road, including the land currently housing Hidden Hills Farm and Saddle Club. Commissioners voted unanimously for both ordinances despite numerous Collegedale residents who spoke in opposition at the meeting, which can be viewed on the City of Collegedale’s YouTube channel.
A sense of dissent began to permeate the meeting room in City Hall almost immediately after Mayor Katie Lamb informed attendees they would be allotted 15 minutes to speak. Sounds of disagreement resounded, and Lamb asked for silence. She said she and the other commissioners had received many messages from concerned citizens and felt they were aware of how people felt.
During the public hearing, individuals issued concerns similar to those presented by the public at former Municipal Planning Commission meetings. Concerns involved traffic, flooding, high lot densities, fire safety and the chance of endangered species on the property. Some said they felt unheard by city leaders.
The first individual to speak recounted statements made by Lamb during her mayoral campaign, one of which read, “We don’t want to just be a bedroom community of Chattanooga. We want to be unique.”
After he finished, the audience clapped.
“Can we avoid any clapping [or] hollering. … We want to have some decorum,” Lamb said. “I will not hesitate to have the room cleared.”
Southern Voices
Two Southern Adventist University employees spoke: Zach Gray, professor in the School of Visual Art and Design and Eve Knight, administrative assistant for Academic Administration.
“I would like to highlight the unintended consequences of dismissing the concerns of a large number of citizens,” Gray said. “ … I think this commission is made up of well-meaning individuals with a high degree of personal integrity and have the best interests of the city in mind. However, in this case, I have seen the concerns of the citizens dismissed. … The commission has not made a compelling argument for how this development would help the city.”
Gray also expressed concerns about how the proposed land use has been calculated, a worry shared by Knight at the meeting and explained further in a previous Accent article.
“I’ve been listening, and it seems like you guys haven’t been,” Knight said to the commissioners. “You have hundreds of people who voiced concerns, and there has been zero discussion on some things that you can change, like lowering the number of homes.
“That is way too many houses in way too small a space,” she continued, pointing to the PUD’s master use plan on a nearby screen.” … I would like to know the reasons this commission has for completely ignoring the concerns.”
Knight added that she appreciated that Commissioner Debbie Baker drove to finished Empire developments to examine the home builder’s quality of work. After the public hearing, Baker said Empire’s projects were well-constructed based on her observations, and Vice Mayor Tim Johnson read positive reviews of Empire communicated to him by other city leaders.
“I’ve met with Empire; I’ve talked with Empire,” Johnson said. “I wrote to one of their references in the city of Alpharetta. They basically said, ‘[Our] city demands quality, and Empire builds a great product. They are well thought of by the city and the city planners. The neighborhoods are beautiful. They sell out quick.’”
Community Petition
Austin Miller, a Cleveland resident who presented a petition against the planned development at the Sept. 12 planning commission meeting, brought his petition, consisting of 3,530 signatures, before the commissioners. He said 1,696 of those who signed live within a 45-minute driving radius to Hidden Hills.
“This is not a community in a tizzy because they are afraid of change,” Miller said. “This is a well-informed and educated community looking to put a stop to the pillaging of this land. If you as a council cannot see the overwhelming consensus of your community, you are intentionally disregarding the wishes of your constituents.”
Johnson addressed the petition by stating no direct addresses were provided, something he also questioned at the Sept. 12 planning commission meeting.
The last individual who spoke to the commissioners said, “I really, really hope you’ll vote no on this rezoning, but if you don’t, please do not vote unanimously yes. That was a slap in the face at the planning commission.”
Mike Price, MAP Engineers owner and Empire’s representative, rose to speak at the conclusion of the public hearing. First, he responded to an individual’s statements that the PUD violates FEMA regulations and fire code by explaining how, according to his knowledge as a registered engineer in Tennessee, both statements are wrong. He added that the development plans have been emailed to Collegedale’s fire marshall and meet his requirements.
In response to residents’ concerns about density, he said the PUD’s density rests at 1.25 units per acre and thus corresponds with what he believes Collegedale wants to see. He continued to respond to multiple community concerns, including those about traffic, flooding and endangered species, stating that the developers have taken all these things into account and will continue to do so if relevant information is revealed in the future.
After Lamb closed the public hearing and the commissioners addressed their own questions, she thanked the audience for the messages she received, most of which indicated feelings against the PUD. She said the Chastain family, who owns the land to be rezoned, wishes to change their land from agriculture to business, and the PUD will provide quality housing.
“We live in a changing world, and change cannot be totally avoided even though we would like that at times,” Lamb said. “It may not go the way you want it. It may not go the way I want it. But I’m just asking for your understanding. We have tried; we have listened to you. We don’t always get our way.”
After the vote, Miller and his girlfriend, Lydia Mitchell, who also voiced her concerns during the public hearing, spoke with the Accent.
“I think it’s a shame. It’s unfortunate,” Miller said. “I would like to commend [Commissioner Larry Hanson] personally because he said ‘yes’ reluctantly. I appreciate his honesty and understanding.
“In terms of the petition, I got a lot of pushback last meeting. I was very upset, so I came back with a vengeance and pulled together stats,” Miller continued. “ … I went through; I read every single zip code. … Johnson was very adamant … making sure I knew what I was talking about. He decided to point out the few people from outside the state.”
Mitchell jumped in and said, “[Some commissioners and Price] emphasized many times that these houses are built because there’s tons of people from outside the community who want to come in. Who’s to say that [the out-of-state signees’] opinions don’t matter since they are from outside the community expressing their opinions? They could be people who want to move in.”
“I am floored that Mike Price has made it this far in the realm of public discourse,” Miller said.
Together, he and Mitchell described Price’s argument technique as “dismiss, defame and deflect.”
“His argument to the initial petition was ‘People just like to say ‘no’ to things. … I don’t trust change.org,’” Miller continued. “I gave him a copy of my petition today. He did not seem to pick it up or look at it.”
Developer’s Perspective
The Accent spoke with Price after the meeting ended, and he said he thought the commissioners made the right decision.
“Nobody likes change, and I understand that,” he said. “We could all leave things in its nice pristine way that it currently is; everybody would love to see that. But the reality is, at the end of the day, the property owners do want to sell it, so then you have to look at what’s the best option if they are going to sell it.”
In response to some residents’ concerns that the developers’ proposed density is being presented in a deceptive way, Price said density has always been determined by gross acreage.
“It’s not deception,” he said. “ … [If you don’t use gross acreage], you can shift the area that you want to simply look at, and you can come up with all sorts of different numbers. That creates undefinable terms of what density actually becomes unless you use the overall acreage.”
Disappointed Neighbors
Phyllis Smartt, who lives with her husband Charles Smartt on Edgmon Road, said during the public hearing that they built their home off Edgmon around 45 years ago and raised their two daughters there. Smartt described living in Collegedale as a dream come true; however, she believes the proposed development would decrease the couple’s and their neighbors’ property values.
After the vote, the couple spoke with the Accent about their disappointment.
“I can’t even believe they considered approving a project like that that will allow you to put eight homes on one acre. … It’s ridiculous,” Charles Smartt said. “And [Johnson] said he’s never seen [the property] flood. Well, I couldn’t even get home from work three or four times because [the road] was flooded so deep. … I’m just, I’m shocked. … It’s just astounding to me that they would approve this.”
During the meeting, Johnson said he’s lived off Edgmon for 24 years and has never personally seen water run across the road, causing the audience to laugh. Lamb tapped her gavel and asked the room to quiet down or she would clear the room.
Phyllis Smartt, standing beside her husband and daughter after the meeting, said she is not looking forward to seeing the PUD so near her home.
“We’ll be looking at rooftops across the road, and then we’ll turn right and be looking at houses like army barracks,” she said. “You used to [be able to] come down Lee Highway and look over to the left there over the train tracks and see the prettiest country around anywhere, country that anybody else would love to have, you know — just God’s country. And they’re going to ruin all that.”
The Smartts added that over the years, they’ve found arrowheads and Civil War bullets on their property.
The Accent asked Lamb to comment on the meeting after it ended. She acknowledged the disappointment felt by the crowd but said she believes the conditions added by the developers after listening to community complaints at planning commission meetings improved the PUD. She also believes Empire Communities does quality work.
“To my knowledge, we’ve broken no regulations,” Lamb said in response to concerns about fire and flooding safety made by residents during the meeting. “I don’t believe the city engineer and planner would allow that.”
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