I am in opposition to the Lookout Valley Walmart. I will be attending the planning commission meeting on Monday, June 14, to voice my opposition.
Three factors play in my opposition. First, the neighborhood adjacent to the proposed facility will suffer from light pollution and air pollution. The air contamination source will be nightly parking of 50 to 100 semitrailer rigs with engines running. Property values of Moss and Astor Avenue homes will fall and resale will be largely for rental ownership.
Second, traffic is already a problem with two underpasses in Lookout Valley and St. Elmo narrowed to two lanes. Watch this when the interstate is shut.
Third, business in Lookout Valley with approximately 50 business locations will suffer. At this time from I-24 to Scenic highway along Cummings Hwy of those locations for retail there are 15 either shuttered or with "for sale" or "for lease" signs. At least seven businesses currently in Lookout Valley will suffer: Ace Hardware, Bi-lo, Sun and Shade, Food Lion, CVS, White Auto Parts, and Sharp Automotive. Four of those are locally owned.
What members of this community who oppose this proposed change need are our voices and our presence on Monday, June 14. Lookout Valley can grow in a responsible and sustainable manner. We are seven minutes by unclogged interstate to the courthouse. This fact alone could make this community stay a bedroom community much more convenient to downtown jobs than Signal Mountain, Hixson, or Brainerd.
Please feel free to contact me at 821-1988 or prenticehicks@mindspring.com. Most of all, tell our neighbors to join with us. We can preserve the integrity we currently have in this community.
Prentice Hicks
(423) 821-1988 phone/fax
http://www.prenticehicks.com