Regional Planning Agency Executive Director on Tuesday recommended the formation of a Housing Task Force to work on providing affordable housing and other issues.
He said main focuses of the task force also would be codes and policies and neighborhood revitalization.
Speaking at the conclusion of a year-long study, Mr. Bridger said thousands of Chattanoogans still struggle with affordable housing, including those displaced from closed public housing developments.
He said the city might adopt some innovative housing solutions, including the idea of allowing accessory apartments in some areas.
He said that would allow an apartment to be built on a house for the owner to obtain extra income and provide living space for a relative.
Another idea is for co-housing, where residents share some common space but also have private quarters.
Another option is quarters that allow live, work and play.
Mr. Bridger said multi-housing developments may be called for along traffic corridors and near high-activity areas.
He said codes enforcement may need to be mobilized for blighted neighborhoods where slum housing detracts from property values - especially when on a street corner.
Mr. Bridger said one possibility to boost affordable housing is for the formation of an Affordable Housing Trust to provide funding. Another is to come up with incentives and fees.