I would like to thank the Regional Planning Commission and the Regional Planning Agency for denying the recent application for a variance from the current zoning requirements in place for the 1200 block of Cowart Street. The developers want to build a 7-story parking deck with 141 efficiency and one-bedroom apartments wrapped around three sides in an area with a 48' height limit. The City Council should have taken your advice and denied their request for a variance.
The property is adjacent to the Market and Main Street Historic District.
In 1989 the Market and Main Street Historic district was created to provide incentives for restoring Historic Properties. The Historic District starts at Porkers Bar-B-Que and continues south down Market and Cowart Streets to Main Street. It includes Main Street properties from Cowart to two blocks east of Market. The historic buildings in this area were built during the booming railroad era and have been converted into a "mixed use sustainable neighborhood".
Summary of National Register of Historic Buildings restored since 1989.
Address Ground Floor Use Upper floor Use
1251 Market St. Porker's Bar-B-Que Office Space
1263 Market St. Temple Fitness Residential
1265 Market St. Southside Salon Residential
1269 Market St. Boutique Coutour Residential
1280 Market St. Office Space & St. John's Restaurant Residential
1301 Market St. Southern Railroad Bldg. -Office Space Residential
1401 Market St The Grand Hotel - Commercial space Residential
1419 Market St. Morgan Adams - Office Space Residential
1431 Market St. Commercial space fronting Market Residential
1437 Market St. Commercial Space One Story bldg.
1463 Market St. Clark Brothers Bldg- Commercial Space Residential
1426 Williams St. The Crab Tree Bldg.-Commercial Space Residential
1427 Williams St. Commercial Space/Artist Studio & Residence One Story
1433 Williams St. Commercial Space Residential
201 Main St. Commercial Space/Restaurants Office Space
25 East Main Alleia Restaurant Residential
45 East Main Commercial Space Residentail
55 East Main Blue Grass Grille Restaurant Residential
61 East Main Commercial Space One Story
This is the Market and Main Street Historic District, all constructed prior to the automobile.
The urban planners hired by Andy Berke to guide the future development of our downtown have recommended buildings with commercial space on the ground floor and with offices or apartments on the upper floors . The goal here is that people would live and work in the same "neighborhood". All of the great cities of Europe were built this way, shops on the ground floor and usually the owners lived upstairs. So pay attention, this next part is important. If you get enough sustainable buildings in one area you have a sustainable neighborhood. The Market and Main Street Historic district has become a sustainable neighborhood.
On Nov. 10th in less that two minutes, Chris Anderson, ignorant of all of the above concepts, swoops into the City Council meeting with a revised motion to approve a developer's application for two variances. One to build a building without any commercial space on the ground floor and another to allow a 7-story building in an area with a current height limit of 48 feet. Chris Anderson then tells the City Council that he has canvassed the neighborhood and 80 percent of the people approved this project. His motion gets a second and it is all over with. The local engineer hired to push this project through gets up and tells the council that this project provides much needed downtown housing and will be an asset to the neighborhood.
Since the meeting I have not found one person in the 1200 Block of Market who was polled about this development. The project will be a liability for the neighborhood - not an asset. Maybe Chris Anderson polled the wrong neighborhood. Maybe they could build it there. The proposed building does not fit into this neighborhood, it is out of scale, and it is not sustainable as all of the residents will have to leave to find work. I have seen a building like this at an I-75 exit north of Atlanta, A parking deck with apartments wrapped around it, where residents come home to sleep and then get up to hop in their cars and go downtown to work. The pinnacle of development in a country designed around the automobile. Imagine opening the door of your apartment to a view of a parking deck. What more could anyone want?
I would encourage the City Council to rethink their hasty approval of this project, and vote no to this variance request on Dec. 1.
Sincerely,
Thomas Johnson
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The City Council is getting too big for its britches these days. In spite of the Planning Commission recommending denial of the proposed 7-story building on the Southside, they went ahead and tried to push it through.
The Council members are not trained and should rely on the Planning Commission to make these educated decisions. The Planning Commission recommended denial of a project on Shallowford Road adjacent to my property recently only to have the City Council push it through anyway.
Ken Snyder
Chattanooga
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Kind of like the old E.F. Hutton commercials I believe that when Thomas Johnson speaks about downtown development people should listen. Especially people like those on the City Council. After all, Mr. Johnson has proved is dedication to the city, preserving many structures giving them significant ongoing use keeping these wonderful links to the past.
I am very disappointed in the actions of Chris Anderson which truly do smell and have the distinct appearance of being self-serving. Only a bit less of the other city council members who voted for the variance and would encourage reconsideration of the variance for all the right reasons.
Michael Lawrence
Chattanooga