Interested citizens gathered Tuesday night to hear a presentation by Lookout Mountain, Ga. Mayor David Bennett about plans to create a new Town Center. This was the second public meeting to discuss the plan and to gather suggestions. In 2007, a fire destroyed the grocery store on Lula Lake Road. That land was bought by the town in 2011. Instead of rebuilding what was lost, plans got bigger, and officials decided to create a “town center.” Phil Walker, a consultant, was hired to guide the town through the process.
The initial study area of 16 and one half acres included land that is not yet owned by the town. The plan that is now being considered is smaller and sits only on land that is currently owned. The gas station will remain and is not included in the design that is being developed, but 12-15 acres of undeveloped land adjacent to and behind it may be available to use for a walking trail.
The vision of the original plan was well received, said the mayor, but because of financial concerns was never implemented. Over the eight and a half years since the fire, five conceptual plans have been presented for consideration, but elements of that original design are what are now being used as a guide moving forward. Mr. Walker determined that a town center should be the center of the community, and its heart and soul. There should be municipal space, retail space and open, public spaces. The study also identified the style of architecture that is liked by the community, best identified as Tudor.
At the time, there was a need for a grocery store, office space, retail businesses and dining options. A community center was also seen as desirable. The town hall should be designed as a multi-use building.
The plan that best suits the requirements will have the municipal buildings located toward the back of the property with the “village green,” an amphitheater between city hall and the fire and police building. These structures would all be built and owned by the town. In front of the municipal buildings and along the property that fronts Lula Lake Road would be commercial property that would be sold to a developer to build and manage. The town would provide design guidelines to the developer that must be followed.
The planned timeline is to first re-engage the public for their input before taking the next step. This feedback will be given to the architect who will do drawings. From those, cost estimates will be made. It is hoped that a community presentation can be made sometime in late summer 2016.
The first question from the room was how it would be paid for. Mayor Bennett said in the last three years the town has been able to put money back into reserves. He is hoping that there is now the ability to cover the debt service with money from the reserves. Budget talks are in progress and that will help determine the financial situation.
Will zoning restrict what is done was another question. Zoning will be created for just this area. The planning committee will meet on March 8 to begin working on it. All decisions will be made in public meetings, it was stated.
Five developers have expressed interest so far, said Mayor Bennett. The style determined by the town will be given as just guidelines. If mountain stone is required, costs would increase causing rents to go up, he said. The developers would also have the ability to divide a building to “condo-it,” or sell one of the commercial buildings. The maximum height limit is now 35 feet in the town, but there is some flexibility in that too, said the mayor. There is no minimum square foot requirement in the plans; however there is a maximum, dictated by the limitations of the property size.
A suggestion was made, for safety reasons, to separate the parking from Lula Lake Road by a median with a sidewalk or to put parking behind the buildings. Another suggestion was to move the fire department “down the road.” The original consultant determined that this is the perfect location for the fire department from a safety standpoint, said the mayor, so that building will remain as part of the new development.
The building may take place in stages. It is yet to be determined which will be started first, the commercial or municipal structures. This will depend on the budget, said the mayor.
Mayor Bennett said, “Everything we do going forward, we want to make sure we operate with good financial stewardship. We want to operate with good sound financial judgment.”
Resident and business owner Bill Chapin told the audience that more property taxes and sales taxes will be generated by the commercial aspect of this plan and that would supplement the current budget as another funding source.
To contribute ideas or make comments about this plan, survey forms are available at the town hall.