W.V. Robinson with Rep. Patsy Hazlewood
photo by Gail Perry
Soddy Daisy’s zoning ordinance was changed Thursday night to allow smaller lot sizes.
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The existing ordinance required a minimum of 75 feet of road frontage for a building lot. After the vote, the minimum width of lots was reduced to 50 feet. This was initiated by Commissioner Gene Shipley who believes it will help Soddy Daisy compete with other cities in Hamilton County and in the Chattanooga area by allowing a greater number of smaller lot sizes to accommodate cottage type houses with small yards that he believes will keep people in the city.
He sees this as a benefit to retirees who would like to reduce yard maintenance.
Commissioner Robert Cothran expressed concern about this issue coming from his constituents and from himself. Fearing that the small lots would cause poor quality development since the maximum width of a house would be 30 feet after all the setbacks are satisfied. He asked for suggestions of how the city could safeguard against bad construction on the tiny lots and put restrictions on the buildings.
“You could take the finest subdivision in Soddy Daisy and a redneck could junk it up,” said Commissioner Shipley. Arnold Stulce, an interested citizen of Soddy Daisy, said he remembered the small company-owned houses from the past that were built in Soddy Daisy and said they are still slums today. He said that he just threw this out as a word of caution.
City Attorney Sam Elliott made the suggestion that this lot size could be restricted to certain areas of the city. A vote was unanimous to approve the zoning change, even though some did it reluctantly.
This change affects only houses that are hooked up to the sewer. If a building has a septic tank, the minimum width will become 65 feet of road frontage. Commissioners said that the composition of soil all around Soddy Daisy varies, some areas have chert and some have creek rock underlying and there is a difference in the way they perk. It was suggested to have a requirement of having the soil tested to determine the size lot that would be needed for a septic system. The motion passed to explore this process.
The owner of the industrial park in Soddy Daisy has asked for relief from an M-1 zoning ordinance that requires a conditional permit for a business to operate. These permits are given by the planning commission that meets just one time a month, which makes it difficult for some people to schedule hearings when they are needed. A suggestion was made for conditional permits to be approved by the board of zoning appeals because they meet more often. Another solution would be to revert back to the original zoning in the industrial park which was M2. This allows only the uses that are specified in that zoning designation.
Soddy Daisy has had some unexpected expenses during the year that were not in the budget such as a lightning strike that did a lot of damage at city hall. Other spending was moved into this year’s budget from the previous year for various reasons. An amendment to the current budget was necessary to clean up these expenditures.
State Rep. Patsy Hazlewood presented a special proclamation on behalf of the Tennessee House of Representatives jointly with the state Senate to W.V. Roberson. This honor recognized Mr. Roberson’s contributions to the Soddy Daisy community and for improving the quality of life. Among other things, he has been instrumental in providing meals to veterans and putting flags along the highways and in front of city hall on Veteran’s Day and Flag Day. He has also been involved in collecting toys during Christmas for children in Soddy Daisy and in collecting coats for needy children.