A Moccasin Bend resident is asking the city to move a police firing range from off the historic Bend so he can open a bed and breakfast inn.
Steve Holmes also said the move needs to take place because the new Moccasin Bend National Park is set to begin implementing its management plan early next year. He said the park should bring 250,000 visitors to Chattanooga each year with a $20 million economic impact.
The City Council deferred action until Jan. 9 on a rezoning request. Councilman Chip Henderson asked that wording be drafted that says the bed and breakfast inn could begin operating when the firing range closes.
Mr. Holmes said his 20-acre property on a hill at the Bend is "in the bulls eye" of the firing range.
He said the range is also a danger to the growing number of residents just across the river at Cameron Harbor.
Mr. Holmes said he wants to open a B&B, rental cabins and rental tree houses on the property once the danger of "flying projectiles" passes.
The range is "a real hazard," he said.
Mickey Robbins of the Friends of Moccasin Bend also urged removal of the firing range, calling it "a roadblock" in the development of the park and extension of the Riverwalk.
A Cameron Harbor resident said when she bought her residence she did not realize there was a firing range nearby.
"The first time I heard it I thought it was fireworks," she said.