Mike Price of the team developing a new Publix at the foot of Lookout Mountain said the group is continuing to refine a plan that will have the grocery built under Urban General Commercial (UGC) zoning.
He said the developers have withdrawn an earlier request for C-2 zoning that was opposed by some St. Elmo residents.
The leader of a St. Elmo group opposing commercial zoning for the new Publix at the foot of Lookout Mountain on Monday said he believed the Publix developer still planned to try to get C-2 zoning.
Bert Kuyrkendall said Publix had not followed through with seeking a variance from the Board of Zoning Appeals after earlier getting a variance from the Planning Commission that would allow the project to go through as UGC.
The Regional Planning Agency staff had recommended denial at the Planning Commission, saying the latest plan for the project at the former site of the Mount Vernon restaurant and Pizza Hut still did not have the appropriate urban design.
Mr. Kuyrkendall said he believes Publix "is lining up support to try to have the retrogressive zoning passed."
Bryan Shults of the RPA confirmed that Publix has not made an application to the zoning appeals board.
He said the Publix case is on the Planning Commission agenda for Aug. 13 left over from when it was passed earlier.
Mr. Price said on Tuesday, "During the the June Planning Commission meeting, the request to rezone the property to C2 was deferred for two months and was slated to be heard at the Aug. 13 Planning Commission meeting.
"As of today, the development team has requested this case to be withdrawn to dispel rumors that an 'under the radar' attempt was being made to still try and get a C-2 zoning on the site. In fact, at no time since the Planning Commission voted by a large majority to approve the building size increase for the high end grocer; there have been no effort to seek a C-2 zoning approval. In fact, all efforts have been devoted to continue working to improve the plan and finalize important details such as:
a) Determine the exact variances needed.
b) Begin preparing updated architectural elevations of the proposed buildings that will be receive input from the the neighborhood committee.
c) Prepare an updated landscape planting plan to finalize the street edge treatment required by UGC and complete planning for other design elements.
"Once these elements are completed, the development team will meet with the City staff and planners to confirm compliance with City Code and determine what specific variances are required. Once, if any variances are determined to be required, a request will be made to the Board of Zoning Appeals.
"Given the importance of this project to the area, these design elements take time to work through. Once the proper time, planning and review has occurred, the appropriate request will be applied for. We appreciate the interest of the community and look forward to the day when we can unveil more details for this project."
Mr. Kuyrkendall earlier gave this "basic update on the Publix site":
1. June 11th Planning Commission: There was strong turnout from citizens opposed to rezoning the site from Urban Commercial (UGC) to Convenience Commercial (C2). Feeling the pressure of opposition, the developer deferred his request for rezoning for two months (to the August 13th PC meeting), and indicated that he would pursue compromise designs.
2. July 9th Planning Commission: The developer requested a size variance to exceed the 12,500 s.f. maximum allowed in UGC. The Regional Planning Agency recommended denial, but the Planning Commission voted to approve the variance in a divided vote. The developer presented a plan that differed only slightly from the original big-box plan by adding a small retail strip in the northeast corner of the lot. During presentations and afterwards to the media, statements were made that gave the impression that the Planning Commission had approved the site plan submitted by the developer. However, this is false. The only decision the PC made and could make was the size variance. In order for the site plan to be approved, setbacks and other variances would have to be approved by a separate body, the Board of Zoning Appeals (BOZA). At this point the developer has submitted no variance request to BOZA, which meets monthly.
3. Upcoming August 13 Planning Commission: At this point the developer has not removed his application for rezoning from UGC to C2, so it will be on the agenda at the upcoming PC meeting in August. The developer probably hopes this meeting will go under the radar and is lining up support to try to have the retrogressive zoning passed.
To work to prevent this from happening (C2-big box fronted by massive parking lot) and ensure good, responsible development (UGC-site fronted by mixed-use buildings with parking hidden behind, like the North Shore Whole Foods), we need to:
>Contact our Council members to remind them that we want to keep the walkable, mixed-use, urban vision and zoning for the South Broad district, especially our Councilman Erskine Oglesby eoglesbyjr@chattanooga.gov , and Darrin Ledforddledford@chattanooga.gov who serves as chair of the Council's Planning and Zoning Committee.
>Attend the August 13 Planning Commission meeting. We need to fill the commission meeting room to send the message to the Planning Commission and to the City Council that we expect the plans and resulting zoning adopted by the neighborhoods and City Council be respected and followed by developers who chose to do work in our city.
>Attend the September Council meetings where the rezoning issue will truly be decided. The Planning Commission’s vote is a recommendation to the Council—the Council decides the matter. More updates to come on those meeting dates.
Bert Kuyrkendall