posted July 8, 2009
Do you drive up and down Signal Mountain? If so, and you’re concerned about a significant increase in automobile and truck traffic due to increased development, please come to the public hearing on the repeal of the Shackleford Ridge Overlay Zone (SROZ) this Monday at 6:30 p.m. at the Signal Mountain Town Hall.
The Signal Mountain Planning Commission has recommended that the Council repeal the SROZ that decreased zoning on Shackleford Ridge from .5 houses per acre to .3 houses per acre, increasing the number of houses developers can build by 50%.
The SROZ was passed in 2006 despite widespread lack of public support.
The majority of the town did not believe its infrastructure could support a 50% increase in housing on Shackleford Ridge and the subsequent increase in vehicles and road traffic. And nothing has changed. The roads up and down the mountain still have significant condition issues and are not on TDOT’s schedule to be replaced any time soon. It is not a question of “if” but “when” there will be cave-ins.
Signal Mountain residents are not the only ones who use these roads either. Our neighbors in Hamilton County, Sequachie County, and the Town of Walden use them too. Out of respect for them, perhaps instead of returning to ½-acre minimum zoning on Shackleford Ridge, the Council should consider a 2-acre minimum like Walden. One acre would be a nice compromise. Let’s limit growth to what our infrastructure can sustain—at least until we get some new roads.
Sincerely,
Teresa Jones
Signal Mountain
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