A landowner’s request that Soddy-Daisy planning commissioners rezone 107 Tsati Terrace (formerly 11111 Hixson Pike) from single-family residential to multi-family residential has stirred up a storm on social media sites in the community.
“Greetings Soddy Neighbors,” as reposted from Angie Roberson Markum's page last week on Soddy-Daisy Community Grapevine.
“There is a request before the Planning Commission to rezone 107 Tsati Terrace from A-1 to R-3 for the purpose of constructing a 90+ unit section-8 housing project,” it say. “If you are for that, that is okay.
I love all my neighbors. ”
However, the post states, “it is at the intersection where I get on the 4-lane every morning, and I prefer not to have a couple of hundred more cars there at the same time.
“I am not opposed to growth,” she said. “I am just opposed to that magnitude of growth right there for that purpose at this time.”
She asked that others opposed to the proposed rezoning fill out a form attached to her post.
“You need to be a city resident or have a vested interest in the area,” she cautioned. “The deadline to fill in the form is May 11. Addresses will be checked, and you must be willing to have your opposition confirmed by phone or email.”
That deadline comes just one day before the May meeting of the Soddy Daisy Municipal Planning Commission, which meets at noon on the second Wednesday of each month.
It’s unclear how many people so far have filled out and returned the petitions. However, online reaction has been steady and occasionally heated.
To begin with, some bloggers wanted to know, exactly why is a proposal to build section 8 housing in Soddy-Daisy being made at this time.
“Just my opinion,” Michael Murphy wrote, “but I think this has something to do with the planning of the west side projects currently underway,” he theorized. “Chattanooga has wanted to tear them down for years. Now I think it’s moving forward. There’s definitely more to this story. The powers that be didn’t just magically decide ‘oh, we’re gonna build a big section 8 complex way out in Soddy.’"
Some, however, took a tongue-in-cheek approach to the proposal.
“If you’re worried about a traffic jam,” Missy Forsten Holloway reassured other writers, “no problem . . . people on section 8 rarely rush out into rush hour traffic to rush to a job.”
A sizable number, however, welcomed the proposal.
“My opinion will not be popular . . . but I really don’t care,” Marty Penny wrote. “This city is in desperate need of affordable housing. You only have to look at the daily posts from people who are looking for a place to live in a specific price range (typically the $600-$800 a month range).”
Further, he wrote, “since when are we able to dictate what others do with their property. Unless you live in a (homeowner association) neighborhood (you agreed to the rules when you bought your house), that is your property and as long as the planning commission . . . signs off on it, who are we to tell someone that they can’t build an apartment complex, put up a privacy fence or install a swimming pool? We don’t pay the property taxes and our names are not on the deed.
“Everybody is all for apartment or mobile home parks, as long as it is in someone else’s backyard,” he concluded.
Click here for the petition.