There were three requests brought to the East Ridge City Council from developers to rezone property in the city to multi-family residential. Two were approved. Rezoning 636 and 650 Layfield Road will be the newest site where Stone Creek Consulting will build townhomes after the plan was approved to rezone it from R-1 Single Family Residential to R-3 Residential Apartment District on the first of two votes. The property will be the location of five residential single-family townhomes with parking at the rear, but the .53 acres will have no lot lines to separate the homes.
A vote was also in favor for the first reading to rezone 1438 N. Smith Street from the current R-1 Residential and C-1 Tourism Commercial to RT-1 Residential Townhome district. There will be three townhomes built on the property. The original request for building four townhomes was changed after the planning commission meeting to reduce the number of units to three, and parking was moved behind the buildings, and there will be a landscaped buffer. This use is considered to be a good transition and an appropriate use in the area that is behind a McDonalds restaurant and which has offices across the street.
A request to rezone part of the property at 861 Donaldson Road and the entire lot at 865 Donaldson Road for building four townhomes on the combined .63 acres, was denied. This property is surrounded by single family residential and multi-family residential dwellings. After hearing comments at the planning commission meeting the developer moved the garages to the back of the townhomes and designed the development with a single driveway for all units. The plan to put four townhouses onto about one third acre was too dense for Council members Jacky Cagle, Aundie Witt and Mayor Brian Williams, who all voted against the rezoning with just two votes in favor.
Another request to rezone 205 Eads St., a single-family home in the Jordan Run subdivision, from R-1 Single Family to R-2 Residential Duplex District also failed. The owner had planned to live upstairs and use the first level as a short-term rental.
City Manager Scott Miller proposed installing “Welcome to East Ridge” signs at the entrances to the city, since he said East Ridge is becoming a force in the area with the increase in all type of development - housing, restaurants, commercial and road improvements. The council approved the city manager’s request to solicit proposals for sign consultants to design and build the signage.
East Ridge is also working to clean up the city where there are a lot of properties that are overgrown and dirty. An ordinance for property maintenance regulations passed on the final vote to allow the city to go onto owner occupied property a number of times and perform the work needed to bring the property into compliance with the city codes.
A new garbage truck that was ordered last February has been delivered. Because the delivery date for the truck was unknown, the cost was not included in the budget, said Finance Director Diane Qualls. A budget amendment was passed for $266,000, which will pay for the new vehicle.
Also passed was a resolution that approved applying for and accepting the statewide grant program from Tennessee that will help place a school resource officer in each of the city’s public schools. East Ridge will apply for four officers at $75,000 each. It was noted that the actual cost will be more because of the equipment that the officers will need in addition to their salaries. And in the future this funding could be withdrawn when the governor changes and the city would be totally responsible for the cost, said Police Chief Clint Uselton.
The council voted to accept a $425 Kia Pet Adoption Grant for 2023. The money will be used to reduce adoption fees for all available pets in the East Ridge Animal Shelter.
Application will also be made for a grant from the state that could be used to renovate the East Ridge History Center. The amount that the grant could provide is anywhere from $8,000 to $100,000 and, if it is received, would have to be used for capital maintenance and improvements. The city manager has identified projects that could be done for the various amounts that city could be awarded.
An emergency purchase of a new HVAC system for the police department was authorized. One of the units at the police building failed completely, said Mr. Miller. At the time when temperatures are in the 90’s outside, the building is even hotter, which resulted in the city manager making the decision to declare it an emergency and having the unit replaced for $21,540. The council concurred and approved the expenditure after it had already been made.
The council also voted to adopt an air pollution control ordinance brought to the city from the Air Pollution Bureau. Executive Director of the Bureau Ron Drumeller told the Council that the provisions in the regulations are no less stringent than the state law that has recently been updated. All municipalities in Hamilton County are adopting the changes, he said.
Some upcoming events in East Ridge include an event to celebrate National Dog Day. The East Ridge Parks and Recreation along with East Ridge Animal Services will hold “Pups and Pops in the Park” at the city’s dog park behind city hall on Saturday, Aug. 26, from 10 a.m. until noon. There will be frozen treats for both dogs and humans. Admission is free and no registration is required.
A fundraiser for the Needy Child Fund on Saturday, Sept. 23, will be held in the parking lot of Mercantile at 6725 Ringgold Road.
The mayor and city council members recognized Sergeant Tim Spires for 40 years of service to East Ridge. He came to work in 1983 and Mayor Williams said he had gone above and beyond the call of duty for both the police department and the community during that time.