The Collegedale Commission approved a new real estate development aimed for mid-level pricing. Commissioner Debbie Baker said that the city is losing people in that income tier because the price of housing and rentals have been increasing so much they can no longer afford to live in Collegedale.
The new development is actually on three separate parcels all along La Collina Way, off of Apison Pike, and is surrounded by compatible uses, said City Planner Jason Allin. The commissioners approved rezoning the properties from C-2 Commercial to R-1-T, Residential Townhome District.
The townhouses are planned as zero lot line homes with the density of five per acre. Twelve units will be on one of the parcels, 22 units on another and 19 units on the third parcel. The developer wants the price point for the units to be in the low $300,000s. They will be built to be sold individually and not for rental property.
The planning commission recommended that the city approve rezoning of all three properties. There will buffers of trees and vegetation around the buildings, and sidewalks at each location as well as other amenities desired by the planning commission, such as green spaces, playgrounds or a pool to help created a sense of community. The developer will have to submit a subdivision plan before final approval for the neighborhood.
Mayor Morty Lloyd has seen renderings of the townhouses and said he was impressed with the appearance of the buildings and made the motion to approve. Vice Mayor Tim Johnson said he was not opposed to the town houses, but had voted against approving them at the planning commission meeting because the property is next to the Summit Softball Complex. He said if games are rained out, they sometimes resume and go on until 1 a.m. He said people who buy the townhouses may not be aware of the significant noise, light pollution and traffic that will be in the area during softball season. Collegedale cannot control the noise because the Summit complex is in the city of Chattanooga. The motion to approve rezoning passed on the first readings with the vice mayor abstaining from voting on all three rezoning requests, and Commissioner Tonya Sadler voting to deny the rezoning of all three.
The city’s old ordinance regulating zoning was replaced with a new one at the Monday night commission meeting. This ordinance regulates items such as location, height and size of buildings. It regulates the percentage of the lot which can be occupied, size of yards, density of population and use of buildings, and use of land, among many other things. The regulations are used to divide the municipality into districts.
The Circle K at 5020 Little Debbie Pkwy. was given a certificate of compliance for selling wine in a retail food store. City Attorney Sam Elliott told the commissioners that the city regulates the sale of beer in Collegedale, but the state controls the sale of wine and liquor. The state has to give the business the approval to sell alcohol but the state also wants the city to approve of it. That is the certificate of compliance.
Collegedale’s municipal code regarding air pollution was amended. The ordinance that was passed makes sure that current federal regulations have been met. The new ordinance also provides for housekeeping measures regarding the ordinance.
The public works department will be getting a new low-boy trailer. It was not in the current budget, but purchasing other equipment that was included can be delayed. Therefore the money can be used to buy the trailer that is needed more. Even with the trade -off, the public works department remains within budget.
Five police vehicles were declared as surplus so they can be sold. Commissioner Tonya Sadler recommended that one of the cars be donated to one of the northeastern towns in Tennessee that lost vehicles during Hurricane Helene. The commissioners agreed to give the car that is in the best condition to a town that needs it.
The September Finance Report shows that it is now 25 percent of the way through the fiscal year. Twelve percent of expected revenue has been received and 25 percent of expected expenditures have been made. This is just where the city was at the same time last year, said finance director Michelle Toro.