Residential growth is continuing in Soddy Daisy. In March, $2.2 million was paid in building permits, said Vice Mayor Mark Penney. The majority of those were for new construction, said Commissioner Steve Everette. That speaks volumes about all the things going on in Soddy Daisy, he said, mentioning the interest and spirit of volunteerism by citizens and specifically naming both the Soddy Daisy Community Library and Keep Soddy Daisy Beautiful. Those groups, founded and run by volunteers, have become integral to the betterment of the community as a whole and for individuals. And by design, sports are thriving in the city. Each year Soddy Daisy invests in sports-related facilities which brings increasing numbers of visitors into the city for various tournaments and events and those visitors buy food and fuel in Soddy Daisy. This year on opening day, Soddy Daisy had 660 kids participating in softball and baseball.
All these things have created a need for more housing that developer Barry Higgins will be helping to fill. The commission approved abandoning and rezoning portions of property along Posy Hollow Road and Graham Road. On the second and final reading, the property was rezoned so that a subdivision of 100-120 homes can be built.
By request from the city, a large number of lots on West Parkway, Hemlock Street, West Parkway and Thrasher Pike were rezoned to conform to the actual use, which is primarily single-family homes. The zoning designation prior to the change was R-5 single lot mobile home district. Now the area is R-1 Single Family Residential reflecting what is actually built there.
The city is also interested in attracting businesses such as chain restaurants and hotels. To make Soddy Daisy more attractive for those type of businesses, the city code is being amended relative to distance requirements. The change will amend the distance requirements for certain establishments serving liquor-by-the-drink and churches and schools. The state of Tennessee has certain requirements that will also apply for selling alcohol by the drink. One is that the restaurant must also serve food, so the business will not become just a “watering hole.” The 250-foot distance for selling beer remains in place.
Building inspector and Public Works Director Steve Grant reported that construction of the city’s new town hall building has been started. Update meetings are held every other Thursday and community members are invited to come and listen to the updates.
A discussion was held at the commission meeting about the on-going problem of large trucks getting stuck and causing problems on Hyatte Road, which is steep and with sharp curves. Mr. Grant will have signs made warning that trucks of a certain size are not permitted to use the road. They will be positioned not only along the road, but also leading up to it so drivers will have a warning before they get there.
Keep Soddy Daisy Beautiful is asking residents to join the group to take action against litter for the fourth annual Hamilton County Cleanup Challenge from April 21-27 to align with Earth Day.
Teams will choose their own locations and times to collect the litter and supplies will be provided by KSDB. The day will end with a celebration including prizes. Cindi Sanden said, in addition to the clean-up challenge, the group along with Keep Tennessee Beautiful, iSustain and the Hamilton County Coalition, has also organized the second annual North Hamilton County Recycling Event on Saturday, April 26, from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m. at Sequoyah High School.
Jim Stewart gave the commissioners information about other activities involving Keep Soddy Daisy Beautiful. He said 2025 was the fifth year that the group has been working with the city to celebrate Arbor Day but the event had to be cancelled due to bad weather. So this year, instead of the group of volunteers planting the trees, they gave the city $1,000 to buy them and the public works department did the planting. At the commission meeting the check was presented to the city.
Mr. Stewart also announced that Soddy Daisy has been honored to be named, along with Monteagle, as the newest communities to join the Resilient Communities program. It focuses on planning for environmental challenges related to flooding and drought caused by increasingly severe weather conditions. Work will be done to identify solutions to protect against such events.