Rep. Greg Vital: Wake Up, Hamilton County

  • Wednesday, June 18, 2025
It’s time for residents and voters to participate in the future of planned growth and stop the development chaos that is occurring in Hamilton County.
 
Growth and development is inevitable, but it doesn’t have to be ugly and rape the land with over density, not compatible with quality and without infrastructure support and services.

If this county continues to grow unchecked we have over $250 million in underfunded roads, bridges and improvements vs a $5 or $6 million investment periodically in road paving and will not keep us competitive.
 
Just think about the congestion in Ooltewah, Apison and East Brainerd and Lookout Valley.
 
Our community has turned into a traffic nightmares.
 
It’s time to really consider the land and save the special places like McDonald Farm and the northern end of Hamilton County on both sides of the river.
 
It’s time to require infrastructure and improvements compatible with the growth and not be bulldozed with special interests at the RPA, the DR Hortons of the world and outside the community manufacturers who want cheap land and labor.
 
The real people that live and work here are getting trampled on with over valuations and green space quality of life redesignated to high density residential and apartments. 
 
Let’s truly respect property rights and values not just raise them artificially.
 
There are quality builders ?who respect this community and live and work and invest in our schools and our athletic programs.
Let’s support them.
 
Our community is worth preserving.
 
It is absolutely still beautiful in Georgetown, Birchwood and Sale Creek! But it is disappearing.
 
I am proud of my work and others over the last 25 years on saving farms in Hamilton County.
 
Unprecedented development seems to be inevitable everywhere in Hamilton County, but I believe we all can agree that the growth is out of control without infrastructure investment, and not at the taxpayers expense.

No one can argue that Hunter Road, Snow Hill Road and Ooltewah-Georgetown Road are not overbuilt and ill prepared for the massive amount of growth that has occurred and the almost 5,000 new houses that are in the pipeline.
 
I love my district 29, but we must have infrastructure planning from Hamilton County and housing developers must contribute to relieving the traffic congestion, unsafe roads and overbuilding.
 
It’s time to say NO ?to irresponsible growth.
 
State Rep. Greg Vital
 
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