Walden Mayor Lee Davis has written members of the Planning Commission asking them to consider the mountaintop town's unique circumstances in the approval process for Plan Hamilton.
Mayor Davis said Walden has placed its own growth plan in place that is working well.
He said opening up the top of Walden's Ridge for extensive growth could lead to emergency evacuation issues, overcrowded streets and roads, and wastewater issues.
The Planning Commission is set to take up the controversial Plan Hamilton at its Sept. 8 meeting. The Town of Walden will discuss the topic at its meeting the next night.
The County Commission voted 6-5 in favor of providing guidance to the Planning Commission in support of the current version of Plan Hamilton.
Plan Hamilton covers unincorporated areas of the county.
The section of the new growth plan for the rest of the county (Chattanooga and the other cities) was approved with little to no pushback.
This is the letter from Mayor Davis:
Dear Chair Ethan Collier and Members of the Regional Planning Commission:
On behalf of the Town of Walden, I write regarding Plan Hamilton, scheduled for action by the Regional Planning Commission on Monday, Sept. 8, 2025.
We respectfully ask that any action on Plan Hamilton include area-specific policies for Walden’s Ridge that reflect the unique infrastructure, safety, and environmental constraints on the mountaintop.
Walden supports thoughtful, long-term planning. Our 2022 Walden Land Use Plan - developed through extensive public engagement and recognized for its planning merits - sets a clear framework: targeted, context-sensitive opportunities along Taft Highway and long-standing two-acre residential standards that account for the realities of wastewater systems in an unsewered community. This framework has guided safe, predictable growth for decades.
Our specific concerns with Plan Hamilton as applied to the plateau are:
1. Public safety & evacuation: With only four roads off the plateau, higher densities in adjacent unincorporated areas increase evacuation risk during wildfire, ice, or emergencies. Any plan for Walden’s Ridge should be tied to evacuation capacity and require scenario-based analysis for major developments.
2. Transportation constraints: Taft Highway and local roads already carry regional traffic. Increased density would push overflow onto neighborhood streets not built as thoroughfares. We ask for mandatory traffic impact analyses and mitigation for plateau projects.
3. Wastewater limitations: Walden and the unincorporated plateau do not have sewer. Plan policies should hinge on wastewater system capacity (not just sewer availability) and reflect the need for adequate land area and contingency when systems fail.
4. Consistency with adopted local plans: Walden has an adopted, award-winning Land Use Plan. Countywide policies should defer to or align with adopted municipal plans and subdivision regulations where municipalities will bear the infrastructure and safety impacts.
Our requests to the RPC:
- Incorporate a Walden’s Ridge–specific density framework for unsewered areas that aligns with the intent of Walden’s adopted plan and the plateau’s constraints - prioritizing low density residential and context-sensitive commercial along Taft Highway.
- Require evacuation capacity and transportation impact findings for significant projects on the plateau before entitling higher intensities.
- Explicitly base density on wastewater system capacity (not solely on sewer type), recognizing the absence of public sewer service on most of Walden’s Ridge.
- Commit to intergovernmental coordination so municipal standards and subdivision regulations for Walden and Signal Mountain are respected during County approvals affecting the plateau.
For transparency, please accept this letter into the public record and provide it to all Commissioners through the RPA’s established process (submitted via rezoning@chattanooga.gov).
Finally, please note that the Walden Board of Mayor & Aldermen will consider and is expected to act on a formal resolution regarding Plan Hamilton at our Sept. 9, 2025, meeting. We will transmit the adopted resolution to the RPA and County Commission immediately thereafter for their consideration ahead of final adoption steps.
Thank you for your service and for considering Walden’s public safety, transportation, and wastewater realities as you guide the countywide plan.
Respectfully,
Lee Davis
Mayor, Town of Walden