East Ridge redevelopment meeting brings residents out in droves

EAST RIDGE, Tenn. (WDEF) –  There was a big crowd in the East Ridge Community Center
Thursday night.

That’s where a community meeting about the East Ridge Redevelopment Plan took place.

“This place is packed tonight. It’s the biggest crowd I’ve ever seen and really concerned, upset citizens in East Ridge,” East Ridge resident Tom Card said.

During the meeting city officials said they will take residential properties off the plan to redevelop areas of the city along Ringgold Road.

The move came after people in the redevelopment area got a letter about the plan.

That sparked concerns that many residents may lose their homes.

“Since he said they were taking them all out that’s, that’s fine. That’s the only thing I’m worried about,” East Ridge resident Wanda Crawford said.

East Ridge Mayor Brent Lambert explained that there was no intention to take people’s homes.

The plan seeks to tackle blighted properties.

“Properties that, whether it’s been boarded up for ten years, or it’s falling down, it’s an opportunity for some clean-up to take place and redevelopment of those properties. So, I hate it that there was so much confusion,” Mayor Lambert said.

Some residents are calling for the board of the East Ridge Housing and Redevelopment Authority to be dissolved.

The Authority is tasked with creating the redevelopment plan.

“We want this committee dissolved we want to be able to choose who decides whether we live or go away from East Ridge,” East Ridge Citizens for Property Rights Representative Jody Grant said.

The board’s Chairperson Darwin Branam said moving forward, they’ll be working to redraw the plan and make changes.

“We’re going to go from here and we’re going to do what we said. We’re going to take out the residential properties and that’s the direction that the council wants us to go on too,” Branam said.

The next meeting of the Housing and Redevelopment Authority will be on May 17th.