Residents, commissioners voice concerns over proposed Birchwood development
HAMILTON COUNTY, Tenn. (WDEF)- A few months ago, a version of Plan Hamilton was approved to guide the future of growth across rural Hamilton County.
Now, one of the first battles over a development is taking shape in the Hamilton County Commission.
The plan to create a residential development district, called Windy Ridge off Eldridge Road in Birchwood, was unpopular with residents and several commissioners.
The proposal is to assess a special property tax on the owners who would buy any of 300 lots to pay for an upgrade to a mile of Eldridge Road, and other infrastructure upgrades.
Developers say this would be 1.5 homes per acre.
Residents who spoke out against this proposal cited a variety of concerns including the road, potential tax burden, water quality concerns, and impact on the housing market.
One resident, Ethan Hargreaves, said, “Even if it’s feasible, is it advisable and is it wanted by this community? I’m opposed to this because I love the rural character of our community, and the recent actions on Plan Hamilton and Snow Hill Road developments leave me highly distrustful of future developments.”
Commissioners like Dr. Steve Highlander voiced their concerns with the state of Eldridge Road itself, saying of a one lane bridge, “I was scared to death going over it, I was shaking like a leaf.”
Commissioner Jeff Eversole added, “Look at this thing, Eldridge Road doesn’t even have blacktop on it. It’s asphalt with chert on it.”
Developers say that while they hear the concerns, they wonder if the complaints is just another case of anti-growth sentiment rising.
Mike Price, representing the developer of this project, said, “We had one individual come up here and say, “I built out here, and I couldn’t get all of the lumber.” because of the bridge. Yet he still built out here. But now he’s against us improving the road? That seems to be what we hear before the Commission, is that there is always the angst against the development, but when we try to come up with solutions to deal with the issues, with the infrastructure, nobody is for it!”
Residents like Owen Hargreaves were not swayed.
He said, “My family has lived in the Harrison area my entire life, and the reason they live there is to get away from the city of Chattanooga. They want to get away from the city of Chattanooga. They want to get away from downtown, they want to get away from everything that overdevelopment would mean for Harrison if this development moved forward.”
This week’s discussion was only a public hearing, as no vote was scheduled on the project.
It is unclear when this project could come back to the Hamilton County Commission for a final vote.
