Residents form group that wants Enterprise South Nature Park preserved
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF)- A group of citizens have formed an organization in response to a proposed land swap in Hamilton County.
Elspeth Haire is one of the organizers of Save Enterprise South, an organization formed within the past few days after news broke about the proposed land swap.
Over 400 people have already signed a petition opposing any industrial development on the Nature Park property.
Haire said, “We all saw what happened last week in Middle Tennessee at that factory, and the last thing that I want is industry next to 400 homes that could affect, which is a huge number.”
The county is proposing preserving over 1,300 acres at McDonald Farm by trading deed restrictions with over 500 acres at Enterprise South Nature Park.
This would prevent development at the Sale Creek site in exchange for allowing potential development on underutilized land at Enterprise South, primarily the Atlas Mountain Biking Trail on the south end of the park.
Neighbors who utilize the park say they’re concerned about what the proposal means for the park and nearby residences off of Hunter Road.
Haire said, “The concern is that we already have a completely overdeveloped area, and this has already been slated as industrial development which is not something you want next to a park, and not something you want next to residential homes.”
Hamilton County Mayor Weston Wamp’s office says they are speaking with the organization to address concerns related to potential developments.
The county’s Parks and Recreation Director, Matt Folz, said that the county would look to ensure no programming is lost, and that the majority of the park would be unaffected if there were to be development.
The county’s Director of Development Services, Nathan Janeway, says no residences will be close to any potential development.
Janeway explained, “You’re at least 200 feet plus off of these residences, and if you’re looking from the back of these houses, you’re going to have dense forests from the back of forests to anything that might exist in the future.”
Dr. Steve Highlander, who represents that area, says he is hearing concerns from residents as well, and thinks there are other options available.
Dr. Highlander said, “I would encourage the mayor and his staff to look very strongly at… I know Volkswagen has a large parcel that they have an auction on that they’re giving up within a year, and hopefully we can develop it away from the homes is the hope of our community.”
Haire says they will be applying pressure during the process.
She said, “The people I have spoken to have been open to listening and they have been I think as open as they can be with information. They don’t know everything, we don’t know everything, and so at this point it’s just feeling that out to figure out what’s going on, and making sure that the county understands that this is hugely unpopular.”
This proposal still has not formally been introduced as details are being ironed out.
If approved at the local level, it would need ultimate approval by the U.S. Department of Interior.
