October 9, 2023

October City Council Update

OCTOBER 3 CITY COUNCIL HIGHLIGHTS

The Affordable Housing Work Session recording can be found here.

• The council discussed the recent Housing Action Plan. This plan is only a recommendation from the mayor’s office, it is not official policy. The council is considering the adoption of the plan but has no current plans to vote on it at this time. The discussion was a little over an hour long and several council members asked detailed questions, with concerns about new PILOT & TIF policies, possible tax increases, increased density, and low-barrier homeless shelters, among other things.

The Agenda Session recording can be found here.

The Business Session recording can be found here.

• The council honored George Provost for his work with the Chattanooga River City Tennis Association and community involvement.
• The council approved the creation of a new Parks and Outdoors Advisory Committee (final reading).
• The council approved a request to rezone 1115 & 1117 E 14th Street from R-3 to R-T/Z (final reading).
• The council approved an amendment to the section of the city ordinance governing liens (final reading).
• The council denied a request to rezone 1710 South Holtzclaw Avenue from R-2 to UGC (first reading).
• The council approved a request to rezone 2910 Calhoun Avenue from R-2 to UGC (first reading).
• The council confirmed the appointment of Sandra Norwood to the Head Start Governing Board.
• The council approved the issuance of up to $46M in general obligation bonds.
• The council accepted the current financial year report from the Chattanooga Business Improvement District and approve the budget for FY2024.
• The council approved the application for a National Parks grant.
• The council approved two Public Works contracts.
• The council approved 7 routine purchases, including a ~$10.4M contract for on-site pharmacy services from On-Site Rx Inc.
• The council was notified of 1 sole-source purchase of ~$25k in Pole Cameras from Covert Law Enforcement.
• Two citizens addressed the council. You can watch the full comments here.

The meeting minutes can be found here.

OCTOBER 10 CITY COUNCIL HIGHLIGHTS

The Proposed Meeting Agenda can be found here.

• The council will vote on a number of rezoning requests (first and final reading), including:
  • A request to rezone 1133 & 1137 Old Pineville Road from R-1 to R-3. Planning Commission recommended to deny the request.
  • A request to rezone a property on the 2800 block of Dodds Avenue from M-1 to UGC. RPA recommended to deny the request.
  • A request to create a new Form Based Code zone for the Westside Evolves project.
  • A request to create a new downtown zone allowing buildings up to 20 stories in height.
• The council will vote on the appointment of Vivian White to the Head Start Governing Board.
• The council will vote on the authorization a $10M grant application to HUD to be used for affordable housing.
• The council will vote on the authorization of a $15k grant application (with a $3k city match) to USDOT for fire fighter training systems.
• The council will vote on the appointment of Jim Exum as an Administrative Hearing Officer.
• The council will vote on 4 public works contracts.

OCTOBER 17 CITY COUNCIL HIGHLIGHTS

The Proposed Meeting Agenda can be found here.

• The council will vote on a number of rezoning cases.
• The council will vote on the appointment of Caroline Baker to the Animal Control Board.
• The council will vote on a number of grant applications and awards, legal agreements, and lease agreements (see agenda for details).