Ellington

A community meeting regarding the proposed Chattanooga Village development at Highway 153 and Boy Scout Road will be held at the North River Civic Center Monday, March 12 at 6:30 p.m.

“Getting community feedback is a great way for us to gauge their feelings about the potential development,” said Hixson resident and Chattanooga-Hamilton County Regional Planning Commissioner Adam Veron.

The meeting will involve a presentation by the developers, Scenic Land Company, and a question-and-answer session.

The proposed development is currently scheduled for rezoning consideration by the RPA Monday, April 9 at 1 p.m. The RPA will then make its recommendation to the Chattanooga City Council, which will make the ultimate decision on whether the land will be rezoned, said Veron.

Preliminary plans submitted by Scenic Land Company include a large-scale commercial shopping center and several multi-family residential units. The size of the proposed development spans 189 acres, which is roughly the same size as Hamilton Place Mall.

“Well over 100 houses are right within that area,” said Veron. “Essentially, we want anyone to show up and voice their concerns on this initial development.”

Issues have been raised concerning water runoff, increased traffic and how the development will affect the interchange at Highway 127, Dayton Boulevard and Boy Scout Road, he said.

North Chickamauga Conservancy Executive Director Gregory Vickery said the proposed development poses significant environmental concerns; he is requesting wide attendance by area residents. The potential impact to North Chickamauga Creek includes water pollution and aquatic life quality, heavy erosion and siltation, wetland destruction and elimination of a valuable wildlife corridor, he said.

The viewshed of the property will be destroyed, said Vickery, as the proposed development will level the mountain from an elevation of 1,000 feet to street level.

He said the rezoning of the area would allow the developer to remove more than 100,000 tons of earth in the process of land clearing. With the thousands of square feet of impervious surface proposed, more than 1 million gallons of stormwater pollution per hour, per rain event will be discharged into the Wildlife Management area, said Vickery.

Future plans to link Greenway Farm throughout the Hixson community via a greenway will be hindered, as areas in the property under consideration for rezoning were slated for linking those sites for recreational use, he said.