Planning Commission Votes in Favor of M1

On Monday afternoon, the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Regional Planning Commission voted unanimously in favor of the City of Chattanooga’s request to rezone the former Harriet Tubman site from Residential to Manufacturing. The vote included certain conditions including a strip along Roanoke Avenue that will remain zoned for residential.

This is one step in the process toward the rezoning, and the City Council will have the final vote. That vote is now scheduled for Tuesday, January 8th, 2019 at 6pm.

Many residents of East Chattanooga including members of The Unity Group as well as Glass House Collective spoke in opposition of today’s vote, requesting that the vote be postponed, so that fuller discussions can take place.

Nicole Lewis, Glass House Collective’s Community Relations Manager, told the commissioners they were turning their back on what is widely known as “the Chattanooga Way,” a deliberate public input process that works toward building consensus.

“We are proud of the tradition of hearing voices. Why would we abandon that concept now?” Lewis said.

For more on the vote today please read these stories from the Chattanoogan.com and Times Free Press:

• Times Free Press: Planning commission unanimously approves rezoning for former Harriet Tubman public housing site

• Chattanoogan.com  Planning Commission Recommends M1 Zoning for Tubman Site Despite Some Community Opposition

We also recommend:

• David Cook’s Op-Ed from Monday morning’s paper: “The Real Tubman Is The One We Build Together”
• Helen Burns Sharp’s Letter to the Editor published on Chattanoogan.com: “Alstom and Tubman: a Tale of Two Sites”