Fellow friends,
The future Walden View Town Center project with its desired grocery store, village green, and 10-acre park is in jeopardy unless you take action immediately!
The Town of Walden Board of Mayor and Aldermen met on October 17 to consider a recommendation from the Walden Planning Commission (WPC) to adopt a new zoning code in compliance with the Land Use Plan. Neither contained a square footage cap on the commercial buildings planned for the Walden View Town Center.
Alderwomen Lizzie Schmidt and Angela Davis voted directly against the recommendation of the WPC and instead proposed an amendment to the new zoning code that imposes an arbitrary 15,000 square cap on the size of commercial buildings. This is so restrictive it would prohibit the small but essential grocery component of the Walden View Town Center which is only 29,000 SF in size.
The developer cannot make an application for the Walden View Town Center project once the proposed cap is put in place. Mayor Lee Davis continued to show his support and voted to support the adoption of the zoning code without a size cap, which was recommended by the WPC, in respect for and consistent with the extensive work of town citizen volunteers on both the WPC and the Land Use Plan committee.
Schmidt and Cassidy’s amendment to the zoning code, which would kill Walden View Town Center, goes back to the Town Board for further action on November 14, so it is not set in stone just yet. There is a brief window of time to act before final adoption by the Town Board.
As one of the original supporters of the Walden View development and grocery store, we urge you to reach out directly to Alderwoman Schmidt and persuade her to change her mind. She still has the opportunity to rescind her vote on the 15,000 SF cap and vote otherwise on November 14.
The Walden View Town Center can move forward if the building cap is moved up to 30,000 square feet, which will allow the small but essential 29,000-square-foot grocery store to be built. You can suggest this to Alderwoman Schmidt or simply tell her you want her to find a way to allow a grocery store larger than 15,000 square feet to be built inside the Town Center.
If this development is not approved for the Walden Town Square, the grocery store will have no choice but to move into Sequatchie County, taking thousands of dollars of tax revenue from the town of Walden that could be used for education, parks and improving our roads. It will also move the store much further out from Taft Highway, which denies easy access to senior citizens and young families.
Without the grocery store, the Walden View Town Center will not move forward and its restaurants, village green, entertainment venues and new park will be taken away from the citizens of Walden.
We still have the chance to see the development through and help the city of Walden and the Signal Mountain and Walden Ridge area thrive.
Again, please reach out directly to Alderwoman Lizzy Schmidt at lschmidt@waldentn.gov and urge her to reverse her decision on capping the square footage, so the entire Walden View Town Center can become a reality.
The process of moving the Walden View development forward has been long and tedious. Thank you to all the supporters who have patiently stood by, shared information and voiced their support of Walden View! We aren’t done yet!
– Friends of Walden, TN Grocery Store