Dear Friends of Mountain Creek at the Quarry 

In preparation for the October 9 City Council Meeting, we are requesting that all concerned residents opposing Pratt’s plans to densely develop the Quarry write or call their City Council representative and state Support for Chip Henderson’s Resolution. This needs to be done before the Tuesday 6 PM Meeting on October 9th. Location 1000 Lindsay Street, Chattanooga. City Council Chambers. Please encourage your neighbors to attend. Set-up carpools. Let me know if you need a ride and we can try to arrange a meeting place to carpool together.

Prior to the April 24 City Council Meeting, at the recommendation of Mountain Creek resident Former Councilwoman Deborah Scott, many petition supporters contacted one or in some cases, all of the Council to state their feeling about opposition to Pratt’s plans for the Quarry.  These favorably impressed each Council member and contributed to the an overwhelming victory (7 For, 2 Abstain, none Against) for the Resolution and FOMC.

Back in April, we received guidance from former Councilwomen Scott on how to address the council in order to be successful. She said: 

It is very important that we “plead” with them for their support of Chip’s resolution; humbly asking them to do what’s right and maintain the integrity of our neighborhood.  There could be legal ramifications to the city and therefore they must be united in their decision. 
We urge that the nature of all phone calls and emails be of a pleading tone, not a demanding or angry tirade.
Council member do not appreciate reading emails that look like they were composed and sent by computer-bots. Each email should explain why support is requested and tell a story from the homeowner’s perspective.
Avoid saying things like, “I’m not in your district, but...” They don’t need to know that. In reality every person on council has an equal vote and most council votes usually impact all citizens, so everyone owes every citizen attention and care. No apologies or explanations are needed to explain lobbying any council person. 

Here’s some background points to consider when crafting emails or when speaking with EACH AND EVERY council member.   

·         The current C-2 zone was originally zoned as C-1 Highway Commercial Zone for the specific purpose of allowing a restaurant and bar on “The Montclair Clubhouse tract” in association with a 1977 approved PUD for the development of the Montclair Golf Course.  This C-1 zoning was approved on 9/16/1980.

·         The C-1 Rezoning Request (80-179) asked to rezone 2 acres; not 4+ acres.

·         The intent of the C-1 zone reads “It is the intent of the C-1 Highway Commercial District to promote the clustering and development of commercial facilities which are directly dependent upon transient patronage or otherwise clearly related to traffic along highways and major thoroughfares, in such manner as to protect both the businesses and surrounding neighborhoods.”  This C-1 zone was clearly quite a stretch back then as it was located in a sea of R-1 zoning and solely in support of the Montclair Golf Course. It is clearly a poster child for spot-zoning.

·         Rental Housing / Apartments and condos are not permitted under C-1.

·         The Montclair Golf Course and related PUD failed; that PUD was extinguished and the land reverted back to R-1 zoning allowing for single family detached homes.  There was no reversionary provision for the C-1 zone.  One hundred percent (100%) of the surrounding property was zoned R-1.

·         The previous owner, Mr. Norman purchased the property under the C-1 zoning. 

·         In 2001, the RPA recommended and the then City Commissioners approved a “housekeeping measure” that converted spot zoned C-1 properties to C-2 on a non-location-specific basis.  This C-1 zone, in a sea of R-1 homes and home sites was swept-up into C-2.  This change was not sought by Mr. Norman and it did not affect his use of the property. NO PUBLIC NOTICE was provided to neighbors and thus the change did not apply due process.

·         The initial rezone for beer at the clubhouse AND subsequent city council misstep (C-1 to C-2 change without due process) should not have occurred. 

·         Prior to closing on this property, Pratt KNEW AND HAD FULL KNOWLEDGE that this resolution was being developed and popularly supported, and now…… he expects to capitalize on it to give birth to this monster density development, and allowing rental housing to appear in the midst of an established single family neighborhood. 

·         In an attempt to find a compromise position, Chip Henderson appointed a committee of seven residents in June to sit down with Pratt and offer middle ground possibilities. Two positions were offered and none even considered by Pratt. In each case he countered with progressively more dense plans. 

A suggested outline to help organize:  

Please don’t cut and paste from above! Instead, take these points or state your own concerns in your words….. 

Identify yourself as

Your name, and that you are one who signed the Friends of Mountain Creek Save the Quarrypetition to make better use of the Quarry land asset than proposed by Pratt and to preserve greenspace.
 

What is being requested:

We are asking that the current City Council correct the unintentional mistake made by a previous council in the first spot zoning to C-1.

Because……………..examples; again please don’t cut and paste. Restate what you feel sums up your reasoning.

Examples: 

Our community feels threatened by a R-4 high density rental in an R-1 neighborhood thereby altering the character of the entire neighborhood.
High density will create undesireable new and degrade existing conditions identified in the petition.
The community is asking for neighborhood protection. We do not think that a commercial spot zone was intended to morph to allow high density rental housing.
 

What our position is:

We support saving and protecting the Quarry’s greenspace and including it’s ponds and streams, Read’s Creek, Read’s Lake, Morrison Springs and World’s Tallest Post Oak.
We support responsible R-1 development that preserves these assets and greenspace for the benefit of all residents.
We oppose aggressive development that puts the financial objectives of one developer above the needs and wishes of the hundreds of residents.

Summary

Please please please correct the mistakes.......
 

LIST OF COUNCILMAN emails and phone numbers 

JERRY MITCHELL,     (District 2)       (423) 643-7187            jmitchell@chattanooga.gov

KEN SMITH                 (District 3)       (423) 643-7188            kensmith@chattanooga.gov

DARRIN LEDFORD     (District 4)       (423) 643-7184            dledford@chattanooga.gov

RUSSELL GILBERT   (District 5)       (423) 643-7183            rgilbert@chattanooga.gov

CAROL BERZ             (District 6)       (423) 643-7181            cberz@chattanooga.gov

ERSKINE OGLESBY, JR. (District 7) (423) 643-7180            eoglesbyjr@chattanooga.gov

ANTHONY BYRD        (District 8)       (423) 643-7182            abyrd@chattanooga.gov

DEMETRUS COONROD (District 9)   (423) 643-7185            dcoonrod@chattanooga.gov   

Also, we cannot stress enough how important it is to make a strong show of support at this meeting; it is the most important yet!

Please make every effort to attend and encourage others to attend as well.

Thanks for supporting the Friends of Mountain Creek at the Quarry!