Dear Friends of Mountain Creek, 

We recently sent out a “heads-up” email to let you know that Pratt Home Builders (identified herein as Pratt or PHB) has filed for another Planned Unit Development (PUD) for the Quarry property at Mountain Creek Road and Reads Lake Road.  It’s good and bad. We describe our view of it below.  Please take a moment to read this but more importantly, PLEASE CONTACT ALL CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS and register your opinion.  The voice of the neighbors is more important now than ever.  Contact FOMCQuarry@gmail.com to be sent the full set of PUD plans.

What’s Good…..

It’s good because it saves the Post Oak Tree. It also helps North Chickamauga Creek Conservancy (NCCC) with their desired parking area for their planned mountain bike park (good for them; not necessarily good for those who live nearby).  It’s also good because it gives us (YOU) an opportunity to be heard regarding the plan.  That’s the way a PUD works.

What’s Not…..

 It’s bad for a number of reasons:

 A. It completely omits plans for the clubhouse, leaving the future of that piece undeclared. THIS IS A HUGE UNKNOWN. And coming from a group who has repeatedly been untruthful and provided misinformation, this is very troubling.  Future apartments?  Who knows!?

 B. The density proposed by this PUD is way out of character for the neighborhood.  It proposes NO SINGLE FAMILY HOMES.  ZERO.  The Pratt plan shows a total of 225 “Proposed Units”. None are single family homes. 

 C.  So it shows a total density of 4.48 units per acre.  Not bad; if it were true.  However, Pratt cannot build on the required setbacks of Mountain Creek or its tributaries.  Pratt cannot build under TVA’s transmission lines.  Why should they get credit for this?  Once again, they are disingenuous about their real plans.  The plans show them cramming units into the buildable areas just as Win Pratt promised us he would.  It’s simple greed.  But remember, they are saving the Post Oak...but at what expense?

 D.  Pratt’s plan shows 85 medium density homes (presumably similar to what they built on Day Lily and Tiger Lily nearby.  It also shows A BUNCH OF APARTMENTS.  Sheet 5 of the PHB plans lists the number of apartments at 140. So, rentals comprise 62% of this plan.

E.  The PHB plan totally ignores the spring-fed “S-shaped” pond; instead replacing it with some other man-made “water feature” (retention pond) that they create.  Where does that water from that spring then go?   Our neighbors with pumps, jacks and dehumidifiers in their crawl spaces and under their foundation slabs can sure tell you.

F.  Let’s go back to the open space.  If you click the link to view the plans, you will see that it shows what appears to be a whole bunch of green space.  It calls the areas “Undisturbed Green Space”.  Except for the area around the Post Oak Tree, the other areas are either too narrow or too low or under the TVA high voltage transmission lines.  These areas must remain green space.  They’re claiming credit for this?  While they pack in rental apartments and for sale duplexes?

 G.  The Pratt plan totally changes both ponds on the east side of Mountain Creek Road by filling them in and putting housing on them.  Wait, what?  Yes, it totally eliminates the large pond too.  Placing a few dozen dwellings where it is.   How can that be?  We need answers.  If this goes through, think about the poor souls who may find out the hard way that their house was built over a spring that had earlier maintained level in a pond.  

H.  Did you know that “H” is the 8th letter of our alphabet?  There are at least 8 primary reasons to be against this Pratt plan.  If the above isn’t bad enough, Pratt has also drawn up plans to build about 200 more apartments across from Red Bank High School, uphill from the CKC Dialysis Clinic.  It’s a storm water nightmare for Mountain Creek!

We have heard from many of our neighbors who remain against apartments and are in favor of open space.  Please know that FOMC remains against apartments for the obvious reasons of increased traffic, the additional strain it places on the already taxed infrastructure, the introduction of more transient residents, and the lowering of property values.

 We wish Pratt would involve us and talk with us about this property.  He and his son Win have refused.  Instead, he pointed his finger in our faces and committed to “cram as many units” in here as he could.  

While this plan may seem better, it leaves much unanswered and unwanted.  If you agree, we need you to voice any concerns that you have to our city council.  Chairman Henderson has our back.  He is committed to do the will of his constituents. 

But, he and the other Council Members are getting bombarded with calls and emails from Pratt, NCCC and their supporters who do not live anywhere around here.  The park will be nice and we support it.  But not at the expense of the property owners that live here.  That’s you.  Please contact the City Council and let them know that we live here, and FOMC does not support this PUD.

Thank you.

Friends of Mountain Creek