Dear Supporters,
Please help us to complete the following urgently needed tasks in order to oppose Pratt’s PUD. We need every concerned supporter's participation to achieve our objective.
1. Immediately Send an email stating your objections to the PUD to John Bridger and Bryan Shults at RPA. This must be done by the end of the day Monday, January 4.
RPA will be posting their recommendation for the PUD on Tuesday January 5. We can potentially influence their recommendation by providing comments.
To provide input to the RPA, contact John Bridger or Bryan Shults by the end of the day, Monday, January 4. You can reach John or Bryan at rpa@chattanooga.gov or at bshults@chattanooga.gov and jbridger@chattanooga.gov or call either 423/643-5902 or 423/643-5937.
If you have already written an email to City Council, just resend that email to RPA. If you have not yet prepared an email for the City Council members, please see the template below and send to John and Bryan.
2. Register as a speaker for the Tuesday January 11 RPA Meeting. The deadline to register is Friday January 9th at 4:30 PM.
We were successful in 2018 when Pratt withdrew his application. The reasons he withdrew at that point was due at least in part to the fact that we “packed the house”.
Unfortunately, due to the virus, the January 11 meeting will be virtual. We can “virtually” however “pack the house” again for this meeting by having everyone who opposes the PUD register for the meeting as a speaker. We will have a very limited time to present our case and can also designate who will speak. If you are called upon and opt not to speak, you can defer comment to another neighbor.
The process to register is simple. Just send an email to rezoning@chattanooga.gov stating that you oppose this PUD (2021-0005). Provide your email, full name and address and phone number.
3. Virtually attend the meeting if you can on January 11. Visitchcrpa@chattanooga.gov to sign on.
4. Write an email to all City Council Members before the February 9 City Council Meeting. This is the most important of the four requested actions. Emails were distributed titled “Call to Action; Defeat Pratt’s PUD” sent dated December 15 and “Call to Action Update; PUD is NOT WITHDRAWN” sent on December 19 that contained our objections to this plan. Please consider the reasons outlined in these communications or those in the template below and state objections to the PUD in your own words.
Please use the title line and introduction of the following sample letter.
Thanks for your assistance
FOMC Team
Subject Line: I Oppose Pratt’s Development Plan (Case Number 2021-0005)
Dear RPA Staff and City Council Members
My name is AAA BBB and my address is YYYY ZZZZ . I am a homeowner living within XXXXXXX of the Quarry property. The value of my home is at risk if this plan is approved. (State this if it applies to you)
I am one of now over 5,000 residents who have signed the Friends of Mountain Creek petition. We oppose the subject PUD and believe that High Density is a Poor Choice for the Use of this Property
Residents in this area are here because of its rural character. The PUD will “cram in as many doors as possible” and thus urbanize and degrade our neighborhood’s character and the values of our investments. Our existing roads and other infrastructure lack the capacity to accommodate additional medium or high density development.
Most of the offered “undisturbed greenspace” is not space that can be developed for several reasons. It is disingenuous to use it to justify high density. Also, the steep slopes of the proposed Walden Ridge Mountain Bike Park is not an alternative for accessible green space for the vast majority of residents.
With regard to water issues, the Quarry property near Mountain Creek is low and riddled with springs. Several neighbors adjacent to this space including some in very new townhomes have springs under their foundations. Some have been forced to install jacks, sump pumps and other methods to mitigate moisture and mold. Neighbors upstream in the Spring Lake West development have serious flooding problems from Mountain Creek. John Bridger’s staff has emphasized the need to protect residents from unabated filling of the flood plain. Also, Reads Lake was NOT created for the golf course and in fact predates the golf course by at least forty years. It is therefore “Waters of the US” and cannot legally be filled in or converted to a retention pond. It is not right to place so many neighbors at increased risk by allowing this PUD.
Finally, what about the clubhouse? How can this PUD be approved with this key issue not addressed?
This PUD is a bad option for the use of this space. It will degrade the area character and the value of our homes and it will deepen existing water problems. I remain steadfast in my belief that the most desired and positive outcome for this space is a conservation easement consistent with Chattanooga’s Greenspace initiative. I respectfully request that this PUD be rejected for these reasons.
Thank you for your engagement and support in this important decision
(Your name)
As provided in an earlier email, City Council email addresses are:
District 1 Chip Henderson, Council Chairman cchenderson@chattanooga.gov
District 2 Jerry Mitchell, Councilman jmitchell@chattanooga.gov
District 3 Ken Smith, Vice-Chairman kensmith@chattanooga.gov
District 4 Darrin Ledford, Councilman dledford@chattanooga.gov
District 5 Russell Gilbert, Sr., Councilman rgilbert@chattanooga.gov
District 6 Dr. Carol Berz, Councilwoman cberz@chattanooga.gov
District 7 Erskine Oglesby Jr., Councilman eoglesbyjr@chattanooga.gov
District 8 Anthony Byrd, Councilman abyrd@chattanooga.gov
District 9 Demetrus Coonrod, Councilwoman dcoonrod@chattanooga.gov
Thank you again in advance for helping to promote a more favorable outcome for the Mountain Creek neighborhoods.
FOMC