The Chattanooga Department of Public Works has placed a four-way stop at East 32nd Street and Clio Avenue in response to citizen concerns about public safety at the intersection. Last month, community members brought long-standing concerns to Mayor Tim Kelly’s attention about car accidents at the intersection, which is located near Clifton Hills Elementary School.
Kelly directed the Department of Public Works to address the safety concerns. Previously, drivers on Clio Avenue had no stop sign in either direction.
“I appreciate the Clifton Hills Elementary School community and the concerned citizens who brought this to our attention, and I encourage Chattanoogans who were frustrated in past efforts to let this administration attempt to restore your faith in city government,” Kelly says. “We want to solve problems but we must hear about them to fix them. Dialing 311 is the easiest way to do that.”
Clifton Hills teacher Paul Ruhling was a leader of the push for the new stop signs.
“This was a long time coming, but we got it done, and we’re grateful,” Ruhling says. “It’s the talk of the school. School staff and community members no longer avoid that intersection like it’s the plague. It’s already made a difference.”
BBB seeking scholarship entries
The Better Business Bureau is accepting applications for its 20th annual Student of Integrity scholarships. The BBB plans to award 10 $1,000 scholarships, which will be funded by local companies.
The BBB will award the scholarships to high school seniors whose entries are selected by a panel of judges representing business and academia careers.
The scholarship is open to graduating seniors located within the 21 counties the BBB serves, including Bledsoe, Bradley, Grundy, Hamilton, McMinn, Marion, Meigs, Polk, Rhea, Sequatchie and Van Buren in Tennessee and Catoosa, Chattooga, Dade, Fannin, Floyd, Gilmer, Gordon, Murray, Walker and Whitfield in Georgia.
The judges will award scholarships based on an essay of 500 words or less on the importance of ethics in business and the community, as well as the student’s leadership involvement in school, participation in extracurricular activities, community volunteerism and academic achievements.
The student must either hand deliver the information to the BBB at 508 N. Market Street in Chattanooga by 3 p.m. Friday, March 8, or mail it before or March 8. Mail entries to:
BBB
P.O. Box 4532
Chattanooga, TN 37405
The BBB will present the Student of Integrity scholarships during its Torch Award for Ethics luncheon May 1 at the Chattanooga Convention Center. The organization will notify the recipients before the event.
Leadership Chattanooga open for nominations
Nominations are now open for Leadership Chattanooga’s Class of 2025.
During the program, participants will receive leadership training through community service initiatives and networking opportunities, including meeting with local and state leaders.
The goal is to prepare existing and emerging leaders from various industries to become equipped for public decision-making and community service. Over 1,800 people have graduated since the program’s inception in 1984.
Operating annually, Leadership Chattanooga selects up to 45 people through a competitive application process and review that evaluates candidates based on community service, civic engagement, interest in public service and potential for career advancement
Nominations are open until Monday, Feb. 26 and can be submitted at chattanoogachamber.com/leadership-nominate_apply.
Mayor touting housing incentive legislation
A 2024 bill under consideration by Tennessee’s General Assembly will reduce the cost to build housing entry-level homebuyers and renters can afford.
Mayor Kelly is praising the new bill, introduced by Sen. Todd Gardenhire (R-Chattanooga) and co-sponsored by Rep. Dale Carr (R-Sevierville), which would leverage no-cost voluntary incentives to reduce the price of housing.
“It’s time to unleash the potential of the private sector to build attainable housing for hardworking Tennessee families,” Kelly says. “Under this bill, participating cities would provide a menu outlining how these incentives work, allowing builders to make an educated choice about how and when to participate, spurring the creation of badly needed homes in our communities.”
Kelly supported the drafting of the bill, which provides a voluntary mechanism that allows builders to receive density bonuses in exchange for providing housing families with modest incomes can obtain. Some specifics, such as the level of affordability and precise incentives, will be determined at the local level based on community economics and geography.
“No builder or developer can afford to build new homes in a comfortable price range for Tennesseans with modest incomes, given the rising cost of labor, materials and red tape,” Kelly says. “Without voluntary incentives to either decrease construction costs or increase the project’s overall revenue, new homes will remain out of reach for too many, including many paramedics, teachers and bus drivers.”
From 2013 to 2022, for every 10 new jobs created, only six new homes were built, according to an analysis by ThinkTennessee. And as rents and home prices rose 20% since 2020, thousands of residents have been priced out of their communities.
Senate Bill 2496 and House Bill 2623 provide tools to close a widening gap in Chattanooga and across the state. If approved, these two bills would give towns and cities the option to offer no-cost incentives to builders who want to create or preserve housing at price points Tennessee families and seniors can afford.
One method of defraying the high cost of construction would be greater density. A city or county could choose to let builders construct more units than would ordinarily be allowed on a piece of land. This would spread their fixed costs across more homes and allows them to make up their revenue shortfall from lower-priced units.
A city or county could also reduce a developer’s costs by choosing to require fewer parking spaces for every attainable home or apartment, creating savings up to $14,000 per unit according to a 2023 Rutgers University study.
Finally, a city or county could choose to reduce required setbacks for workforce housing. Allowing builders to leave less empty space around a building would enable them to fit more homes on the same piece of land or construct housing on irregularly shaped pieces of land.
As currently written, the bill would require developers and builders who wish to participate to opt-in by providing a written notice of interest. Projects that meet the criteria would go through a process that culminated in approval or denial by the Regional Planning Commission. They would then be deed-restricted to ensure the attainable housing continues to be offered in perpetuity.
Under the bill, each city or county can decide whether it wants to offer these incentives, ensuring that each locality retains the ability to calibrate to its local economy and landscape.
“These steps are designed to ensure a free and fair process for property owners and taxpayers alike,” says Nicole Heyman, chief housing officer for the city of Chattanooga, “Both parties must be free to enter this process voluntarily, and the incentives must lead to the creation of housing that’s attainable for bus drivers, paramedics and teachers.”