The East Ridge Housing and Redevelopment Authority met Wednesday morning at City Hall and voted to adopt a revised redevelopment study map.
The map was developed over the past few months in collaboration with the Hamilton County Planning Agency, Hamilton County GIS and city staff. The study map is comprised of virtually all the commercial areas along Ringgold Road and some residential areas that border the commercial district. It also includes all of Lansdale Park.
The purpose of the map, housing authority attorney Mark Litchford said, is to delineate an area in which the housing authority may act to fight blight by redeveloping dilapidated properties for the public good. Litchford said there are 1,200 properties inside the boundary study area. A copy of the revised map is available at City Hall for the public to view.
The boundary map had been presented for consideration at the housing and redevelopment authority’s January 10 meeting. However, several HRA commissioners at that meeting wanted to add several areas to the map, including a residential area on Bennett Road between Greenslake and John Ross Roads.
The boundary map, by state law, is the first step that the HRA must take to combat blight. Litchford said the next step for the board would be the production of a redevelopment plan for areas inside the boundary. Once that is completed, the board would analyze specific properties considered blighted using various criteria including how many times the city’s codes enforcement department may have taken action against the property owner and crime activity generated from the property.
When the redevelopment plan is approved by both the housing and redevelopment board and the East Ridge City Council, public notice will be sent out via letter to all residence within the boundary.
“Then, this body could exercise its authority to target properties for revitalization,” Litchford said.
Litchford told the board that the general public should be “encouraged” by the city taking action to fight blight. It sends a message that the City of East Ridge will no longer tolerate properties that are in horrible condition and it will not be allowed to continue.
Housing authority member Eddie Phillips said that city officials should be “prepared to articulate” the benefit of these actions.
“It’s going to scare some people,” Phillips said.
Litchford said that if residents don’t understand and they are apprehensive about this process that city officials would be happy to talk with them. He said that if a resident’s property is kept up they have no need to worry.
Darwin Branam, the housing authority’s chairman, said that no written notices of any kind will go out to the public until a redevelopment plan is adopted by the board.
Litchford said that he hopes to have more comprehensive information – including crime statistics and assessments from city building officials – for the housing authority to consider at its next meeting. That meeting is set for 10 a.m. on Wednesday, March 7.
The East Ridge City Council is due to vote tonight on a resolution that will allocate $20,000 to the housing authority that will be used to pay for legal fees and other professional services.
Click on link for copy of revised redevelopment boundary map.
EastRidgeStreetMap WITH DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT 1-2018 with flood 20 X 42
_ East Ridge residents were given about 17 hours notice of Wednesday’s meeting of the East Ridge Housing and Redevelopment Authority. The meeting date and time was not published in the Chattanooga Times Free Press or any other paper of record. Two private citizens attended Wednesday’s meeting.
Notice for the meeting was provided via the electronic billboard in front of City Hall on Tombras Avenue sometime around 5 p.m. on Tuesday. A link to the date and time of the meeting was posted on the city’s Website at about that time, officials said. And, a type-written, 8.5 by 11 inch sheet of paper notifying citizens of the meeting was placed on the front door of City Hall.
City Manager Scott Miller said that City Recorder Janet Middleton is responsible for public notice. Miller said that Middleton “forgot” about the meeting.
Middleton said that it was not her fault that the public was given 17 hours notice of the meeting. She said she was not at the previous meeting on Jan. 10. City Manager Miller said that Middleton did indeed attend the Jan. 10 meeting and that she left at some point after it started and her duty as recorder was assumed by another city employee.
In previous meetings of the board, Attorney Litchford strongly emphasized the need of the City to provide as much public notice as possible to assure citizens that the housing authority is acting transparently and by accordance with Tennessee state law. During those meetings it was agreed that a minimum of 48 hours public notice would be provided.
Attorney Litchford said that he believed 17 hours was adequate public notice. He also said that it was his belief that adequate public notice was given of the Wednesday meeting when it was announced on Jan. 10 at the conclusion of the housing authority meeting.
Chairman Branam said “I have no problem with it,” in regard to the city giving the public 17 hours notice of the meeting.
