Decoding zoning: understanding development terms in Chattanooga
Once completed, the downtown Food City will be part of a larger mixed-use development. | Photo provided by Food City
You may know our “Decoding Zoning” series, where we work to make local zoning codes + processes easier to understand.
Today, we’re taking a step back to provide some basic definitions of commonly-used zoning and development terms — paired with examples you might recognize in the Scenic City. 👇
Mixed-Use
Projects that provide more than one purpose, like a building with apartments on top + retail on the bottom,are referred to as mixed or multi-use. Expect combinations of housing, retail, parking, commercial, and industrial components.
Example: The downtown Food City that’s in the works will be part of a larger mixed-use development withretail + office spaces along Broad Street and six two-story townhouses along W. 13th Street.
Rezoning
Changing an area of land from the city’s designated useis known as rezoning. Rezoning requests could be developers looking to build a high-rise in a neighborhood with a certain building height restriction, or open a business in an area marked residential.
Example:In November, Chattanooga City Council approved rezoning Airport Inn to become permanent supportive housing.
Special Use Permit
Also known as a conditional use permit, this isgranted to provide relief from regulations when land is being used in a manner not normally compatible with the zoning. It’s only granted when the intended site use is deemed appropriate and compatible with the surrounding area.
Example: Red Bank City Commission recently approved a special use permit to allow a mixed-use development at the former Save A Lot on Dayton Boulevard, though zoned for commercial use.
Principal Use
The primary activity or function of a site. A site’s principal use must be aligned with the zoning ordinances of the land it’s on.
Example: Living in a home within a residential zone is an allowable principal use.
Accessory Use
An activity or function of a site labeled subordinate or incidental.
Example: The garage or shedon your home property might be labeled an accessory use.
Genesis the Greykid with Build Me a World | Thursday, Mar. 2 | 3-7 p.m. | J.Crew Warehouse Row, 1110 Market St., Chattanooga | Price of purchase | Shop to support Build Me a World + get style picks from event host and local artist, Genesis the Greykid.
Ladies Who Launch Happy Hour | Thursday, Mar. 2 | 5:30-7 p.m. | Common House, 1517 Mitchell Ave., Chattanooga | Free, RSVP | Celebrate Women’s History Month with themed cocktails and networking opportunities.
“Chicago” | Thursday, Mar. 2 | 7:30 p.m. | Memorial Auditorium, 399 McCallie Ave., Chattanooga | $55-$85 | Come out for a classical musical filled with jazz and “the most astonishing dancing you’ve ever seen.”
Friday, March 3
Carpetbaggers Comedy Show | Friday, Mar. 3 | 9 p.m. | Bode Chattanooga, 730 Chestnut St., Chattanooga | $12 | Enjoy a pre-show happy hour and a magic show at 8 p.m. before listening to local, regional, and national comics.
Saturday, March 4
City of Chattanooga Arbor Day | Saturday, Mar. 4 | 8 a.m.-1 p.m. | Shepherd Community Center, 2124 Shepherd Rd., Chattanooga | Free, RSVP | Volunteers of all ages can participate in planting field-grown trees + perennial flowers, tree pruning demonstrations, outdoor games, and more.
Mystical March | Saturday, Mar. 4 | 10 a.m.-4 p.m. | Mountain Arts Community Center, 809 Kentucky Ave., Signal Mountain | Free+ | Vendors will showcase their handcrafted products at this St. Patrick’s Day-themed market.
Sunday, March 5
Artful Yoga with Robyn Stringfellow | Sunday, Mar. 5 | 1:30-3 p.m. | Hunter Museum of American Art, 10 Bluff View Ave., Chattanooga | $5 | Enjoy an art-inspired yoga practice with instructor Robyn Stringfellow.
Monday, March 6
Full Moon Hike with Outshine Adventures | Monday, Mar. 6 | 5-7 p.m. | Stringer’s Ridge Park, Spears Ave., Chattanooga | $30 | Explore the trails at Stringer’s Ridge Park and watch the full moon rise on a guided, 2.7-mile moderately strenuous hike.
We have a calendar filled with events and activities you can plan for in advance. Click the button below to bookmark ideas for upcoming date nights, family outings, and time with friends.
The Chattanooga City Council recently approved new rules on short-term vacation rentals, which include an expanded buffer zone in select areas. Among the revised rules, “no new absentee rentals will be allowed within 1,000-ft of another absentee rental in a single-family detached zoning district.” (Chattanooga Times Free Press)
Development
Atlanta-based real estate firm Columbia Residential was selected to serve as head developer for the Westside Community Evolves project. The firm has developed more than $1 billion of mixed-income + senior housing projects across the Southeast. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)
A Chattanooga developer is renovating the former Park Hotel(117 E. 7th St.) in downtown Chattanooga. The newly named Park Tower will hold 46 condominiums, creating one of the tallest private residential towers in the central city. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)
Transit
CARTA has added another resource for public transit in the form of a new YouTube channel. Check out its first video and learn about how to use the CARTA GO app.🚏
Arts
CHA Hip-Hop Summit, in partnership with SoundCorps, will launch a Music and Business speaker series on Thursday, March 9. The event will feature CEO of Powerhouse Management Kadeem Phillips, with a focus on connecting local artists + industry experts. 🤝
Community
A new local group has formed to bring LGBTQIA+ climbers together. Those interested in joining can follow the Chattanooga Queer Climbers for more information about future meet-ups.
Biz
Creative Discovery Museum will close at 3 p.m. on Saturday, March 4 in preparation for its annual fundraiser, AmuseUm: Full STEAM Ahead. Tickets are still available for this 21+ event. The museum will resume normal operating hours on Sunday, March 5 at 10 a.m.
Cause
FORe THE KIDS, a golf tournament benefiting the Children’s Advocacy Center of Hamilton County, will take place on Tuesday, March 14. Come out to the Council Fire Gold Course (100 Council Fire Dr.) to participate — women’s registration is at 8 a.m. + all golfers’ registration is at 11 a.m.
Plan Ahead
Lula Lake Land Trust’s 8th Hike Bike Brew Beer Festival will return on Saturday, May 13. The festival where brews meet the outdoors will feature tastings from local and regional breweries as you hike or bike the “Beer Path Loop.”Drinker tickets go on sale Saturday, April 1. 🍻
Try This
Calling all thrill seekers. Dread Hollow’sScream Break will take place for two nights only on Friday, March 31 + Saturday, April 1. Choose between the Revolt and Blood Harvest haunts, or test your wits in the escape rooms. Reserve your spots online. 👻
Home
Are you smart? With smart thermometers you don’t have to be. Learn more about how smart thermometers work and the automatic features that can save you money. 🌦️ *
Edu
You go girl(s). ChattState welcomed middle + high school female students to get a hands-on taste of the college’s Engineering and IT programs at Girls STEM Day. See photos of the annual event that inspires local girls to pursue STEM careers. 👩🏭 *
Wellness
Our go-to product to relieve tensionand decrease under eye puffiness: an ice roller. Not to mention, it’s the perfect way to cool off your face after an intense workout or morning run. These ice globes are also a great skincare addition to help soothe and depuff. *
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HISTORY
Man, I feel like a woman 🎤
Asked: Which local woman do you want us to highlight?
Mary Walker with her teacher, Mrs. Helen Kelley, and classmates during one of their classes. | Photo taken by NOOGAtoday via the library’s “Ex-Slave Ex-Tra: The Living Voice and Biography of an Ex-slave in Modern History”
Happy Women’s History Month, Chattanooga.
We want to celebrate with exactly that — the history of an intriguing, powerful, impactful local woman. But we want your help on deciding which one to research (after all, there are quite a lot of amazing women from Chattanooga’s history). Need some inspiration? Check out our previous history articles on women like Mary Walker + Anna Safely Houston.
So, let’s hear it. Want to learn more about the first Black, female physician in Chattanooga? Interested in how the “Empress of Blues” got her start? Wondering why there are actually two significant women of local history named Mary Walker? Let us know what you want to know, and we’ll start digging.
Editor’s pick: Shoutout to my husband, Chris, whose birthday is today!! I got him the cutest card from Winder Binder before we left town (hopefully he’s already opened it by the time he reads this — he’s a big Smokey Bear fan), so if you’re on the hunt for a cool card, check out the local bookstore. Send all the good thoughts and lovely birthday vibes his way today! 🥳
Editorial:Brianna Williams, Kristen Templeton, Haley Bartlett, Josh Kranzberg, Emily Shea, Jessalin Heins-Nagamoto, Dayten Rose, Sarah Leonhardt, Katie Smith | Send us a scoop, question, or feedback.
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