Chattanooga City Council Meeting - January 13, 2026
Chattanooga City Council Meeting - January 13, 2026
The Chattanooga City Council met on Tuesday, January 13, 2026, beginning in the afternoon, recessing at 4:25 p.m., and resuming at 5:00 p.m. for the regular session. The meeting included final and first reading of ordinances, multiple resolutions, committee reports, and public comments.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of minutes from previous meeting.
- Final reading: Ordinance to close and abandon alleyways (District 6).
- Final reading: Ordinance to revise speed limit (Districts 2 and 3).
- First reading: Ordinance to abandon sanitary sewer easement (District 9).
- Resolutions A and B (surplus property sale and Hamilton County surplus proceeds).
- Resolutions C and D (appointments to Public Art Commission).
- Resolution E (acceptance of Carver Park Master Plan).
- Resolutions F, G, H (development agreements and easements for Customer Delight Drive).
- Resolution I (commemorative street signs for Rosemary Gantt Porter Avenue).
- Resolution J (professional services contract for watershed modeling, up to $1.5 million).
- Resolution K (special exceptions permit for residential planned unit development amendment).
- Purchases: Four items approved (Beeler Impressions renewal $168,000; Motion Industries sludge collector $74,606; Wayne's Pest Control renewal $118,500; Stringfellow leaf collection vehicle $37,000).
Public Comments & Testimony
- Lina Robinson Hart (senior line dancer) expressed appreciation for the planned Eastgate senior center but urged consideration of a standalone facility to accommodate growing demand, noting parking issues at Glenwood.
- Vanessa Bell echoed support for a standalone senior center, emphasizing the need for a permanent, dedicated space.
- Zazisa Singh (District 9) called for ending the sister city relationship with Giv'atayim, Israel, citing genocide and apartheid, and urged dissolution of the partnership.
- Evelina Ren Koutai (District 8) also opposed the sister city relationship, suggesting a partnership with Bethlehem, Palestine, and criticized city silence on the issue.
- Anna Hinkle (District 9) similarly urged ending the relationship with Israel, citing human rights violations.
- Kat Zwetter (nonprofit volunteer) described the lack of coordination during the Hooker Road displacement, requesting transparency and communication from the city.
- Jessica Alexander (District 8) repeated calls to end the sister city relationship with Giv'atayim and proposed Bethlehem.
- Sam Issa (Palestinian American resident) expressed personal pain over the sister city and urged a change to Bethlehem.
- Tiffany Rankins (Lincoln Park, District 8) detailed ongoing crime issues and a homicide on December 19, 2025, blaming landlord, police, and city officials for failure to address problems.
- Rabbi Sam Rottenberg (District 6) spoke in support of the sister city relationship, praising Israel’s democratic values and diversity.
- Michael Dezik (CEO of Jewish Federation, District 3) opposed ending the relationship, advocating for building bridges and adding more sister cities, not tearing down existing ones.
- Nikki Byrd clarified that opposition to Israel’s actions is not anti-Semitism but anti-genocide.
Discussion Items
- Agenda Session: Council discussed planning items, including deferrals for several cases. Councilwoman Hill requested a two-week deferral for case 2025-0183 in District 2 to explore administrative solutions. Councilwoman Noel deferred cases B and G for two weeks to address neighborhood concerns. Councilman Elliott requested site plans be attached to items 2025-0192 and 2025-0176.
- Liquor Store Special Exceptions Permit (Resolution L): Councilman Clark recused himself, stating he would not vote due to incompatibility with Highway 58 area plans. City attorney noted the 60-day deadline for action under state law is January 16, 2026; if no action, the permit is automatically granted. Measurements confirmed distances from the liquor store to the school exceed 200 feet (ranging from 312 to 513 feet).
- Economic Development Committee Presentation: Sharita Allen and Hanukkah Manderson presented an overview of special assessment districts (CBD, traditional, infrastructure development districts) compared to TIFs. Key distinction: TIFs commit public funds, special assessment districts do not. The IDD is a new tool for housing development, offering tax-exempt financing for infrastructure. Committee discussed bond terms (30 years), debt not city's, and benefits for greenfield projects.
- Community Development Committee Presentation: Cedric Henson reported on the relocation of senior programming to Eastgate Town Center, increasing usable space by 50% to 15,000 square feet. The decision followed senior advisory board feedback on parking, storage, and hours. Construction is to be turnkey by Eastgate management. Councilwoman Burn recognized Jeff Strong (34-year city employee) with a proclamation.
Key Outcomes
- All consent calendar items were approved unanimously.
- Planning items: Several deferred: case 2025-0176 (B) deferred to Jan 27; case 2025-0183 (E) deferred to Jan 27; case 2025-0186 (F) deferred to Jan 20; case 2025-0144 (G) deferred to Jan 27. Others approved: case 2025-0179 (D) approved; case 2025-0192 (H) approved with site plan; case 2025-0182 (J) approved; case 2025-0181 (K) approved; case 2025-0184 (L) no motion, dies (but will be automatically granted per state law).
- Resolution L (liquor store) received no motion; per state law, it will be automatically granted after 60 days (by Jan 16, 2026).
- Purchases approved as recommended.
- Committee reports: Parks & Public Works meeting Jan 27; Education & Innovation meeting Jan 27; Community Development suspended in February; Budget Committee meeting Feb 10.
- Meeting adjourned after public comments.
Meeting Transcript
Good afternoon. I'd like to call to order the Chattanooga City Council meeting for Tuesday, January thirteenth, twenty twenty six. God, we thank you for the privilege of representing the people of this great city. We pray that you would guide and direct the work that we do today, and that you would protect and bless all of those gathered here today. Amen. Amen. We have no special presentations today. Council, can I get a motion on the minutes, please? Thank you. Without objection, the minutes will stand. Okay. Council. Um let's go ahead and start talking about our agenda for today. Um on final reading, we will have an economic development committee and a community development committee meeting. Um, but first we're gonna go through the agenda. Umrdance has under final reading. We have just a couple of items. Um one for the city of the office of the city attorney, a mandatory referral in district six, um, as well as an ordinance to revise a speed limit in districts two and three. If you've got any questions or concerns, council, please hit your light. For first reading, we have a wastewater item, and we have planning today. Councilman Elliott. Yes, madam chair. I have two uh questions. One's gonna be on the uh wastewater item, which is in district nine. If Mark or somebody can just give me a little bit of understanding of what are we doing with this one, and then I have a planning item, madam chair. What was your question? Can you highlight a little bit what we're doing in this one? Uh I see this one is it's like we're a little bit of abandonment. What does that look like? Yeah, so there is an existing easement that the wastewater utility has ownership of, but there is actually no infrastructure in that easement. So we're just getting ready. So we're just giving it back to the property owner. Okay, do they get notified that this goes back to I believe there's well, there's uh a deed release with that, but there's it's uh there's a process for it. I don't know exactly what the vehicle for notification is, but uh they've they were the ones requesting that, I think. So that's why they should be following the process. Okay, proper long as they're involved. Thank you so much. Okay, and you had a planning item. Yes, ma'am, it's gonna be item. Sorry, scrolling down item uh 2025 0192. Um and council staff as well. I've emailed yes, ma'am. Item eight, sorry. Uh I emailed you all uh copies of the site plan. I would like the site plan uh in the record as well for tonight. Okay, okay, okay, and that's all Madam Chair. Okay. Councilwoman members, thank you, madam chair. Under planning uh item F. The applicant has requested us to defer this for one week, so I will make a request to defer till January 20th.
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