Chattanooga City Council Meeting - March 24, 2026
Chattanooga City Council Meeting - March 24, 2026
The Chattanooga City Council met on March 24, 2026, at 3:30 PM for a full agenda including a special presentation on a new parking compliance ordinance, multiple resolutions and first-reading items, an economic development committee update from the Chattanooga Tourism Company, and public comments. The council voted on several items, including the joint acquisition of the Boy Scout property and a rezoning with conditions for a 67-unit townhome development.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of the minutes from the previous week.
- Approval of resolutions D through G (appointments to boards).
- Approval of purchases: renewal of Southeastern Materials and Vulcan contracts, new painting services agreement, community health increase, fire hose sole source, and third-party injury-on-duty agreement.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Melissa Ray (Save Enterprise South Nature Park) urged the council to rezone the Boy Scout parcel as open space and follow RPA recommendations.
- Diane Bryan (Rise and Thrive) requested resources for high-risk youth: housing, clothing, drug treatment, safe jobs, and transportation.
- Jeff Suggs expressed concern about high parking costs in private lots deterring locals from downtown.
- Avery Shadwick (CSLA student) advocated for establishing recycling programs in public schools to reduce waste and teach sustainability.
Discussion Items
- Special Presentation: Parking Compliance Ordinance (CARTA CEO Charles Frazier) – The proposed ordinance ("Consumer Protection and Parking Compliance") creates a licensing framework for private parking operators, caps fees, mandates self-releasing boots, establishes a 120-day amnesty period with hardship and food donation credit programs, and sets maximum rates (hourly ≤150% of on-street rate, daily max $18). Enforcement begins October 2026. Council members raised concerns about predatory practices, appeals process, and protections for chronic violators. Councilwoman Dotley and others expressed support.
- Boy Scout Property Acquisition (Resolution B) – The council approved joint purchase (city & Hamilton County) of a 19.6-acre parcel adjacent to I-75 for $530,000 (city's half $265,000). Councilwoman Burris and others emphasized community desire for open space, though administration stated no current plans beyond holding the land.
- Rezoning – Agawella Drive (Ordinance 8A) – Rezoning from R-1 to R-3 for 67 townhome units with conditions: maximum 4 attached units, 35-foot height limit, two street cuts, and a 7-foot privacy fence with 10-foot landscape buffer on the northern property line. Councilman Clark added the fence condition via amendment. Approved as amended.
- Economic Development Committee – Chattanooga Tourism Company – Interim CEO Susan Harris reported 11.1 million visitors in 2024, $1.8 billion economic impact, and 30,000 hospitality jobs. Discussed marketing strategies, event recruitment (271 events in 2024, 300+ future bookings), and the impact of Hamilton County's decision to withdraw funding for sports tourism.
Key Outcomes
- Parking Ordinance – Scheduled for first reading in April; CARTA board to finalize licensing and community support program details.
- Boy Scout Property Purchase – Approved (unanimous); will be jointly owned with Hamilton County.
- Agawella Drive Rezoning – Approved as amended (motion to amend and final approval passed).
- Resolutions A (I-24 flood wall license), C (health services renewal), H (park grant), I–L (public works contracts), M (reconnecting West Side design), N–O (animal control officer appointments) – All approved.
- Purchases – All six purchases approved.
- Future Considerations – Presentation on historic preservation guidelines scheduled for next week; council members requested materials in advance.
Meeting Transcript
Good afternoon. To get us started, I'd like to invite Councilman Harvey to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance and Invocation. And the Republic for which it stands one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Thank you, Madam Chair. Want to do something a little bit differently today. Um last week. We had his service yesterday. Appreciate all the the text and calls. Appreciate my brother from another mother, Ron Elliott, for coming to the funeral yesterday. So that really meant a lot. But he was a man who uh loved his city. He uh was a lifelong resident of Signal Mountain, uh, but made his living as a blue-collar man in the city of Chattanooga. He drove a truck for Coca-Cola, worked at the old signal knitting mill and uh made most of his career at DuPont over in District 3. Um so I wanted to honor him today by having a moment of silence. Um if you don't if you don't mind join me in honoring my grandfather, Charles Albert Harvey. Thank you. Thank you. Um before we get started today, I see some faces in the in the crowd that are not our every Tuesday faces. So I want to share with you a little bit about how our meetings progress so that you um can make choices about when you want to be here and and um understand how things work. So investment. There he goes again. Councilman Henderson used to say when he was chair, will you please be sure to turn off your devices, silence your devices? We all want to do that. Uh any anybody who's isn't silent might be a great time to do that. Um but what I wanted to share with you all is that our council meets every Tuesday at 3 30 to begin our our official work of the day. Now, very often on Tuesdays, we also have other meetings throughout the morning and afternoon. Um today our council had an education session for new members on our pension plan, for example, for fire and police. Um so this council puts in quite a lot of of work throughout the day. Um today what we're gonna do is we will go through our agenda for this afternoon, and then we will take a look at our purchases. We'll take a look at our agenda for next week, and then items that are going to be on future what we call future considerations that are going to be on our agenda in the next three and four weeks. This is the council that does its homework that looks um far out in advance so that by the time we get to the point where we're gonna vote, we are well educated on the issues at hand. Um we will go through all of that. We do have a committee meeting today. All of our committees are committee of the whole. We'll have an economic development committee meeting with a presentation from the Chattanooga Tourism Company. Um then we will take a recess. Our recesses are usually about 45 minutes because surprise, surprise, we have work we have to do in in between often uh whether it be with our constituents or with our attorney. Um when we return, we will vote on all of the items on today's agenda, and then we will be very happy to open the floor for public comment. Um we'll have the opportunity to speak for up to three minutes if you are interested, and we will cover the rules when the time comes. So that said, thank you for being here, and we will get down to it. Council, please take a look at our ordinances on final reading. Oh, thank you, madam vice chair. Rewind, we're gonna do a quick minute approval. And actually, we have a special presentation as well. Sorry, I missed that. So let's do our uh minute approval. Can I get it? Can I get a motion on the minutes from last week? Thank you. The minutes will stand without objection.
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