Chattanooga City Council Meeting - April 7, 2026
Chattanooga City Council Meeting - April 7, 2026
The Chattanooga City Council met on Tuesday, April 7, 2026, at 7:23 PM. The meeting included a recess for attorney-client privilege, followed by votes on ordinances, resolutions, and committee reports. Key actions included advancing a vehicle booting ordinance amendment, approving multiple appointments and contracts, and expressing disappointment over a developer's failure to appear for an economic development update. Public comments addressed neighborhood cleanups, property complaints, and community recognition.
Consent Calendar
- Ordinance (First Reading): Closing and abandoning unopened right-of-way in the 4000 block of Cromwell Road (Item 8A) – approved.
- Resolutions (Package A & B): Confirming appointments of Jennifer Gregory (District 6) and Christopher Sheet (District 7) to the Board of Zoning Appeals – approved with one abstention.
- Resolution C: Authorizing $175,000 for the Builders Blueprint Program (construction trade training) – approved.
- Resolution D: Authorizing Family Justice Center to accept a $124,000 continuation grant from Tennessee Office of Criminal Justice – approved.
- Resolutions E, F, G: Confirming reappointment of Santosh Sandkar, Chris Sogden, and Harriet Stokes to the Metropolitan Airport Authority – approved.
- Resolution H: Authorizing $650,000 subrecipient agreement with Community Haven for community patrol and workforce development targeting justice-involved youth – approved.
- Resolutions I–M (Package): Various public works and parks contracts including John A. Patton Ballfield improvements ($825,541), Summit landfill fence replacement ($296,000), adoption of historic guidelines, DRC interior improvements ($210,230), and custodial cleaning contract increase ($679,392) – approved.
- Purchases (7 items): Included equipment maintenance ($586,000 annual), bagged ice ($50,000 annual), grounds maintenance ($156,000 annual), biosolids handling ($6,382,480 annual), bucket truck ($215,100), rescind/re-award of F550 CCTV truck ($389,013), and parasitic acid ($895,000 annual) – all approved.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Montreal Bessley (District 7): Invited the council to a community cleanup in Alton Park on April 18, 9 AM–1 PM, starting at Cocoa Cafe.
- Unidentified 82-year-old woman (District 7): Presented photos of tree cutting and trespassing on her property. Expressed safety concerns and frustration. Councilman Elliott suggested filing a police report; she stated she had called the police.
- Janice Gooden (District 8): Noted that Women’s History Month and National Social Work Month were not recognized in March. Paid tribute to several deceased community women including Dr. Tommy Brown, Mrs. Forrestine Lockhart Haynes, Mrs. Dorothy Pride, and Jeanette Dodds.
Discussion Items
- Booting/Immobilization of Vehicles (Item 7A – Final Reading Amendment): Councilman Clark introduced an amendment (Version 11) to add a structured repayment plan for immobilized vehicle owners: a $75 booting fee with a 25% initial down payment and a payment plan administered by CARTA. The city attorney noted the amendment is a significant change requiring it to go back to first reading. CARTA representative Britt Matthews confirmed the authority is comfortable handling payment plans. Councilman Burrs requested a review after six months. Council approved Version 11 (first reading), requiring a second reading next week.
- Planning & Zoning Committee (Chairwoman Burrs): Reviewed several items for future first readings. Items 2026-0018 and 2026-0020 (District 7) were deferred to May 5, 2026, at Councilwoman Dotley’s request. Item 2026-0019 (1107 Northmore Road) – a request to lift and amend PUD conditions – was discussed with condition changes to allow 53 smaller homes; Councilman Clark noted additional conditions regarding landscape buffering and stormwater drainage still need to be confirmed. Item 2026-0027 (3404 7th Avenue) – rezoning from RN2 to RN3 for a quadplex – staff recommended TRN1 zone instead; council will follow that recommendation.
- Economic Development Committee (Chairman Elliott): A presentation on the Bend development by Urban Story Ventures was scheduled but the developer did not attend. Councilman Elliott and Councilwoman Dotley expressed strong disappointment. Discussion ensued about the council’s subpoena power. The developer is expected to appear at the Industrial Development Board meeting in May. Council agreed to postpone further action until after leadership elections next week.
Key Outcomes
- Vehicle Booting Ordinance (Item 7A): Version 11 passed on first reading (unanimous). A second reading is required next week due to the amendment.
- Planning & Zoning Deferrals: Two items (0018 and 0020) deferred to May 5, 2026.
- Economic Development: Urban Story Ventures to be rescheduled after leadership elections; council will consider subpoena if necessary.
- Board Appointments: Jennifer Gregory and Christopher Sheet confirmed to BZA. Three airport authority reappointments confirmed.
- Purchases and Contracts: All seven purchase requests and resolution package I–M approved.
- Future Agenda: Next meeting on April 14, 2026, at 2 PM (no recess due to Lookouts stadium opening). Includes Arts Build presentation, election of officers, community development committee cancellation, and multiple planning items under first reading.
Meeting Transcript
Good afternoon and welcome to the meeting of the Chattanooga City Council for Tuesday, April 7th, 2026. I'd like to invite Councilman Burrs to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance and the invocation. And to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God and the visible with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. We'd like to welcome everyone who is joining us. If you are here for the first time, I want to take a minute and explain to you the way that our meetings run. And then we will take a recess. We will have an attorney client privilege meeting, which we will do today, Council. Um that uh recess will be approximately probably 30 minutes, and then we will that's probably what I'll decide today. And then we will come back and do our vote. At the end of that, we are happy to hear from members of the public who are here that would like to address us on issues related to our scope of work. And uh, you would have three minutes, and we will stay for as long as we have folks that want to talk. And our attorney will handle those rules when the time comes. So that being said, thanks for joining us here today. And council, let's get down to it. Um we do have an item under final reading. Um if you've got anything you'd like to say about that, please do hit your line. Uh madam chair. Oh, there we go. Sorry. Um over the weekend I submitted a minute an amendment uh to the um voting in immobilization of vehicles. And I think the random versions were sent to you all, but I'm gonna actually give you pass on the physical copies. Um we're moving. Uh part of the um this is gonna be when this was first introduced to us. We had questions about what consumer protection meant for those who had uh who are chronic violators of our uh parking policies. Uh part of the um this is gonna be when this was first introduced to us, we had questions about what consumer protection meant for those who had uh who are chronic violators of our uh parking policies um and what that relief would look like also while not discouraging people into uh parking downtown, but also uh the opportunity to collect um and most cities they're already implementing these re the structured repayment plans um as an incentive to you if you do come downtown and you park and you have a bunch of tickets and you're immobilized, you have the opportunity uh to pay the 75 dollar booting fee with a 25% initial down payment and then to enter into a structure payment plan. Uh this is not um uncommon to other cities our size. Uh at that when this was initially introduced, uh the language was left open for the uh Carter board to decide what those rules would be like. I thought it would be best for since we were considering this uh ordinance to allow the city council to codify that into legislation, and so that's what that is. Um it allows us to create a structured repayment plan uh to allow uh citizens who have high fines that if they are in mobile, if they are booted, they they can still get their car back. We can still secure some funding, um including the fee, and then a 25% payment down. Um that's all the uh amendment in um involves. Thank you, councilman. Uh Mr. Attorney. Um yeah, and this particular ordinance I believe passed on first reading last week uh without the amendment in it now has a new section 24518 regarding conditional release and a payment plan here. Uh we have been in contact with the attorneys for the uh CARTA folks, and they do not have any objection to this new addition, but it is a significant change uh adding a new section to your code, and I believe that it will require you to have this go back to first reading if this amendment is accepted. So uh there'll need to be a motion to amend, and if that occurs, it would go back to first reading because you have to have two readings on two separate days percent of the charter. Thank you very much. Councilman Henderson. Thank you, Madam Chair. Uh Councilman, so the or Mr. Attorney, the whole section 24-518 is what's been added because mine I do not have a red line. And I have a red line I'll give you, and I think the coal has one at least. Is it not in that packet that I just what I was handed first did not have a red line? There's one, there's one in our council packet. Oh, sorry, I have a whole digital council package. I had requested that sorry, there I have the red. In the digital folder, there was one. I just want to make sure that we're under my folder.
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