Chattanooga City Council Meeting - April 21, 2026
Chattanooga City Council Meeting - April 21, 2026
The Chattanooga City Council met on April 21, 2026, for an agenda session in the afternoon and reconvened at 4:30 PM for a business meeting. The council approved multiple zoning ordinances, resolutions, and purchases. Notable discussions included the proposed Southside Cowart Street neighborhood parking district and a request for taxi rate increases. The meeting began with the Pledge of Allegiance and invocation, followed by approval of the previous meeting's minutes.
Consent Calendar
- Minutes were approved as published.
- Final reading ordinances (Items 7A–D) passed unanimously: rezonings on Russell Avenue and Singing Mountain Row (Item 7A), abandonment of a planned unit development in multiple locations (7B), amendment of zoning conditions on North Moore Road (7C), and rezoning on 7th Avenue (7D).
- First reading ordinance Item 8A (closing and abandoning a former Belt Railway right-of-way on North Orchid Knob Avenue) passed.
- Resolutions 9A (fee waiver for Scenic City Shakespeare at Greenway Farms; rental fees of $9,500 waived but a $9,500 deposit required), 9B (reappointment of Marcus Williams to the Sports Authority for a term ending in 2032), 9C (purchase of 4.27 acres at 1009 Reeds Lake Road for $900,000 plus closing costs), 9D (increase to fire department record management contract by $10,200 for a new total of $646,411.12), 9E (renaming DuPont Park as Alan Ledford Park), 9F (waiver of the $300 custom program fee for Camp Hope with Outdoor Chattanooga), and 9G (contract with Kimley-Horn and Associates for preliminary design of eliminating the Norfolk Southern railroad crossing on Hamill Road, not to exceed $1,618,750) were all approved.
- All five recommended purchases (including 67 office chairs for $71,028.93, emergency sewer backup services, wet weather polymer extension, ballistic identification system, and bleachers at Tyner Community Center) and four sole-source purchases were approved.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Missy Crutchfield (Highland Park): Thanked the council for forming a committee on homelessness and described the Unbroken Coalition's work to connect nonprofits. She reported incidents of assault against unsheltered women and children by housed individuals and urged the council to act with compassion.
- Emily Byland (District 7, Battle Academy PTA President): Opposed the proposed South Cowart permit parking district, stating it would harm the Title I school. She noted that 41% of students are eligible for SNAP, the school has only 46 parking spots for 70+ staff, and most students arrive by car. She argued the permit system would lengthen the car line, potentially blocking Main Street and delaying emergency services.
- Robert Work (Owner, Honeyseed): Opposed the parking district, arguing on-street parking is generally available and the ordinance would materially harm local businesses. He pointed out a contradiction: the city required a private business to make its parking lot public but now proposes to restrict street parking.
- John Stevens (District 7, Southside Cowart Place Neighborhood Association): Supported the parking district as a quality-of-life improvement for residents and emphasized the neighborhood's willingness to work with the school and businesses.
- Jonathan Easter (District 9, Nuga Taxi Cab Company): Requested a taxi rate increase, noting it has been 15 years since the last adjustment. He cited inflation, rising insurance costs, and market comparisons with other Tennessee cities. He asked for a one-time reset to market rates and an annual adjustment mechanism similar to towing. Councilman Clark agreed to sponsor legislation on the matter.
- Janice Gooden (District 8): Commented on the morning committee meeting on homelessness, appreciating the renewed focus and promising to provide written input.
Discussion Items
- Southside Cowart Street Neighborhood Parking District: Councilwoman Dotley introduced an alternate version of the ordinance with conditions negotiated with Battle Academy. The conditions include school hang tags valid from 6 AM to 6 PM only during the school year, an appeals process through the Parking Authority, and a notification requirement for after-hours events. She deferred the item to April 28 for a vote. Councilwoman Hill raised concerns from a business owner about the hours restricting daytime business parking. Dotley responded that the process has been ongoing for years and needs a conclusion.
- Taxi Rate Increase: Jonathan Easter's public comments prompted Councilman Clark to commit to drafting and bringing forward a taxi rate increase ordinance.
Committee Reports
- Councilman Henderson reported an upcoming lunch-and-learn tour of the Bend with the IDB and administration on April 28.
- Councilwoman Dotley noted the Affordable Housing Committee will meet next week.
- Vice Chair Elliott stated the Legislative Committee will meet next week to discuss Councilman Harvey's landscape award proposal.
Key Outcomes
- All voting items on the agenda were approved except Item 8B (rezoning on Shallow Ford Road), which was deferred to April 28.
- The Southside Cowart Street parking district ordinance was deferred to April 28 with a substitute version to be considered.
- Councilman Clark committed to introducing a taxi rate increase ordinance in the coming weeks.
The meeting adjourned after public comments.
Meeting Transcript
Good afternoon, everybody. I'd like to call to order the April twenty first meeting of the Chattanooga City Council. As we get started, I'd like to call upon Councilwoman Noel, the leader center pledge of allegiance and invocation. And third book they are for our people in our community. We played, compassion, and good stewardship. Guy, every board, every vote, and every action. These words be asked in my name. Amen. Amen. Thank you. As we get started today, just wanted to remind everyone to silence your phones if you have them on you. And for those who haven't joined us for a meeting before, I'll just kind of go through the flow of the meeting so that everyone will know. What we'll do first is go through if we had any special presentations. We'll look at our minutes from our last meeting and approve those. Then from there, we'll go through and look at this week's agenda and answer any questions or comments that council members might have about items up for a vote today during our business portion of the meeting. We'll then look at next week's proposed agenda items and kind of do the same thing, answer any questions or hear any concerns there. Next, we'll look at purchasing items that are on the agenda for tonight. And we do have a handful of purchase requests and sole source purchases to look at. After that point, we if we had any um committee uh meetings uh on the agenda, we would have those uh at that point in the meeting. We don't have any today. Um, and so we will recess for a brief period of time during our recess. Sometimes we have an attorney client meeting with the city attorney. We do not have one today, so I imagine our recess will be relatively short. Um, and so with that, council. If we would look at this week's uh this week's agenda, starting with the ordinances on final reading. Are there any questions about ordinances on final reading? All right, seeing none. Do have some ordinances on first reading. Any questions on those vice chair Elliott? You're recognized. Thank you, Mr. Chair. For item B under planning. I'm going to defer this for one more week. Just want to give you a heads up on that. Okay, that's 8B. Yes, sir. Okay. Okay. Any other questions on ordinances on first reading read tonight? That's key, but okay. Moving on to resolutions. We do have a few resolutions of different varieties on the agenda tonight. Any questions about those councilwoman Dodley? Yes, for item number, I'm so sorry. E under. I'm sorry, sorry, I thought it was a first read ordinance. I apologize on the parts and public works for the own street parking. Okay. Okay, that should be for next week, so I'll just defer it to next week for item number E.
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