Speaker numbers apply only to this recording. Names come from transcript evidence. “Possibly” marks uncertain attribution.
The Chattanooga City Council convened on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, beginning earlier than usual at approximately 2:00 PM to allow council members to participate in National Night Out events. The meeting covered a wide range of zoning ordinances, resolutions, purchases, committee reports, and public testimony. A major topic was public safety, highlighted by the denial of a rezoning based on crime statistics, and infrastructure concerns raised by residents regarding road conditions and tunnel closures.
Good afternoon, everyone. I'll call to order the Tuesday, October thirteenth meeting of the Chattanooga City Council. If you would please stand and join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. Thank you, and welcome everyone. Thank you for joining us a little bit earlier today, so that council can get out to the national night out events in our different districts with CPD this evening. And so council will go through that process with all of those agenda items. Not for today. And that is how our meeting will operate today. And so council, uh, could I please get a motion on the minutes from our last meeting? So moved. Do have a motion properly seconded on the minutes from last Tuesday's meeting. And so those minutes will stand as published. Council, look with me if you will, at the items on our agenda this evening for a vote. We do have one ordinance on final reading. And as we look through as usual, just hit your lights if you have any questions or comments. We have several first reading ordinances, including quite a few planning items, um, which will serve as public hearings for those particular planning items. Councilwoman Dotley, you're recognized. Thank you so much, Mr. Chair. Um, as mentioned last week, planning item 2026-0044 uh for a rezoning. I plan to deny, I did want to read this statement into the record, and Mr. Attorney, please advise if I if I need to have anything additional. Um, I did do some research and a big thank you to the Chinese police department's crime and intelligence analysis unit. Um, I plan to deny zoning case number two zero two six-004 based on significant public safety concerns documented by the Chinese police department within the surrounding area during the past year. Um they provided data that included um from October 12th, 2025 to October 12th, 2026. Uh and an analysis of calls for service during that time frame uh inside the boundaries of Broad Street, 20th Street, Chestnut Street, and Main Street, which is just a kind of rectangle block radius. Um, according to the Chinooka Police Department's Crime and Crime and Intelligence Analysis Unit, a calls for service, the CFS analysis was conducted for the period as stated within the boundary that was stated. Uh the analysis identified 531 total calls for service within the study area with 139 calls, 26% occurring at Southside Social and Whiskey Cowgirl. The analysis also identified concentrated periods of police activity during the following times Thursday through Friday, 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. with 94 calls for service, and Saturday to Sunday, 10 p.m. to Saturday to Sunday, 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. with 33 calls for service. The Chinese police department further noted that Southside Social and Whiskey Cowgirl hosts an 18 and older event on Thursday night, uh crowd on Thursday night, which may contribute to increased calls for service due to higher patron attendance. Um historically law enforcement has also encountered large groups congregating in adjacent parking lots, contributing to multiple incidents involving disorder and altercations. Given the documentate documentation, given the documented frequency of calls for service, the concentration of incidents during evening and overnight hours, and the history of public safety concerns involving gatherings in adjacent parking areas, introducing an additional recreational use in the existing parking lot raises concerns regarding patron safety, crowd management, and the potential for increased disorder and altercations. For these reasons, I will be uh moving to deny case number 2026-0044 in the interest of public safety and the protection of the surrounding community. So I will be, I wanted to put that in a record now.