Jerry Summers
There has been no discussion of what would be left of Gig City if the October 2024 Hurricane Helene disaster that decimated Asheville and other parts of the Tar Heel State had it veered to the left instead of the right.
At the risk of being called (again), a cynic, pessimist, skeptic, etc., the recent tragic events in the second week of January in the Pacific Palisades area of California bear a potential striking resemblance to what could ignite in downtown and rural Chattanooga if a major fire should erupt in the older, tightly connected structures in the urban area, new buildings proposed, tighter density zones being suggested by some developers, business leaders, and profit seekers that continuously tout the wonders of our community to run Knoxville out of the number three population spot on our way to surpass Nashville and Atlanta as the “Eden of the East in the South.”
The “Chattanooga Way” of proposing large projects before the developer friendly, Hamilton County Regional Planning Commission, listening to a few outspoken citizens about such mundane topics as traffic, congestion, crime, 98 toxic dump sites, 2012 consent judgments, etc., demonstrates gestures of humanitarianism and good citizenship. A compromise to a lower number of buildings on a lot or acreage is then made in the best interest of all citizens, local and expansion advocates who exclaim, “But isn't that the American way?”
In many examples, it is, but “the Chattanooga way” is a little different.
Example: if you want to build 200 units, submit a plan for 400 units, listen to all of the complaints from the usually powerless public and then unanimously agree to reduce your proposal to 200 units as a good neighbor with the size you wanted at the start, and everyone is happy.
That is for each reader to decide, but the Lupton City, Velsicol, Citico Creek, the “World's Safest Plant”, South Side lead removal project, and numerous other mementos of the original 98 toxic, and dangerous sites are deadly ghosts of the past that must still be regularly checked by independent sources not just friendly regulatory agencies or investors.
Also breathing potential toxic fumes without masks being worn during the renovation of old business structures (like the Tivoli) may (or may not) constitute an immediate health hazard to workers from the cumulative effect from working on many such projects is another story.
Smiling public officials shoveling dirt from one of the identified toxic dumps in our city without a mask may contribute to health consequences worse than losing an election.
Conspiracy theorists will have field days in the California disaster in the Malibu-Los Angeles area.
Precautions should be taken that the Gig City shouldn't suffer any similar natural or manmade tragedies.
(Any real estate property proposals to prospective buyers from sunny climates such as California, Arizona, and Florida, etc. should contain the following disclaimer: “A failure to allow your water faucets to continuously drip when the temperature drops below freezing could be hazardous (and expensive!) to your pocketbook.”)
PS: Said article was written before the predicted “80 mph winds or tornadoes on the Ides of March” (3-15-2024)
Jerry Summers