CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — In Chattanooga, a split City Council voted Tuesday night to begin the research and paperwork needed to make a list of older buildings, cemeteries and parks into local historic landmarks, a status supporters say can keep sites from being knocked down.
Councilman Dennis Clark of District 5 sponsored the measure. The final tally was close and came after nearly an hour of debate, during which three amendments were voted down. Clark told colleagues the resolution only lets the city begin its due diligence, including talks with owners, as the city ordinance and the Historic Zoning Commission rules require.
The list includes the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Auditorium, City Hall, the downtown branch of the public library, Lincoln Park, the Forest Hills cemetery, First Baptist Church and the remaining contributing buildings in the Martin Luther King Jr. historic district. Supporters pointed to Engel Stadium and the Medical Arts Building, both slated to come down, as proof that time matters, and Clark said the sites are the ones residents asked to save at a recent town hall with the city historian.
Councilwoman Raquetta Dotley worried about unintended effects on private owners and asked for more talks with some of the sites. Clark answered that most of the list is public property, noting that the city owns the Tivoli Theatre and Memorial Auditorium, and said a designation would not block future work at those venues. He also argued that a spot on the national register alone does not stop a demolition.
City code lets several groups put a site forward, among them the council itself, owners, civic organizations and neighborhood associations. Each nomination goes to a public meeting and a recommendation from the Historic Zoning Commission before the council approves or rejects it. Designations carry a $150 fee, which Clark said the council would cover for its own picks.
Section: More Chattanooga TN politics news
Filed under: Chattanooga TN Politics News
