East Ridge Making Zoning More Uniform; Completing Pedestrian Paths

  • Friday, September 27, 2019
  • Gail Perry

East Ridge is planning for the future. The city council has been adopting ordinances over the last several years that might not be recognized immediately as a master plan, but results will be seen 30 years from now, said Assistant City Manager Kenny Custer. The regulations that are being put in place now change zoning that was done in the 1980’s. At the council meeting Thursday night, Mr. Custer said that now is a great opportunity to make the city more uniform. An ordinance passed Thursday night will allow buildings in the commercial districts to have front yards that are five feet from the right-of-way so there will be room for rear parking.

This is meant to make the city more pedestrian friendly and will connect businesses to the sidewalks.

 

Sidewalks and pedestrian paths are also being built, primarily along both sides of Ringgold Road. For the last several years the city has applied for and received a Multimodal Grant and two Transportation Alternatives Program grants (TAP grant) to help pay for the paths. With the grants, money has already been procured to complete the sidewalk and pedestrian path from Kingwood Drive to McBrien Road. This year the city will apply for another $1 million grant to continue the project with a possible additional $250,000. The city of East Ridge will be responsible to fund the design and right-of-way costs. The grant money can be used for the actual construction with the city paying 20 percent of the cost. This would be phase five of the plan and would extend the trails on both sides of Ringgold Road eastward from McBrien Road to Swope Drive.

 

Another ordinance was amended regarding the height of buildings. The council approved a change that no building will exceed 72 feet in height with a parapet not to exceed 48 inches above the roof of buildings in the C-4 Planned Commerce Center District. This will make the regulations about height consistent with other commercial districts in East Ridge.

 

MTAS, (Municipal Technical Advisory Services), that provides advice to cities in Tennessee, has clarified that short term vacation rentals, including bed and breakfasts, qualify as “hotels,” and are subject to a hotel occupancy tax. East Ridge levies four percent for this tax, which is used to finance various public improvements and operations of the city. Mr. Custer told the council that eight short term rentals have been verified in East Ridge and there are currently no real bed and breakfasts.

 

Applications will be made for two grants offered by the Tennessee Municipal League (TML). The Driver Safety Matching Grant Program, if received, will provide safety driving courses for people who drive city-owned vehicles. Equipment for the vehicles is another way this money can be used. The Property Conservation Grant Program is designed to help municipalities make purchases that will protect city-owned property and assets. This grant is a 50/50 match. East Ridge is eligible to receive $4,000 if the city spends a total of $8,000. If received, the money would be used to buy cameras for Pioneer Frontier park, the future splash pad and the East Ridge Community Center.

 

On Saturday, Oct. 5, East Ridge will again participate in the Tennessee River Rescue event from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. Larry Clark, the longtime local coordinator for the event, came to the council meeting asking for support from the city in the form of manpower, security and sanitation. The city also will provide equipment such as gloves, trash bags, mechanical pickers, water, snacks, mosquito spray and a t-shirt. Volunteers should meet behind Parkridge East Hospital. Mr. Clark said since the clean-up day began 479 tires have been removed, 53 shopping carts and 31,000 pounds of sold waste such as plastic and styrofoam taken out.

 

Times for the city council meetings and work sessions have been rearranged in an attempt to “streamline” the meetings, said City Manager Chris Dorsey. Starting Oct. 10, the regular council meeting will begin at 6 p.m. and the last item on the agenda will be establishing the agenda for the upcoming meeting. If there is an item that needs extensive conversation, there is an option to hold a special meeting work session.

 

After many months of attempting to get the owner of the house at 1317 Pleasant St. to bring the building up to code, which includes raising it out of the flood plain, the East Ridge housing commission condemned it and ordered it to be demolished. It turned out that the housing commission had been dealing with the wrong people, believing they were the owners. Correspondence and notifications had never been sent to Memphis Premium Trust who had bought the property on the courthouse steps in a delinquent tax sale In June. Three to five people say they are the owners other than Memphis Premium Trust and someone is doing repairs on the house without getting permits to do it. Micah Guster, representing Memphis Premium Trust, asked the council for, and received an extension before demolition to allow for court proceedings to straighten out the issues so that the group can begin renovations to bring it up to code.

 

 

 

 

 

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