Walden's mayor said Wednesday that a new proposal by a developer to build a mixed-use village center with a grocery store in the town is "substantially the same" as a plan turned back last year.
Mayor Lee Davis, in a letter to residents of the mountaintop town, raised questions about how the developer will handle sewage, traffic, and stormwater.
"We welcome a proposal from the developer that is consistent with our land-use plan," Davis said. "A proposal that complies with the town center concept of Walden will be met with support. However, a proposal that simply attempts to circumvent our Walden land-use plan will not."
SE Capital Partners is proposing the $20 million village center at Taft Highway and Timesville Road on the former Lines Orchids Greenhouse property, which it wants to purchase.
John Argo, the development group's manager, said in an interview on Tuesday that a 29,000-square-foot grocery store is planned along with housing, retail, restaurants and green space on the 25-acre parcel.
A website seeking support for the proposal doesn't identify the grocer but said it's not Food City, Walmart, Ingles, Save A Lot, Fresh Market, Aldi or Trader Joe's. Publix, with seven stores in the Chattanooga area, is noticeably absent from the list.
On his LinkedIn site, Argo said he has developed over 2 million square feet of retail space with 15 shopping centers anchored by Publix, including the first Publix in Alabama. Davis' letter termed the land's proposed buyer "a developer for Publix grocery stores."
While the development group has planned a community meeting on Monday at St. Augustine Catholic Church, the mayor said the meeting isn't sponsored by the town and it isn't involved.
File photo / Lee DavisBut he raised questions about the proposed project such as how the developer will handle sewage from the store, noting Walden has no sewer system.
"Bring me an example of three other Publix' so I can talk to their neighbors and see how it works," the mayor said.
The development group said Tuesday that wastewater will be dealt with by a decentralized treatment system on site designed to Hamilton County Water & Wastewater Treatment Authority standards.
Davis also wondered about the traffic impact at Taft and Timesville, saying there has been no traffic study yet.
"If they're going to ask the town to rezone (the property) and people to support the project, they have to present us with a traffic study so we know how is that going to impact traffic during rush hour and school hours," he said.
In addition, Davis questioned how the project will handle increased stormwater created by impervious surfaces such as parking lots and roofs.
He said the prior proposed development project "was found to be illegal and in violation of Walden zoning."
Town attorney Sam Elliott said Tuesday in a telephone interview that the proposed new project will need Walden's approval.
He said the town's ultimate interest is for development in that area to meet the land-use plan on which officials have worked for two years. Elliott said to implement that plan, changes in the town's zoning ordinance require vetting by the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Regional Planning Commission, which is underway.
Also, a rezoning application for the property has been filed by the development group to the commission's staff.
The earlier proposal by another development group called for a 43,000-square-foot grocery store at the site along with commercial space.
While initially approved by the town board, the panel later reversed course even as some citizens filed a lawsuit objecting to the earlier project. A judge ruled for the citizens, and the earlier plan was withdrawn.
Davis said he's not against Publix.
"I love Publix," he said. "That doesn't mean it needs to be built on this site with these problems."
Davis said the buyers and sellers of the property have a responsibility to be transparent about important issues.
Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318. Follow him on Twitter @MikePareTFP.