FAQs

  • Industrial development absolutely has a place in Hamilton County’s economy, but not on federally protected parkland. This discussion isn’t about being “pro-industry” or “anti-industry.” It’s about choosing the right land for the right purpose and using our resources wisely.

    Modern “advanced manufacturing” depends heavily on automation and robotics, resulting in low employment density, often just 2–3 jobs per acre. These facilities still require large tracts of cleared land, costly infrastructure, and long-term tax incentives, meaning the return on land is far lower than many assume.

    The question is not whether industry is valuable. It’s whether replacing 500+ acres of a heavily used public park with low-employment industrial acreage makes economic sense.

    Enterprise South Nature Park is one of Hamilton County’s most heavily used public amenities and the numbers prove it.

    In 2018, former County Mayor Jim Coppinger reported that ESNP received more than 150,000 visitors per year. That was before Chattanooga’s population growth, before major trail expansions, and before the city earned recognition as North America’s first National Park City.

    More recent estimates based on anonymized cell-phone mobility data suggest that annual use is now in the ballpark of 195,000 visits. Visitation estimates were generated using anonymized cell-phone location data from a geo-fencing platform, which identifies the number of mobile devices present within ESNP between 11/18/24 – 11/18/25. These datasets provide estimates of visitation patterns rather than precise headcounts, but they align with what regular park users, staff, and nearby businesses already know: ESNP is heavily used and getting busier.

    This daily, repeated use generates broad economic benefits that no low-employment industrial site can match.

    Unlike an automated facility, park activity creates distributed, community-wide economic return:

    • Local spending at restaurants and retailers

    • Increased demand for outdoor gear and tourism services

    • Stronger neighborhood desirability and property stability

    • Better public health outcomes (which reduce long-term costs)

    • A powerful talent-recruitment advantage as young professionals choose cities with access to nature


    And the data is just as clear on broader economic impact:

    • Mountain biking alone brings nearly $7 million per year into Hamilton County, with visitors spending an average of $342 per trip.¹

    • Forested lands inside and around ESNP provide nearly $3 million per year in air and water pollution mitigation.¹

    • Young professionals moving to Hamilton County are being driven by outdoor recreation and quality of life, not manufacturing jobs.


    A University of Tennessee at Chattanooga study found a 7.4% net in-migration of young adults, adding nearly 3,900 more young adults than the region lost.¹ These new residents are typically college-educated and higher-income, bringing long-term spending power that strengthens small businesses, neighborhoods, and the county’s tax base.²

    The smart economic choice is to preserve ESNP and guide industrial development to appropriate sites, where it can grow without sacrificing one of Hamilton County’s most valuable economic assets.

  • Converting protected forest within Enterprise South Nature Park into industrial property would undermine the very advantages driving Chattanooga’s current economic momentum.

    If federal protections are removed, the county risks losing:

    • The professional talent pipeline choosing Chattanooga for its quality of life

    • Tourism dollars tied directly to hiking, cycling, and outdoor recreation

    • Property value stability for neighborhoods surrounding the park

    • Chattanooga’s nationally recognized National Park City identity

    We would also lose a natural economic buffer. When a large manufacturer downsizes, jobs disappear overnight; but parks, trails, and natural assets continue generating value every single day. Protecting Enterprise South Nature Park is not just an environmental decision, it is an economic hedge against downturns. Industrializing it would strip away one of Hamilton County’s most dependable, recession-resistant assets.

  • The decision begins locally with the Hamilton County Commission and Chattanooga City Council. If either body advances or approves the “deed swap,” the proposal moves to the Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation (TDEC) for review and then to the U.S. Department of the Interior/National Park Service for federal approval.

    Because many officials pre-endorsed the concept before it was public, now is the critical moment for community input.

    What to do:

  • That’s one of the biggest misconceptions. While construction or design could be years away, the decision to allow it happens much sooner.
    The process starts with local approval of the “deed swap” and that could come before County Commission and City Council very soon. Once those votes pass, the door opens for state and federal review, and the project begins gaining momentum and legitimacy.

  • Because this is when your voice matters most. Once the first resolution passes, it becomes a moving train with engineering studies, zoning adjustments, and state coordination following behind. If we wait until it’s “official,” it will already be too late to stop.

    Showing up early helps:

    • Put opposition on record, which is critical for the state review,

    • Signal to local leaders that the community is paying attention, and

    • Protect Enterprise South Nature Park before it’s reclassified and sold off for industrial use.

  • Even a small zoning change sets a powerful legal and political precedent. Once any portion of Enterprise South Nature Park is rezoned, for example, from protected parkland to industrial use, it becomes significantly easier to rezone the surrounding land in the future.

    Zoning decisions are made through a process that weighs “compatibility” with neighboring parcels. That means once one section is zoned for development, the land beside it can suddenly be considered “consistent” with that new use. In other words, what starts as a “small parcel” exception can open the door to much broader development, fundamentally changing the purpose and accessibility of the park over time.

    Protecting the park’s entire footprint under its current designation is the only way to ensure it remains a natural, public space free from the gradual creep of rezoning and development pressure.

  • Adding protected land is always valuable, but acreage alone doesn’t tell the whole story. A park’s benefit comes not just from how many acres are protected, but who can actually access and enjoy them.

    Enterprise South Nature Park is uniquely positioned near major neighborhoods, schools, and workplaces, within a 20-minute drive for roughly 182,000 residents. By contrast, McDonald Farm serves a much smaller population, with about 5,000 residents living within the same distance.

    So while transferring acreage might technically increase the total amount of “protected” land on paper, it would reduce access for tens of thousands of people who currently rely on Enterprise South for recreation, education, and connection to nature.

    You can check out this video here to learn more and be sure to see our graphic here.

  • Improving traffic flow sounds positive in theory, but the plan as proposed could actually create more congestion, not less.

    The Hilltop Extension is being promoted as a relief route for Ooltewah traffic at Exit 11. However, officials’ plans also include selling adjoining parcels of land to large industrial and manufacturing operations to help fund the road’s construction. Once that happens, the new road wouldn’t just carry existing local traffic, it would also introduce heavy truck traffic, employee commutes, and delivery routes, placing even greater strain on surrounding roads.

    What begins as a project to “reduce congestion” can quickly become a magnet for industrial traffic, fundamentally changing the area’s character and worsening travel times for residents.

    While saving taxpayer money is important, the hidden costs such as increased traffic, noise, pollution, and long-term infrastructure demands often outweigh short-term budget relief.

  • Accessibility is one of the most important factors in how often people use parks. Enterprise South Nature Park’s location is just minutes from major neighborhoods, schools, and employers making it one of the most accessible natural spaces in Hamilton County.

    Roughly 182,000 residents live within a 20-minute drive of Enterprise South Nature Park compared with about 5,000 residents near McDonald Farm. That’s a 34× greater reach for ESNP, meaning more families, schools, and community groups can access it quickly and safely.

  • If hundreds of acres of protected parkland are converted to industrial use, we’ll experience:

    • Lower property values: Homes near natural areas consistently sell for more than those near manufacturing or industrial zones. Losing the forested buffer can directly reduce home appeal and resale value.

    • Increased pollution: Industrial activity brings more emissions, dust, and runoff that affect air and water quality. For example, just northwest of Enterprise South, a nearby manufacturer recently requested to install 60 furnaces that will emit more than 40 tons of sulfur dioxide and additional pollutants such as hydrogen cyanide and nitrogen oxides each year.
      If parkland inside Enterprise South Nature Park is sold for further industrial development, this would remove a vital forest buffer, increase local pollution exposure, and degrade the clean air, quiet trails, and wildlife habitat the park provides.

    • Higher flood risk: Forested land naturally absorbs storm water. When trees are removed and replaced with pavement or roofs, runoff increases and nearby neighborhoods face greater flooding potential.

    • More noise: Industrial operations run longer hours and use heavy equipment, while loss of trees removes the natural sound barrier that currently buffers traffic noise.

    • Brighter nights: Industrial lighting and 24-hour facilities create light pollution that disrupts wildlife and reduces the natural dark-sky environment many residents enjoy.

    • Heavier traffic: Employee commutes, material deliveries, and freight routes all add congestion to local roads.

    • Hotter summers and higher energy bills: Trees help cool the local area and reduce the “urban heat island” (UHI) effect. Removing them increases ambient temperatures and home cooling costs.

    • Loss of wildlife: The park’s forest provides habitat for countless species. Once cleared, displaced animals have nowhere to go.

  • Once local officials approve the exchange, it’s no longer a hypothetical. It becomes a formal proposal that moves up to the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) and the National Park Service for review.
    At that point, reversing the decision becomes much, much harder because local governments will already have signaled their support.

  • Yes, but those approvals rely heavily on local public input and records from early meetings.
    The TDEC Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for parkland conversions specifically state that public opposition and participation are key factors in evaluating whether a project should move forward.
    That means the record of public comments at City Council and County Commission meetings will directly influence higher-level decisions.

  • Outdoor recreation and access to nature are among Chattanooga’s strongest economic drivers. Scenic trails, clean air, and year-round recreation attract the very people fueling the city’s growth.

    New residents tend to be college-educated, higher-income young professionals, supporting the retail, dining, innovation, and housing sectors.² Many cite outdoor recreation, mountain biking, and Chattanooga’s natural beauty as the primary reason they relocated here.³

    And importantly, recreation dollars stay local. When trail users spend money on food, outdoor gear, lodging, guides, and transportation, that revenue circulates through local businesses rather than flowing to remote corporate shareholders. Outdoor recreation also diversifies the region’s revenue sources, making the economy less dependent on any one employer or industry.

    This pattern aligns with Chattanooga’s identity as America’s first National Park City, positioning natural assets as a core economic advantage.