Planned industrial development next to us!

County Government announces the destruction
of ~500 acres of Enterprise South Nature Park

Hamilton County has announced a proposed selling off ~500 acres of Enterprise South Nature Park, currently protected parkland, for industrial development. This decision would have an immediate impact on our neighborhood!

Once this land is zoned for industrial use, it’s gone forever. There’s no getting back the quiet forests, beautiful scenery and trails in our backyard that thousands of us enjoy every year.

Even though you might not backup to the land in question, this affects all of us!

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

• Lower property values:

  Homes near natural areas sell for more than those near manufacturing or industrial zones. Losing the forested buffer can directly reduce home appeal and resale value. Since home values are heavily influenced by comparable local sales (“comps”), every homeowner in the area is affected.

• 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 stormwater. 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.

How can we stop this from happening?

First, sign our petition here. Be sure to share the petition and our site with your fellow neighbors, friends, and family.

Review our FAQs to learn more about the issue.

The decision rests with our Hamilton County Commissioners and the Chattanooga City Council, who will both review and vote on the proposed plan.

Contact the County Commissioner and City Council representatives and tell them you oppose rezoning and development on Enterprise South Nature Park land. You can email, call and most **importantly**, show up to meetings and use public comment. We’ll keep you updated on agendas when you sign up for our newsletter below.

If it passes at the local level, the proposal will move to the U.S. Interior Department for federal approval, and because a majority of our elected officials pre-endorsed the proposal before it was made public, community input now is more critical than ever.

If you have questions we are happy to help. Email us at: SaveESNP@gmail.com

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The county says Hilltop Extension will relieve traffic congestion and that selling surrounding parcels to manufacturers will help pay for it, saving taxpayers money. Isn’t that a good thing?

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.

If officials say they’ll only rezone a small part of Enterprise South Nature Park, why is that a problem?

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.