The proposed IHOP on Gunbarrel Road would be identical to the new IHOP on Brainerd Road pictured here.

IHOP in East Brainerd

No pancakes will be served across from Panera Bread on Gunbarrel Road anytime soon.

The City Council voted 5-3 Tuesday night to not allow an International House of Pancakes restaurant to be built on Gunbarrel Road, across from the Target shopping center.

"We warned you in the beginning this was not commercial land," Councilman Jack Benson said, directing his comment toward the developer of the property.

The proposed IHOP has been controversial for several months with the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Regional Planning Commission voting against allowing the land to be rezoned from office use to commercial use. Opponents of the IHOP said it went against the land-use plan, which calls for the area across from Target to be office use only.

Benson said if an IHOP came into the area it would allow other commercial businesses to come in.

But Bassam Issa, developer of the property, said Tuesday night there is already commercial businesses in the area, citing a gas station, Panera Bread and Chick-fil-A as examples.

"This Domino effect Mr. Benson has been saying isn't there," he said.

He also blasted the councilman for what he said were other examples of Benson allowing the land-use plan to be broken, saying there were seven instances over the past 10 years.

"You are not the land use protector," Issa said. "You are the land use breaker."

Michael Ledford, president of the Bella Vista Neighborhood Association, told council members he lives behind the area in question and said claims that neighbors wanted the restaurant were false.

"I'm behind the property," he said. "I don't approve of it."

In other news, the council spoke during the Legal and Legislation Committee meeting about clarifying the City Charter when it comes to recall elections. City Attorney Mike McMahan told the council the only thing it can control is how many petitions are required to be signed for a recall to occur.

Confusion over the recall provisions in the charter started last year when Mayor Ron Littlefield went to court over a recall effort.

McMahan said he would survey other similar municipalities and report back to the council how those cities handle recall efforts.

Councilman Peter Murphy, chairman of the committee, said the council would talk about the issue again in four weeks.

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