Rainbow Lake, Signal's bluff need protection now

photo The sign for Rainbow Lake stands in Signal Mountain, Tenn.

Over the past two years, some members of the Signal Mountain Town Council have been researching and working toward an agreement with the Land Trust of Tennessee to enact a conservation easement on the town parks, including Rainbow Lake.

In the course of that work, they've been accused of trying to give the parks away.

That is complete baloney. Conservation easements are not giveaways, and the town would continue to own and control the parks.

The town could even still sell the parks, heaven forbid. But here's the thing: The buyer - with an easement in place - couldn't develop the land, or put a cell tower on it, or use it for anything other than a conservation preservation space.

This week and next year and probably in the next decade, a conservation easement on property will likely mean that a sale won't bring as much money. But since the only thing no longer being made in our world today is undeveloped land, in a generation or several generations, property with conservation easements that guarantee natural land preservation likely will have higher value - not lesser value.

If the town, right now, decided to sell these parks, residents would no doubt be outraged. And with good reason.

These publicly owned parks and properties - the 230-acre Rainbow Lake park; the adjoining 89-acre bluff buffer property on the Chattanooga-facing brow; a 9.7- acre area between Shoal Creek, U.S. 127 and Palisades; the 29.5-acre Green Gorge Patten Park; the 3.3-acre Dogwood Park; a 1.8-acre plot northeast of Shoal Creek; a 1.15-acre lot below CVS; the 1.3-acre Overlook Park; the C.E. James Park and Lena Givens parks that total less than a acre; the 3.49-acre ravine between Norvell and Palisades; and the the 2.1-acre ravine between Wilder and South Palisades - collectively represent just over 372 acres.

The easement would prohibit on those lands commercial or residential construction, development, subdividing, mining or industrial activities, paved roads, forestry activities, dumping and billboards - all of the things that most Signal Mountain residents don't want next door to them.

But if the town did, right now, sell one or some or all of the parks, the new owner or owners could do with the properties whatever they like and whatever they could get permits for - in short, whatever brings the most money. This should be of concern not just for Signal residents, but Chattanooga and Red Banks folks, too. Rainbow Lake is a park open to everyone, and it holds the southernmost gateway to the Cumberland Trail. The undeveloped bluff property offers insurance for Chattanooga and tourists here of both a lovely ridge view and no water runoff pollution problems.

A vote is scheduled for Monday on the easement, although opponents are again clamoring for delay until after the town council elections next month (five candidates, including three incumbents are running for three council seats). And the parks plan, unfortunately, has become politicized by some candidates who are incorrectly spreading outrage with inaccurate statements that this council wants to give away the parks or give away control of the parks.

The town cannot delay a decision every time someone new moves to the mountain or comes out from under a rock to read news and say they haven't heard of this or they want more public input. Nor can it cave to political misinformation. This question has now been debated for two years.

It has nothing to do with council elections. It has to do with keeping Signal Mountain as natural as possible and still encouraging reasonable growth and land values.

It is past time to ensure that some Realtor or developer can lean on this or a future council to truly "give away" the town parks with a sale.

The conservation easement on town parks is the right thing to do. And it's the right thing to do now.

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