Chattanooga

Chattanooga Council Denies Whiskey Cowgirl Rezoning After Safety Pushback

Chattanooga City Council denied a rezoning request from John Wise at Whiskey Cowgirl and Southside Social on Oct. 13, 2026. The request would have moved the site from Urban Commercial Mixed Use to Urban Commercial Corridor.

Tracy King

16 Oct 2026 • 5 min read

Chattanooga City Council denied a Whiskey Cowgirl area rezoning on Oct. 13, 2026. Illustrative photo.

Chattanooga City Council on Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, denied a rezoning request from developer and businessman John Wise at the Whiskey Cowgirl and Southside Social site after Councilwoman Raquetta Dotson cited public-safety concerns, Chattanoogan.com reported the same day.

The request would have moved the property from Urban Commercial Mixed Use zoning to Urban Commercial Corridor. Wise told Council he wanted to activate the area along W. 20th near the nightclubs, including a mini golf course, with safety netting to protect parking and pedestrian areas. The paper quoted the makeover goal as improving curb appeal along W. 20th Street and providing more family-friendly outdoor activities.

Site and request at a glance

Item	Detail	Source
Applicant	John Wise	Chattanoogan.com, Oct. 13, 2026
Venues	Whiskey Cowgirl / Whisky Cowgirl at 1819 Broad St.; Southside Social at 1818 Chestnut	Chattanoogan.com (both spellings appear)
Request	Urban Commercial Mixed Use to Urban Commercial Corridor	Chattanoogan.com
Proposed concept	Activate W. 20th; mini golf; safety netting	Chattanoogan.com
Council action	Denied, Oct. 13, 2026	Chattanoogan.com
Calls for service cited	531 in a Broad/20th/Chestnut/Main box, Oct. 12, 2025–Oct. 12, 2026; 139 at the two venues	Chattanoogan.com citing Dotley

Name and spelling conflicts in the same story

Chattanoogan.com’s Oct. 13 account introduces “Councilwoman Raquetta Dotson” and then repeatedly attributes the safety argument to “Councilwoman Dotley.” The same article spells the club “Whiskey Cowgirl” in the headline and lead, then “Whisky Cowgirl” when giving the Broad Street address. Print both forms as the paper printed them; do not silently pick one.

The public-safety case Council heard

According to the paper, Dotley said the location had seen multiple disorders and altercations, that police answered a large number of calls there in late evenings and early mornings, and that she had personally observed large gatherings with disorders in the parking areas.

She said she asked the Police Department for crime stats in the area between Broad Street, 20th Street, Chestnut Street and Main Street. For Oct. 12, 2025, through Oct. 12, 2026, she cited 531 calls for service, including 139 at Southside Social and Whiskey Cowgirl. She recommended denial “for the public’s protection and the protection of the surrounding community,” the paper reported.

What Wise said he wanted

Wise’s pitch, as summarized by Chattanoogan.com, was not a hotel tower. It was an activation plan along W. 20th tied to the existing nightclub block, including mini golf and netting meant to protect parking and pedestrians. Council still denied the zoning step that would have unlocked that corridor designation.

How this sits next to other October zoning fights

The same week, Regional Planning handled larger residential and riverfront items elsewhere in Hamilton County, including Dallas Lake Road homes and Ross’s Landing open-space work. See Hamilton Planners Back 118 Homes on Dallas Lake Road and a Bank at the Old Buck’s BBQ Site and Chattanooga Planners Back Open Space Zoning for Ross’s Landing Eateries and Lift a Mill Town Condition. Across the city line in Red Bank, an Easton Avenue townhouse rezoning fight has been a separate thread; see Red Bank Sets Sept. 15 Hearing on Easton Avenue R-T/Z.

Southside commercial zoning also returned on other Oct. 13 city cases, including a Cromwell Road item. See Chattanooga Council Takes Up 3935 Cromwell Road Rezoning Oct. 13: RN-1-6 to C-N, Planning and Staff Recommend Approval.

Why a corridor rezoning mattered on this block

Urban Commercial Corridor zoning is the label Wise needed for the activation concept he described along W. 20th. Without that change, the mini golf and related outdoor programming he described stay tied to whatever the current Urban Commercial Mixed Use rules allow. Council’s denial keeps the conversation at the existing district until someone files a new application again with the city.

That is a narrower fight than a citywide nightclub ban. It is still a zoning decision with a clear address pair: 1819 Broad Street for the Cowgirl venue and 1818 Chestnut for Southside Social, as the paper listed them in the Oct. 13 local news report published online today.

How buyers and sellers should talk about the denial

If you own a home, loft or small commercial building near Broad, Chestnut, Main or 20th, the factual disclosure is simple. Council denied a rezoning that would have shifted the Wise venues to Urban Commercial Corridor on Oct. 13, 2026. A council member put 531 area calls for service and 139 venue-linked calls on the table for a one-year window ending Oct. 12, 2026.

Do not turn those figures into a crime rate you calculated yourself. Quote the paper’s report of what was said at Council, and let a buyer pull official CAD data if they want a deeper cut.

Southside context without mixing case files

October brought several Chattanooga-area zoning stories that are easy to blur together. Dallas Lake Road’s 118-home plan and the Broad Street bank at the old Buck’s BBQ site are county/RPC items. Ross’s Landing open space and Mill Town condition changes are riverfront planning items. The Whiskey Cowgirl denial is a City Council rezoning vote on the nightclub block. Keep those files separate when you brief a seller or write a listing remark this month.

For another Oct. 13 city zoning thread on Vance Avenue, see Chattanooga Council Takes Up 2102 Vance Avenue Rezoning Oct. 13 After Staff Urged Denial.

What nearby owners and investors should take away

A denied corridor rezoning leaves today’s zoning in place. Until a new bill returns, the Urban Commercial Mixed Use designation remains the starting point.
Safety stats are now part of the public record of this fight. Anyone listing nearby should be ready for buyers to ask about calls for service, not only about nightclub branding.
Skip an invented vote count. Chattanoogan.com reported a denial after the safety presentation; it did not print a roll-call tally in the story used here.
Separate Southside Social from county subdivision news. Broad Street nightclub zoning is not the Dallas Lake Road plat.

Own a home or investment property near Broad Street, Chestnut or the Southside blocks and want a clean read on value after this vote? Start with a free home valuation, or request a cash offer if you want a firm number without waiting on the next zoning cycle or another nightclub-district hearing.

What did City Council decide on Oct. 13 about Whiskey Cowgirl?

Chattanoogan.com reported that Council denied a rezoning request from John Wise at Whiskey Cowgirl and Southside Social after public-safety concerns were raised.

What zoning change was requested?

The request was to move from Urban Commercial Mixed Use zoning to Urban Commercial Corridor, according to Chattanoogan.com.

What did John Wise say he wanted to build or add?

He said he wanted to activate the area along W. 20th near the nightclubs, including adding a mini golf course with safety netting for parking and pedestrian areas, the paper reported.

What call-for-service numbers were cited?

Council discussion cited 531 calls for service between Broad, 20th, Chestnut and Main from Oct. 12, 2025, to Oct. 12, 2026, including 139 at Southside Social and Whiskey Cowgirl, according to Chattanoogan.com.