Disposition Summary

Approve the development plan for up to 24 townhouse units, subject to 8 conditions.

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Staff Recommendation

Approve the development plan for up to 24 townhouse units, subject to 8 conditions.

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1. Meeting the principal use standards for townhouse dwellings (Article 9.3.I) of the City of Knoxville Zoning Ordinance.
2. Certifying that the required sight distance is available at the Red Bud Drive access with documentation provided to the City of Knoxville Department of Engineering for review and approval during permitting.
3. Installation of landscaping per the requirements of Article 12 (Landscaping) of the City of Knoxville Zoning Ordinance.
4. Installaton of the Type 'B' landscape buffer on the north side of the Building 5 & 6. The landscape plan must be provided to for review and approval by Planning staff before building permits are issued.
5. Verifying that the provided parking meets both the minimum and maximum requirements for the combined uses on the site and provides the required bicycle parking, according to Article 11 (Off-street parking) of the City of Knoxville Zoning Ordinance.
6. Meeting the HP (Hillside Protection Overlay) zoning land disturbance limitation.
7. Meeting all applicable requirements of the Knoxville Department of Engineering.
8. Meeting all other applicable requirements of the City of Knoxville Zoning Ordinance.

With conditions noted above, this request meets the requirements of RN-4 zone, the principal use standards for townhouse dwellings, and the other criteria for approval of a special use.

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REVISION -- The plan was revised by the applicant after meeting with the neighborhood representatives. Building 5 & 6 were move 20 ft from the north property line to provide a buffer (see sheet PL01). A Type 'B' staggered landscape buffer will be installed within the 20 ft setback. As of the publishing of the staff report, the landscape plan has not been updated to show the show this landscape buffer (Sheet L100).
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This proposal is for constructing 24 new townhouse units on the 6.93-acre lot. The lot already has 11 dwelling units, excluding those on separate lots that front E. Red Bud Road. The acreage of the lot allows many more dwelling units than what is proposed, however, a majority of the property is within the HP (Hillside Protection Overlay) zone. The maximum land disturbance within the HP overlay is 2.5 acres. The applicant proposes disturbing 2.4 acres of the HP area (see Exhibit A).

The new townhouse structures are internal to the lot and not along E. Red Bud Road. The principal use standards for townhouses require facades facing a street to have minimum transparency of 15 percent. Since these structures are not highly visible from the public road, Planning staff requested that the front elevations have a minimum of 15 percent transparency to meet the intent of these standards, which the applicant has provided.

STANDARDS FOR EVALUATING A SPECIAL USE (ARTICLE 16.2.F.2.)

1) THE USE IS CONSISTENT WITH ADOPTED PLANS AND POLICIES, INCLUDING THE GENERAL PLAN AND THE ONE-YEAR PLAN.
A. The One Year Plan and Souty City Sector Plan designations for this site are LDR (Low Density Residential), which recommends residential uses up to 6 du/ac.
B. The overall density for this lot, including the 11 existing units, is 5.05 du/ac which is consistent with the LDR plan designation.

2) THE USE IS IN HARMONY WITH THE GENERAL PURPOSE AND INTENT OF THIS ZONING CODE.
A. The RN-4 (General Residential Neighborhood) Zoning District is intended to accommodate mixed medium density residential development within the City of Knoxville. Single-family, two-family, and townhouse dwelling residential development is permitted with low-rise multi-family dwellings and new development forms such as pocket neighborhoods allowed by review and in some cases with special use approval. The RN-4 District is intended to be applied to neighborhoods that are characterized by such mixed residential development, or that have been identified as areas where such development would be suitable in the future. Limited nonresidential uses that are compatible with the character of the district may also be permitted.
B. The proposed development meets the development standards for townhouse dwellings.
C. The HP (Hillside Protection Overlay) Zoning District limits the land disturbance with the HP area to 2.5 acres. This proposal disturbs 2.4 acres within the HP area.

3) THE USE IS COMPATIBLE WITH THE CHARACTER OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD WHERE IT IS PROPOSED, AND WITH THE SIZE AND LOCATION OF BUILDINGS IN THE VICINITY.
A. There is a mix of single-family and townhouse development in this area. The two-story townhouses are compatible with the neighborhood character and the size and location of buildings in the vicinity.
B. A Type 'B' staggered landscape buffer will be provided on the north side of Buildings 5 & 6 to provide screening to the existing residential to the north.

4) THE USE WILL NOT SIGNIFICANTLY INJURE THE VALUE OF ADJACENT PROPERTY OR BY NOISE, LIGHTS, FUMES, ODORS, VIBRATION, TRAFFIC, CONGESTION, OR OTHER IMPACTS DETRACT FROM THE IMMEDIATE ENVIRONMENT.
A. The townhouse dwellings will not significantly injure the value of adjacent property or detract from the immediate environment.

5) THE USE IS NOT OF A NATURE OR SO LOCATED AS TO DRAW SUBSTANTIAL ADDITIONAL TRAFFIC THROUGH RESIDENTIAL STREETS.
A. The proposal will not draw additional traffic through residential streets since it accesses a minor collector street.

6) THE NATURE OF DEVELOPMENT IN THE SURROUNDING AREA IS NOT SUCH AS TO POSE A POTENTIAL HAZARD TO THE PROPOSED USE OR TO CREATE AN UNDESIRABLE ENVIRONMENT FOR THE PROPOSED USE.
A. There are no known uses immediately surrounding the subject site that poses a potential hazard or undesirable environment for the proposed use.