Disposition Summary

Approve the master sign plan for a senior living community as submitted, subject to 5 conditions.

---

Staff Recommendation

Approve the master sign plan for a senior living community as submitted, subject to 5 conditions.

---

1) Meeting all applicable requirements of the City of Knoxville Zoning Ordinance.
2) Meeting all applicable requirements of the City of Knoxville Engineering Department.
3) During the permitting phase, submitting a landscape plan for review and approval by the City of Knoxville Plans Review and Inspections Department to ensure compliance with Article 13.5.E (Landscape Requirements for Detached Signs).
4) Meeting the standards in Article 13.5.C.2 (Illumination Standards, External Illumination) for all existing external illumination.
5) Submitting revised plans for review and approval by Planning staff for any new external illumination and any future changes to the sign faces.

---

This request is for a master sign plan for the Shannondale of Knoxville senior living community, permitted by special use approval per Article 13.7 (Master Sign Plans for Unified Developments), for the installation of 10 new, non-illuminated, pole-supported ground signs and the renewal of 2 existing column signs with external illumination (signs #1 and 2). One of the ground signs will replace an existing column sign (sign #3). The site plan depicts existing signs in blue and proposed signs in red.

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

1) THE USE IS CONSISTENT WITH ADOPTED PLANS AND POLICES, INCLUDING THE GENERAL PLAN AND THE ONE-YEAR PLAN.
A. The signage plan is consistent with the General Plan's Development Policy 4.4, which encourages the use of landscaping, signage, and architecture to identify significant entrances to communities, neighborhoods, and business districts.
B. The One Year Plan and the Northwest City Sector Plan designate the LDR (Low Density Residential) and MDR (Medium Density Residential) classifications for this property. The sector plan identifies the intersection of Middlebrook Pike and Vanosdale Road as a neighborhood center. The proposed special use has no conflicts with these plans.
C. The Middlebrook Pike Corridor Study (2000) encourages monument signs with human-scale development principles and calls for uniformity of design, size, and style of signs along the arterial street (p. 8-9). Five new signs are proposed along the Middlebrook Pike frontage, and they are consistent with the corridor study's recommendations.

THE USE IS IN HARMONY WITH THE GENERAL PURPOSE AND INTENT OF THIS ZONING CODE.
A. The purpose of a master sign plan is to provide flexibility and incentives for coordinated, well-designed sign systems for shopping centers, commercial subdivisions, office parks, institutional district developments, and other large-scale commercial and mixed-use developments, promoting the use of signs that are aesthetically pleasing, of appropriate scale, and integrated with surrounding buildings and landscape (Article 13.7.A). The Shannondale of Knoxville community, which comprises various types of senior living facilities across several multi-dwelling structures on the northern side and the single-family subdivision (Buckingham Place) on the southern part, functions as a unified development and qualifies for consideration of a master sign plan.
B. The development is located on parcels that are zoned RN-2 and RN-6, which have standards for the type, number, size, and illumination of detached signs in Article 13.9.D. The proposed plan exceeds the allowable maximum number of detached signs (calculated as one sign per each separate street frontage that exceeds 150 lineal feet); however, the size and height of the proposed non-illuminated signs align with the standards of the zoning ordinance. The total number of 15 signs is appropriate for the scale of this development compared to other uses listed in the sign standards for residential districts (i.e., multi-family dwellings on sites greater than two acres, mobile home parks, and residential subdivisions with more than 25 lots).
C. The proposed detached signs incorporate landscaping at the base of the sign, which is consistent with the purpose statement of the master sign plan (Article 13.7.A). The signs shall comply with all applicable general sign standards (Article 13.5), including minimum setbacks, external illumination standards, and landscape requirements for detached signs.

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. The signage is appropriate for the scale of the facility and the specific street frontages on which it occurs and is compatible with the mixed-use character of the area. There are several detached signs along this segment of Middlebrook Pike for street-facing commercial and office uses.

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. No adverse effects are anticipated with the proposed master sign plan. The existing external illumination on the two detached signs near Manderly Way will be unchanged. The proposed new signs are non-illuminated. If any external illumination is proposed in the future, it will require further review to ensure that it does not cause glare or other nuisances to adjacent land uses or traffic.

5) THE USE IS NOT OF A NATURE OR SO LOCATED AS TO DRAW SUBSTANTIAL ADDITIONAL TRAFFIC THROUGH RESIDENTIAL STREETS.
A. Approval of the master sign plan will not draw additional traffic through residential streets. The community is accessed via Middlebrook Pike (major arterial) and Vanosdale Road (minor arterial).

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. The uses immediately surrounding the subject property will not pose a potential hazard or undesirable environment.