Disposition Summary

Approve the requested variance and alternative design standard based on the recommendations of the Knox County Department of Engineering and Public Works.

Approve the Concept Plan subject to 13 conditions.

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Staff Recommendation

Approve the requested variance and alternative design standard based on the recommendations of the Knox County Department of Engineering and Public Works.

Approve the Concept Plan subject to 13 conditions.

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1) Connection to sanitary sewer and meeting other relevant utility provider requirements.
2) Provision of street names consistent with the Uniform Street Naming and Addressing System within Knox County (County Ord. 91-1-102).
3) Providing a sight distance easement across the lots on the inside of the horizontal curves with a radius less than 200 ft per the requirements of Knox County Engineering and Public Works during the design plan phase. Any driveways on these lots must be located outside the sight distance easement and shown on the plat, or the driveways must have a depth of 20 ft beyond the sight distance easement if they cannot be located outside the sight distance easement.
4) Partnering with Knox County to implement the recommended turn lane improvements to Beeler Road at the E. Emory Road intersection as outlined in the Fairview Road and Beeler Road Subdivision Transportation Impact Study, AJAX Engineering, revised December 2022 (see Exhibit A). The developer is responsible for designing the turn lane, grading the area, and installing the base stone and binder course. Knox County is responsible for installing the surface course, striping the lane, and installing any necessary signage. A Memorandum of Understanding with Knox County Engineering and Public Works is required per Chapter 54, Article V of the Knox County Code (Ord. O-23-4-102). The turn lanes on E. Emory Road recommended by the TIS, are not required to be installed by this condition.
5) Obtaining all necessary permits from TDOT for the improvements at the Beeler Road and E. Emory Road intersection.
6) The submitted geotechnical report (GEOServices, LLC, August 4, 2023) must be reviewed and approved by Knox County Engineering and Public Works during the design plan phase to determine if the pond between lots 10-20 is required to be shown on the final plat as a closed contour sink hole. If so, the closed contour and 50 ft buffer shall be shown on the final plat. If any building construction is proposed within the 50 ft buffer area around the designated sinkholes/depressions (including the depressions), a geotechnical report must be prepared by a registered engineer to determine soil stability and that report must be submitted to the Knox County Department of Engineering and Public Works for consideration. Any construction in these areas is subject to approval by the County following a review of the report. Engineered footings must be designed for these areas. For those lots that do not have a building site outside of the 50 ft buffer, approval by Knox County will be required prior to final plat approval. The sinkholes/depressions and 50 ft' buffer shall be designated on the final plat even if they are approved to be filled.
7) Providing a temporary turnaround at the eastern terminus of Road 'D' per the requirements of Knox County Engineering and Public Works during the design plan phase. The 50 ft public right-of-way shall be extended to the eastern property boundary as shown on the concept plan with notification of future connection provided per section 3.04.C.2 of the Subdivision Regulations. The temporary turnaround area outside the 50 ft right-of-way may be in an easement with the approval of Knox County Engineering and Public Works. The turnaround easement can be eliminated if the public road is extended and the turnaround is no longer required.
8) Revising the Road 'B' intersection grade to 2 percent or less if a crosswalk is required.
9) Providing a greenway easement on the Final Plat, from either the Road 'A' cul-de-sac or Road 'D' between lots 46 and 47, that extends to approximately where the blue line stream crosses the southern boundary line. This easement can be relocated if Knox County Parks and Recreation and Knox County Engineering and Public Works determine that this location is not feasible or a more appropriate location is identified in the Beeler Road Subdivision or Fairview Road Subdivision. The width of the greenway easement will be determined during the design plan phase.
10) Providing a note on the final plat that lots 84-86 must have a vehicle turnaround on each driveway.
11) Installing sidewalks per Chapter 54, Article IV of the Knox County Code. The location of the sidewalks will be determined by Knox County Engineering and Public Works during the design plan phase.
12) Meeting all applicable requirements of the Knox County Department of Engineering and Public Works and TDOT.
13) Before certification of the final plat for the subdivision, establish a property owners association or other legal entity responsible for maintaining common facilities, such as common areas, amenities, private roads, and/or stormwater drainage systems.

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SUMMARY
This proposal is an 86-lot detached residential subdivision on 27.65 acres at a density of 3.11 du/ac. This includes 83 detached residential lots on the east side of Beeler Road and 3 detached residential lots on the west side of Beeler Road. The property was rezoned from A (Agricultural) to PR (Planned Residential) up to 3.3 du/ac in June 2022 (5-L-22-RZ). The new internal roads will be public with 26 ft of pavement within a 50-ft right-of-way. Road 'D' will extend to the east property boundary to provide access to the Fairview Road Subdivision approved in December 2022 (11-SA-22-C / 11-A-22-DP), or a new proposal, which would require a new Concept Plan and/or Development Plan approval.

PREVIOUS APPROVAL
The previously approved B&B Builders subdivision (7-SA-22-C / 7-A-22-UR) had 86 total dwelling units, with 83 attached house lots and 3 detached house lots. A walking trail was provided around the large detention pond under the TVA powerline easement in the southwest portion of the property, and another trail to the existing pond on the north side of Road 'A', between Road 'B' and Road 'C'. The Planning Commission also added a condition to extend the walking trail in the property's southwest corner to the large property to the south (parcel 029 186) to provide pedestrian access between the properties since a road connection or greenway easement was not proposed or required at that time.

PROPOSED MODIFICATIONS
The subdivision layout remains relatively unchanged. The only significant changes are extending Road 'D' to the eastern property line and adding 4 lots east of the stream on Road 'D' (lots 43-46). The walking trails around the detention pond and existing pond are removed from the plan. A greenway easement is provided along the east side of the stream, adjacent to lot 46.

ROAD CONNECTIVITY
The proposed Beeler Road Subdivision has 83 lots on the east side of Beeler Road, and it is currently the only access for the 128-lot Fairview Road Subdivision. The two subdivisions combined will have up to 211 lots using the single entrance, which exceeds the long-standing unwritten design policy requiring a second entrance or a boulevard entrance road when a subdivision has more than 150 lots. The purpose of this policy is to address access for emergency services, but it also has the secondary benefit of increasing connectivity when multiple entrances are established. The boulevard option should only be used when there are no feasible or logical connections that can provide secondary access to an external road, and the boulevard must extend into the subdivision far enough to provide a benefit, such as the first intersection that provides access to a significant portion of the lots, or preferably, a loop road.

The Fairview Road Subdivision is required to provide a stub-out on the north and south sides of the subdivision. These two stub-out locations allow for feasible extensions into adjoining properties and provide opportunities to connect to external streets other than Beeler Road.

PEDESTRIAN FACILITIES
The Knox County Sidewalk Ordinance (Chapter 54, Article IV of the Knox County Code) requires sidewalks along the frontage of existing adjoining roadways (Beeler Road) and internal street segments with 1,000 or more vehicle trips per day when the development is within a .25 mile of public facilities, including proposed greenways per the Knox County Greenway Corridor Study. This development is within .25 mile of the preferred route for the proposed Beaver Creek East greenway corridor (see Exhibit B). A sidewalk is required on one side of Road 'A', from Beeler Road to Road 'D', and on one side of Road 'D' from Road 'A' to the eastern terminus. The Road 'D' sidewalk will connect to the Fairview Road Subdivision sidewalk system. The concept plan proposes a sidewalk along the south side of Road 'A' and Road 'D'.

Staff is recommending a greenway easement on either side of the stream, from Road 'D' to the southern boundary line, for the future installation of a greenway connector. A greenway easement through the property to the south is necessary to connect to the greenway corridor. This easement can be moved to a more feasible connection point during the design plan phase. This greenway easement can be considered a substitute for providing a sidewalk along the Beeler Road frontage at the discretion of Knox County Engineering and Public Works during the design plan phase.

VARIANCES AND ALTERNATIVE DESIGN STANDARDS
The proposed vertical curve variance at the entrance is the same as previously approved for the B&B Builders Subdivision. Staff supports this request because it will not create a traffic hazard at this location. The horizontal curve reduction on Road 'D' is also supported because it is near a stop-controlled intersection, where reduced speeds are expected. The horizontal curve radius hasn't changed from the previous plan, however, the road is now longer than 1,000' because it extends into the Fairview Road Subdivision, which increases the minimum horizontal curve radius from 100' to 250'.