Disposition Summary

APPROVE the Special Use for a drive through facility in the C-G-2 district, subject to 5 conditions.

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Staff Recommendation

APPROVE the Special Use for a drive through facility in the C-G-2 district, subject to 5 conditions.

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1. Meeting the requirements of the principal use standards for a Drive Through Facility (Article 9.3.F) in the City of Knoxville Zoning Ordinance, including the Class B buffer yard requirement adjacent to the park.
2. Meeting the requirements of Article 13 (Signs) of the City of Knoxville Zoning Ordinance.
3. Meeting all applicable requirements of the Knoxville Department of Engineering.
4. Meeting all applicable requirements of the Tennessee Department of Transportation.
5. Meeting all other applicable requirements of the City of Knoxville Zoning Ordinance.

With the conditions noted above, this request meets the requirements of C-G-2 zoning, the principal use standards for drive-through facilities, and the criteria for approval of a special use.

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This proposal is for a drive-through facility for Dutch Bros Coffee on Chapman Highway adjacent to Sam Duff Park. Dutch Bros will reuse the existing 1,952 sq ft KFC building, and the drive-through will expand from one to two lanes.

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 subject property is an existing drive-through facility and previously housed a KFC restaurant. Redeveloping this parcel is consistent with the General Plan's Development Policy 8.10, which encourages redevelopment of commercial spaces.
B. The One Year Plan and South City Sector Plan designation for this site is the Mixed-Use Special District, MU-SD, SC-5: Chapman Highway District (Taliwa Court to Fronda Lane). This mixed-use special district lists C-3 (General Commercial) as one of the recommended zoning districts (corresponds to the C-G districts in the current zoning ordinance). The C-G-2 zone allows drive-through restaurants as a special use. The plan also calls for vertical mixed use developments that would form a Town Center and discourages uses that are not oriented to pedestrians. However, the proposed plan is to reuse an existing drive-through restaurant and is not new development. While this drive-through facility will be expanded from one lane to two lanes, the site plan provides a walk-up window and a sidewalk connection to Chapman Highway with four new bike parking spaces next to a large apartment complex.
C. The Chapman Highway Corridor Study (2006) discourages large parking areas and encourages new landscaping. The site plan shows a 6 space reduction in the parking lot and adds a buffer yard in the rear.

2) THE USE IS IN HARMONY WITH THE GENERAL PURPOSE AND INTENT OF THIS ZONING CODE.
A. The C-G General Commercial Zoning District is intended to provide for a heterogeneous mix of retail, personal service, office, and residential uses within and along Knoxville's commercial nodes and corridors.
B. The principal use standards for a drive-through facility require a Type B landscape buffer adjacent to a public park. The buffer yard has been reduced in width by 30%, as the zoning ordinance allows a reduction when site plans provide a 6-ft tall fence. The required tree and shrub counts and diversity requirements are not shown on the plan, but can be reviewed and approved during permitting. With the recommended conditions, the drive-through facility meets the principal use standards for drive-through facilities (Article 9.3.F).

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. The existing 1-story structure is consistent with the other 1 and 2-story structures on this block of Chapman Highway. Additionally, there are four other drive-through facilities on the block.

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 proposed use is required to comply with Article 10 of the City of Knoxville Zoning Ordinance, which regulates impacts. Section 10.2 regulates lighting, which requires one footcandle at any lot line, while noise, dust and pollution, odors, fire hazards, and other similar concerns are regulated in Section 10.5.

5) THE USE IS NOT OF A NATURE OR SO LOCATED AS TO DRAW SUBSTANTIAL ADDITIONAL TRAFFIC THROUGH RESIDENTIAL STREETS.
A. The proposed drive-through facility only has access to Chapman Highway a major 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. There are no known uses in the area that could be a potential hazard or create an undesirable environment for future uses on this site.