Disposition Summary

Approve the O (Office) zoning district because it would provide a transition in land use intensity. The IH (Infill Housing Overlay) would be retained.

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Staff Recommendation

Approve the O (Office) zoning district because it would provide a transition in land use intensity. The IH (Infill Housing Overlay) would be retained.

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PURSUANT TO THE CITY OF KNOXVILLE ZONING ORDINANCE, SECTION 16.1.E, ALL OF THE FOLLOWING CONDITIONS MUST BE MET FOR ALL REZONINGS:

THE PROPOSED AMENDMENT IS NECESSARY BECAUSE OF SUBSTANTIALLY CHANGED OR CHANGING CONDITIONS IN THE AREA AND DISTRICTS AFFECTED, OR IN THE CITY GENERALLY.
1. Development trends in the surrounding area have featured a mix of uses. Industrial uses have been concentrated south along the railroad line between Western Avenue and I-275. Public and civic uses, such as churches, Lonsdale Elementary School, and the Haslam-Sansom multipurpose facility, are interspersed among single-family neighborhoods.

THE PROPOSED AMENDMENT IS CONSISTENT WITH THE INTENT AND PURPOSES OF THIS CODE.
1. The O (Office) zoning district is intended to provide for an environment of low intensity office and service uses, mixed with residential uses. The O district may additionally serve as a transition between single-family residential areas and more intensely developed commercial or industrial areas. The subject property meets the intent of the O zoning district, as it is situated between single-family dwellings on the north side of New York Avenue and the active industrial site to the south, which abuts the subject property.
2. Rezonings should be based on the entire range of uses allowed within a zone to ensure that any development brought forth at a future time would be compatible with the surrounding land uses. The subject property is on the south side of New York Avenue, which features single-family dwellings, a church, and a small-scale commercial operation. The O zoning district would permit low intensity uses that are compatible with the mix of uses along this section of New York Avenue.

THE PROPOSED AMENDMENT SHALL NOT ADVERSELY AFFECT ANY OTHER PART OF THE CITY, NOR SHALL ANY DIRECT OR INDIRECT ADVERSE EFFECTS RESULT FROM SUCH AMENDMENT.
1. The O zoning district has design standards regulating façade design, building materials, fenestration design, and pedestrian access. As such, it is not anticipated to negatively impact the surrounding area.

THE PROPOSED AMENDMENT SHALL BE CONSISTENT WITH AND NOT IN CONFLICT WITH THE KNOXVILLE-KNOX COUNTY GENERAL PLAN AND ITS COMPONENT PARTS, INCLUDING ADOPTED SECTOR PLANS, CORRIDOR PLANS, AND RELATED DOCUMENTS.
1. The proposed rezoning would be consistent with the recommended O (Office) land use classification amendment of the One Year Plan and Central City Sector Plan.
2. The recommended rezoning is consistent with the General Plan's Development Policy 8.5, to protect neighborhoods from intrusive uses and other blighting influences, and Development Policy 11.4, to create gradual zoning transition patterns by placing medium intensity zones and uses such as offices between single-family residential areas and higher intensity uses. The subject property abuts a large swath of I-H (Heavy Industrial) zoning, and the O district at this location would help establish a buffer in land use intensity between I-H zoning to the south and RN-2 (Single-Family Residential Neighborhood) zoning to the north.

WHETHER ADEQUATE PUBLIC FACILITIES ARE AVAILABLE INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, SCHOOLS, PARKS, POLICE AND FIRE PROTECTION, ROADS, SANITARY SEWERS, STORM SEWERS, AND WATER LINES, OR ARE REASONABLY CAPABLE OF BEING PROVIDED PRIOR TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SUBJECT PROPERTY IF THE AMENDMENT WERE ADOPTED.
1. This is an urbanized area with ample utility and facility infrastructure to support a rezoning of this site.
2. The subject property is within a quarter-mile of a Knoxville Area Transit bus stop that can be accessed via sidewalks along Gloria Garner Street.