Disposition Summary

Approve the RA (Low Density Residential) zone because it is consistent with the Knox County Comprehensive Plan and surrounding development.

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Staff Recommendation

Approve the RA (Low Density Residential) zone because it is consistent with the Knox County Comprehensive Plan and surrounding development.

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PURSUANT TO THE KNOX COUNTY ZONING ORDINANCE, ARTICLE 6.30.01, THE FOLLOWING CONDITIONS MUST BE MET FOR ALL REZONINGS (must meet all of these):

THE PROPOSED AMENDMENT SHALL BE NECESSARY BECAUSE OF SUBSTANTIALLY CHANGED OR CHANGING CONDITIONS IN THE AREA AND ZONES AFFECTED, OR IN THE COUNTY GENERALLY.
1. Recent development along Primus Road has been primarily commercial and wholesale construction uses that began around 1998. The subject property lies along an access easement that only serves single family houses.
2. The neighborhood to the southeast of the subject property was fully established by the late 1990s and has experienced a slight increase in residential density through the construction of duplexes and rezonings from RN-1 (Single-Family Residential Neighborhood) to RN-2 (Single-Family Residential Neighborhood) and from A (Agricultural) to RA (Low Density Residential).
3. The nearby Callahan Drive, Merchant Drive, and Clinton Highway commercial corridors have been established for decades but have experienced a steady increase in commercial development that serves the surrounding area.

THE PROPOSED AMENDMENT SHALL BE CONSISTENT WITH THE INTENT AND PURPOSES OF THE APPLICABLE ZONING ORDINANCE.
1. The RA zone is intended to provide for areas with low population densities. It is compatible with the surrounding residential zoning, which includes properties zoned RA, A, and PR (Planned Residential) up to 3 du/ac, RN-1, and AG (General Agricultural).
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 RA zone primarily allows residential and civic uses, which aligns with the existing residential character of the area.

THE PROPOSED AMENDMENT SHALL NOT ADVERSELY AFFECT ANY OTHER PART OF THE COUNTY NOR SHALL ANY DIRECT OR INDIRECT ADVERSE EFFECTS RESULT FROM SUCH AN AMENDMENT.
1. The RA zone is a low-density residential zone that allows single family houses and duplexes with use on review approval by the Planning Commission. These uses are consistent with the existing residential character that primarily features single family houses interspersed with duplexes.
2. Primus Road is a 25-ft wide unstriped local street that has a dead end to the northwest of the entrance for the access easement. This section serves the storage facility and church adjacent to the subject property, and the residential uses along the access easement. The road would be minimally affected by development on this property under RA zoning due to the small size of the parcel.
3. Traffic from Primus Road is routed to Murray Drive, a major collector, and would not be routed through side streets.
4. The paved access easement is currently serving five lots, the maximum number it can serve before it would need to become a private right-of-way and improved to County Engineering standards, which would be required to subdivide the subject property.

PROPOSED AMENDMENT SHALL BE CONSISTENT WITH AND NOT IN CONFLICT WITH THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN OF KNOX COUNTY, INCLUDING ANY OF ITS ELEMENTS, MAJOR ROAD PLAN, LAND USE PLAN, COMMUNITY FACILITIES PLAN, AND OTHERS:
1. The property is within the SR (Suburban Residential) place type, which lists the RA zone as directly related. The housing mix of the SR place type calls for single family houses on lots smaller than one acre and attached residential houses such as duplexes, both of which are permitted in the RA zone.
2. The recommended rezoning complies with the Comprehensive Plan's Implementation Policy 2, to ensure that new development is sensitive to existing community character. The lot sizes and allowable uses in the RA zone are consistent with the character of the surrounding area.
3. The subject property is within the Urban Growth Boundary of the Growth Policy Plan, which encourages a reasonably compact development pattern. The allowable lot sizes and housing types of the RA zone support the intent of the Urban Growth Boundary.