Disposition Summary

Approve the PR (Planned Residential) zone up to 5 du/ac because it is consistent with Knox County Comprehensive Plan and surrounding area, subject to 1 condition.

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Staff Recommendation

Approve the PR (Planned Residential) zone up to 5 du/ac because it is consistent with Knox County Comprehensive Plan and surrounding area, subject to 1 condition.

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1. Installing a sidewalk along the property's frontage per the Knox County Sidewalk ordinance.

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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 DISTRICTS AFFECTED, OR IN THE CITY/COUNTY GENERALLY:
1. The area surrounding the subject property has experienced a transition from the A (Agricultural) zone to the PR (Planned Residential) zone with density ranging from 3 to 4.5 du/ac since the early 1990s.

THE PROPOSED AMENDMENT SHALL BE CONSISTENT WITH THE INTENT AND PURPOSE OF THE APPLICABLE ZONING ORDINANCE:
1. The PR zone is intended to provide flexibility for different types of residential development and encourage more imaginative solutions to environmental design problems. A blue line stream runs along the front of the property, making the PR zone an appropriate zone to consider since it allows clustering of lots.
2. Houses, duplexes, multi-dwelling structures, and developments are permitted in the PR zone.
3. 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.

PROPOSED AMENDMENT SHALL NOT ADVERSELY AFFECT ANY OTHER PART OF THE COUNTY, NOR SHALL ANY DIRECT OR INDIRECT ADVERSE EFFECTS RESULT FROM SUCH AMENDMENT:
1. The property is adjacent to a commercial node at Beaver Creek Drive and Dry Gap Pike, and Brickey-McCloud Elementary School is approximately 0.5 miles north on Dry Gap Pike. Because there are sidewalks from this intersection to the school, the applicant would need to add a sidewalk along the front of the property per the sidewalk ordinance.
2. As mentioned previously, a blueline stream runs along the northeast side of the property. Water quality buffers would be maintained, and any development must comply with Knox County stormwater management requirements.
3. E Beaver Creek Drive is a two-lane major collector street that intersects with Dry Gap Pike, a median-divided road with sidewalks. Additional traffic at this location would not substantially affect the area.
4. PR zoning requires that development plans be submitted for Planning Commission review. At that time, issues such as topography, surrounding character, and access are evaluated, and community input may be provided regarding the proposed development plan.

THE PROPOSED AMENDMENT SHALL BE CONSISTENT WITH AND NOT IN CONFLICT WITH THE GENERAL PLAN OF KNOXVILLE AND 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. When the district is partially related to the place type, one of three conditions shall apply. One of these is that the proposed zoning district is compatible with the current zoning of adjacent sites. The proposed PR zoning with up to 5 du/ac is compatible with the current PR zoning of the adjoining site to the west, which was approved for single family residences. The CB zone to the east has a condition for a 20-ft vegetated buffer along the shared property line, and the A zone to the south is single family residences on less than 1 acre lots.
2. The SR (Suburban Residential) place type calls for primarily single family residential development with lots smaller than one acre and attached residential such as duplexes, multiplexes, and townhomes that are similar in scale to single family homes. The PR zoning allows these housing types by right.
3. The proposed rezoning is consistent with Knox County Comprehensive Plan Implementation Policy 5, which creates neighborhoods with various housing types and amenities nearby. The PR zone at this location allows a mix of housing types, all within walking distance of a commercial node and school. Additionally, the school will be the site of a proposed trailhead for the East Beaver Creek Greenway and Water Trail (Exhibit A). The rezoning is also consistent with Policy 11, which promotes connectivity with new development. The Knox County Sidewalk ordinance would require sidewalks along the frontage, connecting with the residential development to the west and the commercial property to the east