To be heard November 12, 2026Agenda Item No. 43

Approve the variance to reduce the minimum K value of public Road 'A' from 25 to 20 at station 0+44.51, based on the listed evidence of hardships.
A. This property lies within the Hillside Protection area and slopes upward by approximately 235 ft from the edge of George Williams Road to the rear boundary. There is an 85-ft elevation change along the first linear segment of Road 'A', from its intersection with George Williams Road to station 9+50.
B. The topography is unique to the property. Approval of this variance will result in less cut-and-fill on the site.
C. The variance is not expected to be detrimental to public safety, and the Knox County Department of Engineering and Public Works recommends approval of the request. Vehicles exiting the subdivision will be subject to one-way stop control at this location.

Approve the variance to reduce the minimum tangent for reverse curves from 50 ft to 21.61 ft between stations 2+31.89 and 2+53.50 of Road 'A', based on the listed evidence of hardship.
a. The property has a relatively narrow frontage on George Williams Road and a steep slope along the main internal road, Road 'A', which is unique to the property.
b. Long, straight road segments with steep grades can inadvertently encourage higher vehicle speeds when going downhill. The shorter distance between two horizontal curves may encourage traffic calming.
c. The variance is not expected to be detrimental to public safety, and the Knox County Department of Engineering and Public Works recommends approval of the request.

Approve the variance to reduce the minimum tangent for broken back curves from 150 ft to 11.74 ft between stations 4+45.80 and 4+57.55 of Road 'A', based on the listed evidence of hardship.
a. The property has a relatively narrow frontage on George Williams Road and a steep slope along the main internal road, Road 'A', which is unique to the property.
b. Long, straight road segments with steep grades can inadvertently encourage higher vehicle speeds when going downhill. The shorter distance between two horizontal curves may encourage traffic calming.
c. The variance is not expected to be detrimental to public safety, and the Knox County Department of Engineering and Public Works recommends approval of the request.

Approve the concept plan, subject to 9 conditions.

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1. Meeting all applicable requirements of the Knox County Zoning Ordinance.
2. Meeting all applicable requirements of the Knox County Department of Engineering and Public Works.
3. Connecting to sanitary sewer and meeting other relevant utility provider requirements.
4. Providing street names that are consistent with the Uniform Street Naming and Addressing System within Knox County (County Ord. 91-1-102).
5. Implementing the recommendations of the George Williams Road Subdivision Transportation Impact Study (Ajax Engineering, 10/19/2026) as required by Knox County Engineering and Public Works during the design plan phase, including, but not limited to, evaluating traffic calming measures on Road 'A'.
6. During the design plan phase, providing a stream determination study to the Knox County Department of Engineering and Public Works for review and approval regarding a potential stream along the eastern side of the property. The required stream buffers must be provided if this is determined to be a stream. This may impact the layout of Roads 'A' and 'C', and consolidation of lots may be required to ensure buildable area of all lots outside the stream buffers.
7. Ensuring that at least 50% of the site is preserved as open space outside of building lots and rights-of-way of the main body of the subdivision (lots 1-101) and structures and driveways of the northernmost large lot (lot 102), based on the acreage on the final plat. Any future development on lot 102 must be in compliance with the open space requirement of the entire subdivision.
8. Before recording the final plat for the subdivision, establishing 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.
9. If during design plan approval or construction of the development, it is discovered that unforeseen off-site improvements within the right-of-way are necessary as caused by the development, the developer will either enter into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the County for these improvements or reimburse the County for their direct expenses (if completed by County crews) to make corrections deemed necessary.

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This proposal is for a 102-lot detached residential subdivision on a 48.5-acre property that currently includes a house and a horse farm. The existing house and accessory structures will be retained on a large 14.54-acre lot north of the subdivision and will continue to use Triplett Lane for access. 101 new lots, ranging from approximately 0.6 acres to 2.5 acres, comprise the remaining 33.7 acres and will be accessed via George Williams Road.

TRAFFIC IMPACT STUDY: The applicant submitted a traffic impact study evaluating George Williams Road's intersections with Fox Road and the proposed Road 'A'. The study found that no road improvements are needed for this development and that an All-Way Stop Control is not warranted at the Fox Road intersection. The study, however, recommended that Knox County address an existing asphalt drop-off/failure at the northern corner of George Williams Road at Fox Road. Existing vegetation and a utility pole on the north side of George Williams Road along the property's road frontage will need to be removed to obtain the required sight distance.

ROAD DESIGN: The requested variances and alternative design standards are primarily warranted due to the property's steep topography and narrow frontage along George Williams Road. Approval of any of these requests alone will not create any safety concerns. However, the long, straight road segments with steep grades can inadvertently encourage higher vehicle speeds when going downhill on Road 'A'. The Knox County Engineering and Public Works will review the need for traffic calming measures during the design plan phase, as recommended by the traffic impact study and as stipulated in Condition 5.

STREAM BUFFER: USGS Quad map shows a blue line stream running along the eastern portion of the property. The applicant will provide a hydrologic study during the design plan phase, as stipulated in condition 6. If it is determined that a stream buffer is required, it will affect the layout of Roads 'A' and 'C' and several lots at the ends of these roads. If any variances are needed for the revised layout, it will require another review by the Planning Commission.