Disposition Summary

Approve the request for a driveway to Topside Road and a minor expansion of the right turn lane on the driveway to W Governor John Sevier Highway, subject to 5 conditions.

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Staff Recommendation

Approve the request for a driveway to Topside Road and a minor expansion of the right turn lane on the driveway to W Governor John Sevier Highway, subject to 5 conditions.

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1) Closing the Masterson Road ROW on the property before permitting the driveway to Topside Road.
2) Implementing all safety recommendations from the traffic study for both access points that are agreed upon by City of Knoxville Engineering and Knox County Engineering.
3) Ensure that any lighting at the Topside Road entrance and driveway does not create a nuisance for surrounding residential properties.
4) Meeting all applicable requirements of the City of Knoxville Zoning Ordinance.
5) Meeting all applicable requirements of the City of Knoxville Engineering Department.

With conditions noted above, this request meets the requirements of the former RP-1 zoning district (current RN-1© / HP zoning district) and the criteria for approval of a special use for modifications to previously approved planned districts per Article 1.4.G.

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A use-on-review approval was granted by the Planning Commission in 2004 for the construction of Calvary Church as well as the accessory uses of an amphitheater and recreational fields. A driveway to Topside Road was approved on the condition that access be limited to Sundays and one midweek service, and that the driveway be gated and secured at all other times (11-G-03-UR). When the church was built in 2013, a driveway to W Governor John Sevier Highway was constructed, but not to Topside Road. The amphitheater and recreational fields were not constructed at that time.
In 2019, a use-on-review approval was granted for a parking lot expansion to 267 spaces, a children's play area south of the parking lot, and a prayer garden/gazebo and multiuse greenspace along the main driveway (4-H-19-UR). At that Planning Commission meeting, a condition was added to prohibit access to Topside Road in response to community concern about traffic impact. The Commissioners described how the condition could be removed through a separate special use request for access to Topside Road. After approval, the parking lot was expanded, and the multiuse greenspace was developed. The children's play area south of the parking lot was not constructed.
In 2021, special use approval was granted for a parking lot expansion to 304 spaces, which was the maximum permitted for the church's 607-seat sanctuary. Approval was also granted for a covered pavilion and an event quarters/ storage space in the multiuse greenspace area. These projects were implemented in 2022. The parking lot expansion took over the space previously approved for the children's play area.
In 2022, special use approval was granted for another parking lot expansion by 189 spaces with the condition that only 304 spaces be accessible until the anticipated sanctuary expansion to 1,700 seats was approved and constructed.
The current special use request is for driveway access to Topside Road and a minor expansion of the right turn lane on the driveway to W Governor John Sevier Hwy. The applicant provided a study from the Knoxville Police Department indicating that an additional entry and exist point is needed in the event of an emergency. Most of the proposed driveway to Topside Road will follow the old road bed of Masterson Road, a public right-of-way that will need to be closed before permitting. Since the church is expected to expand to 1,700 seats in the future, a traffic study was conducted for both access points and is included in this package. The site plan shows the anticipated church expansion and additional parking that is not within the scope of this special use review.

STANDARDS FOR EVALUATING A SPECIAL USE (ARTICLE 16.2.F.2)

1) THE USE IS CONSISTENT WITH ADOPTED PLANS AND POLICIES, INCLUDING THE GENERAL PLAN AND THE ONE-YEAR PLAN.
A. The proposed driveway to Topside Road and minor expansion of the driveway to W Governor John Sevier Highway is consistent with the General Plan's development policy 10.3 to involve school, police and fire officials in land use planning at the sector, neighborhood, and site plan levels. The applicant consulted with the police department, who determined that an additional entry and exit point is necessary to improve the safety of the church and its members in the event of an emergency.
B. This request is supported by the One Year Plan's location criteria for cultural facilities. It states that churches should be located throughout the community in close proximity to major residential areas, and that sites should afford safe and convenient access to both local and through traffic. The minor expansion of the driveway to W Governor John Sevier Highway, a major arterial street, and the additional driveway to Topside Road, a minor collector street, improve safety and convenience of access to and from the site. The traffic study did not indicate that through traffic on Topside Road would be significantly impacted, and focuses instead on congestion concerns with the church's current access to W Governor John Sevier Highway.
C. A slope analysis was conducted in accordance with the Hillside and Ridgetop Protection Plan. The site has 30.1 acres within the HP (Hillside Protection) overlay and the maximum disturbance permitted is 14.1 acres. A gas easement through the property has disturbed a significant portion of the HP overlay. The majority of the proposed driveway to Topside Road will follow the previously disturbed path of Masterson Road. Considering the need for a Topside Road driveway to reduce safety and congestion concerns at the existing ingress and egress, as well as the property's zoning status as a previously approved planned district from a time when the HP overlay did not exist, the proposed disturbance of 0.81 is deemed acceptable.

2) THE USE IS IN HARMONY WITH THE GENERAL PURPOSE AND INTENT OF THIS ZONING CODE.
A. The previously approved RP-1 (Planned Residential) zoning district is the operative zoning for the property, and it is intended to provide optional methods of land development which encourage more imaginative solutions to environmental design problems.
B. Increasing access to a church is consistent with the intent of the RP-1 zone to permit limited nonresidential uses that are compatible with the character of the district. The church property is wooded and provides a large buffer to the residential uses to the south and southeast. The new driveway would access Topside Road on the bed of an unused public right-of-way called Masterson Road, which is reflected and described in note 6 of the attached plat. The proposed driveway could legally be redeveloped as a public street. Closing Masterson Road and converting it to a private driveway is more compatible with the surrounding residential context.

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 church was built in 2013 and is an established and compatible use in the area. The sanctuary building is located near Alcoa Highway and has large forest buffers between it and surrounding residential properties.
B. Increasing access to the existing place of worship will improve emergency response capabilities and relieve some congestion and safety concerns at the W Governor John Sevier Highway ingress and egress.

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. Surrounding residents have expressed concern that the traffic generated by the Topside Road driveway will endanger the community and congest this narrow collector street. The traffic impact letter provides six recommendations on safety measures for the new driveway, which will be incorporated into the permitting process with City and Coutny Engineering.
B. The traffic report emphasizes congestion and safety concerns with the existing driveway to W Governor John Sevier Highway, and how access to Topside Road will alleviate vehicle delays and safety issues at that pinch point.

5) THE USE IS NOT OF A NATURE OR SO LOCATED AS TO DRAW SUBSTANTIAL ADDITIONAL TRAFFIC THROUGH RESIDENTIAL STREETS.
A. Topside Road is classified as a minor collector street, not a local residential street, which means it is used to connect neighborhoods to arterials or major collector streets. The Calvary Church's calendar shows that church service, when the largest numbers of people travel to the church, does not occur during peak traffic times. Those service hours are Wednesday at 7pm, Saturday at 6pm and throughout Sunday. It is not anticipated that this secondary access point will significantly impact travel times on Topside Road.

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. The proposed access to Topside Road will mitigate hazards for Calvary Church members by providing an alternative to entering and exiting on a major arterial street near an intersection with Alcoa Highway.
B. Beyond access, there are no other features of the property that pose an apparent risk to the existing use.