Disposition Summary

Approve the O (Office) Zoning District because it is consistent with the City of Knoxville's One Year Plan, the sector plan, and surrounding development.

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Staff Recommendation

Approve the O (Office) Zoning District because it is consistent with the City of Knoxville's One Year Plan, the sector plan, and surrounding development.

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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. Since the early 2000s, development trends in the surrounding area have included a mix of residential, office, and small-scale commercial uses. Residential developments consist of single-family dwellings on various lot sizes and multi-family developments such as duplexes and apartment complexes. Office and commercial uses have been concentrated along E Inskip Drive.

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 description of the O zoning district.
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 O zoning district allows low intensity uses, along with limited more intensive office and service-related uses through a special use approval. Any special use requests must go through a public review process to ensure they are compatible with the surrounding area and comply with any adopted plans.

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 district has dimensional standards that are intended to mitigate adverse impacts on residential areas. When a lot abuts a single-family residential district, nonresidential development must adhere to Section 5.3.B of the City of Knoxville's Zoning Ordinance. Developments must maintain the privacy of adjacent lots through techniques such as decreased height, landscaping and screening measures, and increased setbacks.
2. The O zoning district also has design standards regulating building materials, fenestration design, and pedestrian access. Sites must be designed to minimize potentially dangerous traffic movements and points of conflict between vehicles and pedestrians or bicyclists and to ensure safe pedestrian access from the public right-of-way.
3. Article 12.8 of the City's zoning ordinance requires a buffer yard between residential and nonresidential districts for any new construction or additions of 30% or more to existing structures.

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 subject property is within the Inskip Small Area Plan and designated MU-SD, NC-11 (Mixed Use-Special District, Inskip Small Area Plan) in the One Year Plan and North City Sector Plan. The Inskip Small Area Plan states that limiting development to low-density residential, medium-density residential, and office for this area is appropriate. The recommended zoning districts include a residential-office form-based or overlay zoning district. Though a form-based overlay was not formally adopted, as previously mentioned, the O zoning district has dimensional and design standards for properties abutting single-family zoning districts.
2. The requested O zoning district supports the General Plan's Development Policy 11.4, to create gradual zoning transition patterns by placing medium-intensity zones and uses such as offices, condominiums, and community buildings between single-family residential areas and higher-intensity uses. The subject property lies at the edge of a neighborhood block that consists of properties zoned RN-1, RN-2, RN-4 (General Residential Neighborhood), and O, and is across the street from properties zoned O and I-MU (Industrial Mixed-Use).

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 service infrastructure in place to support a rezoning of this site.
2. The subject property is located along a Knoxville Area Transit (KAT) bus route and within 223 ft of a KAT bus stop.