Disposition Summary

Approve the request for an eating and drinking establishment with approximately 13,500 sqft of floor area in the C-N (Neighborhood Commercial) district, subject to 3 conditions.

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Staff Recommendation

Approve the request for an eating and drinking establishment with approximately 13,500 sqft of floor area in the C-N (Neighborhood Commercial) district, subject to 3 conditions.

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1) Meeting all applicable requirements of the City of Knoxville Zoning Ordinance.
2) Meeting all applicable requirements of the City of Knoxville Engineering Department.
3) Meeting all applicable requirements of the City of Knoxville Plans Review and Inspections Department.

With the conditions noted, this plan meets the requirements for approval in the C-N District and the criteria for approval of a special use.

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This proposal is for an eating and drinking establishment within the Western Heights Connections Building, located at the intersection of W. Oak Hill Avenue and Reed Street, in the core of the Western Heights development. There will be a public open space and park to the south and east of the building. The eating and drinking establishment is located on the entire second floor (ground level access is from W. Oak Hill Avenue). The building's first floor will have a community non-profit space and will have loading for the second-floor restaurants.

The restaurant's operation is not yet determined, but the plan assumes part of the space will be utilized for eating and drinking in a casual setting similar to a café or food hall. Another part of the space will likely incorporate a full-service bar that may also include food options from the adjacent café eating space. The kitchen will also likely be used to prepare to-go/delivery food that would be consumed off-site.

The subject building is located in the KCDC (Knoxville's Community Development Corporation) Western Heights community and is part of the Transforming Western Heights redevelopment project. The new internal transportation network is under construction, including two-way roads with on-street parking, planting strips, and sidewalks on both sides of the street.

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 One Year Plan and Central City Sector Plan designation for this site are MU-NC (Mixed Use Neighborhood Center), which is intended for medium density mixed use development with housing densities of 6 to 12 dwelling units per acre. The buildings of these centers should be designed with a residential character and scale to serve as a complement to the surrounding neighborhoods. The subject 2-story, non-residential, mixed-use building has a commercial design character, which is common for non-residential uses in neighborhood settings. While the building is two stories, it is only one full story along the W. Oak Hill Avenue street elevation.
B. The restaurant (eating and drinking establishment) is envisioned to have multiple smaller users and different business hours. This will extend the hours of operation while not significantly impacting any single time of the day.

2) THE USE IS IN HARMONY WITH THE GENERAL PURPOSE AND INTENT OF THIS ZONING CODE.
A. The C-N (Neighborhood Commercial) District is intended to provide for an environment of integrated residential development and small-scale commercial and service uses, predominantly serving nearby residential neighborhoods. Low-intensity mixed-use is encouraged within the C-N District, with dwellings permitted above the ground floor, as well as multi-family and townhouse development located alongside select commercial uses.
B. The proposed eating and drinking establishment, by providing space for multiple small-scale restaurants, is compatible with the intent of the C-N zone.

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 small-scale eating and drinking establishments are compatible with the character and size of location of proposed buildings in the vicinity. The proposed structure on the north side of W. Oak Hill Avenue is a 4-story, mixed-use structure with non-residential uses on the ground floor and residential above.

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. No adverse impacts are expected on adjacent properties resulting from this approval.

5) THE USE IS NOT OF A NATURE OR SO LOCATED AS TO DRAW SUBSTANTIAL ADDITIONAL TRAFFIC THROUGH RESIDENTIAL STREETS.
A. The proposed eating and drinking establishment is within the master planned, mixed-use Western Heights redevelopment project known as Transforming Western Heights. The anticipated impacts of the proposed non-residential uses have been taken into consideration with the new street design, which includes on-street parking, sidewalks on both sides of the street, planting strips, and speed humps to control traffic speed.

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. There are no known uses in the area that could be a potential hazard or create an undesirable environment for the proposed uses within the development.