Approve the PR (Planned Residential) zone with up to 5 du/ac, subject to one condition, because it is consistent with the Knox County Comprehensive Plan and surrounding development. The TO (Technology Overlay) would be retained.
1) Striping and widening George Light Rd to 20 ft along the entirety of the property's frontage and south to Beaver Glade Ln.

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Details of Action

Approve the PR (Planned Residential) zone with up to 5 du/ac, subject to one condition, because it is consistent with the Knox County Comprehensive Plan and surrounding development. The TO (Technology Overlay) would be retained.
1) Striping and widening George Light Rd to 20 ft along the entirety of the property's frontage and south to Beaver Glade Ln.

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Staff Recommendation

Approve the PR (Planned Residential) zone with up to 3 du/ac because it is consistent with the Knox County Comprehensive Plan and surrounding development. The TO (Technology Overlay) would be retained.

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The decision of this body will be a recommendation to the Planning Commission, which will hear the rezoning and plan amendment requests at its July 11, 2024 meeting (Case 7-U-24-RZ).

PURSUANT TO ARTICLE V, SECTION 1 OF THE TTCDA ADMINISTRATIVE RULES AND PROCEDURES, THE DECISION OF THE TTCDA TO APPROVE A REZONING MUST BE BASED ON THE FOLLOWING CRITERIA:

A. CONFORMITY OF THE PROPOSED REZONING WITH THE TTCDA COMPREHENSIVE DEVELOPMENT PLAN (THE EQUIVALENT OF THE TTCDA DESIGN GUIDELINES) AND OTHER PLANS AFFECTING DEVELOPMENT WITHIN THE TECHNOLOGY OVERLAY

1. Knox County Comprehensive Plan:
a. The subject property's place type in the Knox County Comprehensive Plan is SR (Suburban Residential), and the PR district with a density no greater than 12 du/ac can be considered as a partially related zone. PR up to 3 du/ac is consistent with the SR place type, which is predominantly single family subdivisions with lots smaller than one acre and attached residential such as duplexes, multiplexes, and townhomes that have the scale of a single family home.
b. The PR zone is listed as partially related in the SR place type per Appendix H (Place Type and Zoning Correspondence Matrix) of the Knox County Comprehensive Plan. Partially related zoning districts may be appropriate but must meet one of three criteria listed in Appendix H. The proposed PR zoning with the recommended conditions and required development plan review by the Planning Commission is compatible with the current zoning of adjacent sites.
c. This property abuts single family subdivisions along George Light Rd. Residential development at the recommended density is consistent with the Knox County's Comprehensive Plan's Implementation Policy 2, Ensure that development is sensitive to existing community character and Policy 7.2, which encourages conservation subdivisions and development practices that conserve and connect natural features and habitat.

2. Zoning Ordinance:
a. The PR zone is intended to encourage more imaginative solutions to environmental design problems by enabling concentrated development in less environmentally sensitive areas of a property. The Hillside Protection Area runs through most of the property, and there are slopes in the 15-25% and 25-40% ranges. The flexibility of the PR zone makes it an appropriate zone to consider.
b. Houses, duplexes and multi-dwelling structures and developments are permitted in the PR zone along with some nonresidential uses. At the requested density of 5 du/ac, this property could accommodate up to 33 dwellings. At the recommended density of 3 du/ac, a maximum of 20 units could be built, which is more in line with the subdivisions in the area.
c. 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.

B. THE NEED AND JUSTIFICATION FOR THE PROPOSED REZONING
1. Since 1983, there have been some A to RA and PR rezonings at densities of 1-5 du/ac in the area. The general trend along George Light Rd consists of small and medium sized-lots and single family detached residential houses with large agricultural tracts just to the east.

C. EFFECT OF THE PROPOSED REZONING ON THE SURROUNDING AREA
1. This property has steep slopes through the rear of the property and the Hillside Protection area includes 5.7 acres of this 6.7-acre site. The recommended land disturbance within the Hillside & Ridgetop Protection Plan is 3.6 acres and is subject to slope conservation as described in Section 1.12 of the TTCDA Guidelines pertaining to property in HP areas.
2. The Hardin Valley Mobility Plan was created in 2019. George Light Road, a unstriped 16 ft local road is not suitable for a high number of dwellings and has implemented the Right-In, Right-Out Safety Measure Project (S-14) to improve safety for the existing community. Road improvements would need to be done in order to accommodate more density or office uses.
3. 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.