Disposition Summary

Approve the INST (Institutional) district because it is consistent with the recommended CI land use classification and is compatible with the surrounding development.

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Staff Recommendation

Approve the INST (Institutional) district because it is consistent with the recommended CI land use classification and is compatible with the 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 SHALL BE NECESSARY BECAUSE OF SUBSTANTIALLY CHANGED OR CHANGING CONDITIONS IN THE AREA AND DISTRICTS AFFECTED, OR IN THE CITY/COUNTY GENERALLY:
1. Between 2018 and 2020, the former St. Mary's Hospital to the west was closed and most of the hospital buildings were demolished. Parts of the broader campus have since become a Public Safety Complex, a McNabb Center behavioral health and urgent care clinic, and a satellite campus for Lincoln Memorial University (LMU). The proposed INST district aligns with the recent shift of this area toward institutional uses.

THE PROPOSED AMENDMENT SHALL BE CONSISTENT WITH THE INTENT AND PURPOSE OF THE APPLICABLE ZONING ORDINANCE:
1. The INST district is intended to accommodate federal, state, county, and municipal governmental operations (with the exception of those operations that are industrial in nature), and campus institutional uses such as healthcare institutions and educational facilities, to allow for their expansion in a manner that protects surrounding neighborhoods. Areas zoned Institutional shall have a minimum size of five contiguous acres.
2. The subject parcel, along with the four other parcels bounded by E Oak Hill Avenue, Saint Mary Street, and E Emerald Avenue, is owned by LMU. Approval of this request will support an institutional use here, including the expansion of the parking from the west, which is not permitted under the current O district.
3. The property meets the INST district's minimum lot area requirement of 20,000 sq ft and minimum contiguous area requirement of 5 acres, given its relative location to Fulton High School, which is also zoned INST and is larger than 19 acres.
4. 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 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. No significant adverse impacts are anticipated with the proposed rezoning. Uses permitted under the INST district would be compatible with the surrounding uses, including the adjacent Fulton Bicentennial Park and Fulton High School. Although the INST district allows a higher maximum building height (120 ft compared to the O district's maximum of 45 ft), the property does not border any residential properties.

THE PROPOSED AMENDMENT SHALL BE CONSISTENT WITH AND NOT IN CONFLICT WITH THE GENERAL PLAN OF KNOXVILLE AND KNOX COUNTY, INCLUDING ANY OF ITS ELEMENTS, MAJOR ROAD PLAN, LAND USE PLAN, COMMUNITY FACILITIES PLAN, AND OTHERS:
1. The proposed rezoning is consistent with the General Plan's Implementation Policy 4.6 to provide support for the development of community organizations.
2. The INST district is consistent with the recommended CI land use classification of the Central City Sector Plan and One Year Plan.
3. The Oakwood-Lincoln Park Neighborhood Plan (2006) envisions a balanced compact mix of residential, commercial, recreational, open space, employment, and institutional uses (p. 31 of the plan), and the rezoning has no conflicts with the plan.

ADEQUATE PUBLIC FACILITIES ARE AVAILABLE INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, SCHOOLS, PARKS, POLICE AND FIRE PROTECTION, ROADS, SANITARY 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 adequate utility infrastructure and easy access to E Woodland Avenue, a minor arterial.