Disposition Summary

Deny the I-H (Heavy Industrial) zoning district because it is inconsistent with the Knoxville-Knox County General Plan.

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Staff Recommendation

Deny the I-H (Heavy Industrial) zoning district because it is inconsistent with the Knoxville-Knox County General Plan.

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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. Development trends in the surrounding area have remained stable, consisting of a mix of residential, commercial, wholesaling, and industrial uses.
2. This area between the railroad tracks to the north and I-40 to the south predominantly consists of I-G (General Industrial), RN-4 (General Residential Neighborhood), and INST (Institutional) zoning. Commercial zoning, such as C-H-1 (Highway Commercial) and C-G-1 (General Commercial), is concentrated to the east along N Cherry Street.

THE PROPOSED AMENDMENT IS CONSISTENT WITH THE INTENT AND PURPOSES OF THIS CODE.
1. The I-H (Heavy Industrial) zoning district is intended to provide for a wide variety of general manufacturing, fabricating, processing, distributing, and warehousing uses. Industrial uses in the I-H district may result in some moderate external effects such as smoke, noise, glare, or vibration, and typically include outdoor storage and related outdoor activities.
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 subject property is surrounded by I-G zoning and is within 300 ft of a residential block zoned RN-4. The I-H district at this location would permit more intensive and potentially noxious uses than are currently allowed in the surrounding area.

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 primary difference between the requested I-H zoning district and the existing I-G zoning is that the I-H district allows heavy industrial activities, whereas the I-G district does not. General industrial activities must be conducted wholly within an enclosed building. Heavy industrial activities, however, are permitted to have outdoor storage areas and include uses that may produce noise, vibrations, illumination, or particulate that is perceptible to adjacent land users.
2. Rezonings should be based on the entire range of uses allowed within a zone to ensure compatibility with development brought forth in the future. The I-H zoning district allows the most intensive uses, and as stated previously, may cause adverse impacts for surrounding properties. In this particular case, the existing use does cause such impacts. The current tenant on this site has been operating a grease processing facility since 2017 with unpermitted outdoor storage. Numerous complaints from surrounding businesses and residences have been received by the Knox County Air Quality Management Division and the City of Knoxville's Plans Review and Inspections Department due to the odor emanating from its operations and general concerns with the outdoor storage of processing materials. This context is relevant to the rezoning request, as it would permit operations to continue as is at this location. It should be noted that a grease processing facility is a permitted use in the current I-G zoning district when conducted within a fully enclosed building.
3. Introducing I-H zoning to this area could serve as a catalyst for future I-H rezonings, which would be inappropriate here due to the close proximity of established residential uses. Though I-G zoning is not ideal in regards to compatibility with residential uses, it would limit uses on the site to primarily indoor industrial activities.

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 designated HI (Heavy Industrial) under the City's One Year Plan and Central City Sector Plan, which allows consideration of the requested I-H zoning district.
2. The proposed rezoning is inconsistent with the General Plan's Development Policy 11.3: Discourage environmental nuisances in the vicinity of residential development, including rundown commercial development, noxious industrial uses, offensive odors, vibrations, dust, or glare from nearby or distant uses. The I-H district at this location would allow uses that could produce negative external impacts to residences in the immediate and broader surrounding area, including the Belle Morris Neighborhood to the north and the Parkridge Neighborhood to the south.

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 facility infrastructure to support a rezoning of this site.
2. Access to I-40 is available roughly 0.31 miles to the east.