Disposition Summary

Approve the amendments to the Knoxville City Code, Appendix B, Zoning Code, Articles 2, General Definitions and Measurement Methodologies; Article 4, Residential Neighborhood Districts; Article 5, Commercial and Office Districts; Article 9, Uses; Article 10, Site Development Standards; and Article 11, Off-Street Parking to create a new Single-Family Attached dwelling use because it diversifies housing options and increases home ownership opportunity.

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Staff Recommendation

Approve the amendments to the Knoxville City Code, Appendix B, Zoning Code, Articles 2, General Definitions and Measurement Methodologies; Article 4, Residential Neighborhood Districts; Article 9, Uses; Article 10, Site Development Standards; and Article 11, Off-Street Parking to create a new Single-Family Attached dwelling use because it diversifies housing options and increases home ownership opportunity.

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The current zoning code does not permit duplexes to be subdivided along the party wall line, as it does with townhouses, due to the required setbacks. Subdividing in this way makes it easier to sell individual units with their own lot, rather than establishing a condominium regime where the lot is shared with individually owned units.

Staff researched peer jurisdictions and discovered zoning codes that accommodate subdivision in this way through a dwelling definition that is distinct from duplexes and townhouses. Staff also learned that the City's prior zoning code, before it was updated in 2020, included an Attached House use defined as, "a dwelling unit located on its own lot that shares one (1) or more common or abutting walls with one (1) or more dwelling units." This proposed ordinance amendment reestablishes that use and incorporates it into existing dimensional, design and parking standards.



SUMMARY OF PROPOSED CHANGES:

Article 2.2 General Abbreviations

Adds a new abbreviation for single-family attached dwellings; "SF-A"

Article 2.3 Definitions

Adds a new definition for a single-family attached dwelling as a structure containing one dwelling unit attached at an interior side lot line by a vertical party wall to another dwelling unit

Adds clarification to the two-family dwelling definition that it is a duplex on one lot

Article 2.4 Rules of Measurement

Adds a provision that the interior side setback standard is only applicable to the side of the single-family attached unit with no shared wall attachment to another unit

Article 4.1 Residential Neighborhood Districts Purpose Statements

Adds the single-family attached dwelling use to applicable purpose statements for the residential zoning districts.

Article 4.3 Dimensional Standards

Adds minimum lot area and minimum lot width standards for a single-family attached dwelling, which are half the dimensions of the two-family dwelling standards

Includes the single-family attached dwelling in maximum building height and interior side setback standards where those standards are grouped for single-family, two-family and townhouse dwellings

Article 4.5 Pocket Neighborhood Design Standards

Adds the single-family attached dwelling to the Pocket Neighborhood standards

Table 9-1 Use Matrix

Adds the single-family attached dwelling to the Use Matrix, which mirrors the permitted and special use status of a two-family dwelling

Article 9.3.J Principal Use Standards for a Two-Family Dwelling

Includes the single-family attached use in the design standards for a two-family dwelling

Limits the front-loaded attached garage width standards to be 60% of the front building façade line for a single-family attached use

Adds a provision that where operable alleys are present, the alley shall serve as the primary means of vehicular ingress and egress with discretion by City Engineering

Article 10.2 General Development Requirements, Exterior Lighting

Includes the single-family attached dwelling in the exemption status for a lighting plan requirement

Article 11.3 Off-Street Parking, Locations and Setbacks

Adds the single-family attached dwelling to the same parking and driveway standards as a single-family and two-family dwelling

Adds a provision that single-family attached dwellings can share a driveway along the party wall subdividing line in accordance with all other off-street parking requirements to encourage shared driveways as a means to reduce curb cuts so that two separate driveways are not necessarily required

Article 11.4 Required Off-Street Parking Spaces

Sets the minimum off-street parking space requirement for a single-family attached dwelling at 2 spaces per dwelling unit, consistent with single-family and two-family dwelling requirements

Article 11.6 Design of Off-Street Parking Facilities

Includes the single-family attached use in the same standards applied to single-family, two-family and townhouse uses

Table 11-7: Driveway Width and Curb Cut Length Standards

Includes the single-family attached use in the same standards applied to single-family, two-family and townhouse uses

Article 11.9 Off-Street Parking, Bicycle Parking Provisions

Includes the single-family attached use in the same standards applied to single-family and two-family uses

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STAFF ANALYSIS

The proposed creation of the single-family attached dwelling use will allow for the development of side-by-side duplexes that are subdivided down the center so that each unit can be sold with its own lot. This use removes obstacles to new homeownership opportunities and reestablishes a housing type that existed in the City's zoning code prior to 2020. The single-family attached use would be regulated similarly to duplexes, with Special Use review in the RN-1 and RN-2 (Single-Family Residential Neighborhood) zoning districts, and Principal Use design standards applied. This use is consistent with the purpose of the zoning code described in Article 1.2.I, to "provide opportunities for a diversity of housing types." Planning staff recommends approval of this amendment to incorporate the single-family attached dwelling use within zoning regulations.