Disposition Summary

Approve the development plan for a big-box retail store with outdoor sales and storage, subject to 9 conditions.

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Staff Recommendation

Approve the development plan for a big-box retail store with outdoor sales and storage, subject to 9 conditions.

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1. Implementing the recommendations of the Home Depot at North Fork Station Transportation Impact Study (Kimley-Horn, June 2026) as required by Knox County Engineering and Public Works and the Tennessee Department of Transportation during the permitting phase.
2. Installing all landscaping, as shown on the landscape plan, within six months of issuance of an occupancy permit for this project, or posting a bond with the Knox County Department of Engineering and Public Works to guarantee installation.
3. All site lighting fixtures adjacent to residential properties, pole-mounted and attached to the building, shall be full cut-off fixtures or have housing shields to direct the light toward the ground and to restrict the light source from being visible from the adjacent residential properties. A photometric plan shall be submitted to Planning staff for review and approval during the permitting phase.
4.The detached monument sign shall have a maximum height of 6 feet. A signage package with necessary dimensions shall be submitted to Planning staff for review and approval during the permitting phase to ensure consistency with the approved master sign plan.
5. Required parking spaces within the development shall not be used for the display or storage of materials or products.
6. Meeting all applicable requirements of the Knox County Zoning Ordinance.
7. Meeting all requirements of the Knox County Department of Engineering and Public Works.
8. Connecting to sanitary sewer and meeting any other relevant requirements of the utility provider.
9. If during plat approval or construction of the development, it is discovered that unforeseen off-site improvements within the right-of-way are necessary, the developer will either enter into a Memorandum of Understanding with the County for these improvements or reimburse the County for their direct expenses (if competed by County crews) to make corrections deemed necessary.

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This request is for a 136,314-sq ft big-box retail store (Home Depot) at the North Folk Station shopping center in the Halls community. In 2006, the Planning Commission approved a concept plan and a development plan for the shopping center, which included a Home Depot store at the same location (7-SJ-06-C, 7-K-06-UR). A sign master plan for the shopping center was also approved that year (12-N-06-UR). Between 2006 and 2009, most of the shopping center's roads, sidewalks, parking lots, and building pads were constructed, including those on the subject parcel. In subsequent years, various retail and commercial uses were built on this campus, but the subject parcel remained vacant, with its parking lot built out. The proposed building footprint and traffic circulation are largely identical to those in the previous approval, and the applicant proposes minor revisions to the parking layout. Outdoor sales and storage are proposed in front of the building.

DEVELOPMENT PLAN ANALYSIS PER ARTICLE 6, SECTION 6.50.06 (APPROVAL OR DENIAL)
In the exercise of its administrative judgment, the Planning Commission shall determine if the proposed plan is in harmony with the general purpose and intent of the zoning ordinance and adopted plans.

1) ZONING ORDINANCE
SC (Shopping Center):
A. The proposed big-box retail store meets the SC zone's intent to encourage and ensure the development of unified retail shopping centers, which will promote the public health, safety, morals, and general welfare for the citizens of the county. The administrative procedures for the SC zone require the Planning Commission to approve a development plan before permits can be issued (Article 5.34.10).
B. The proposed outdoor storage is incidental to the primary retail use. The SC zone states that, in addition to the uses permitted (by right or as a use on review), the planning commission may recommend the inclusion of other uses of a related nature, provided that the intent of this resolution is maintained. The proposed landscape buffers help to mitigate the visual impact of outdoor storage on surrounding properties.
C. All proposed modifications to the previously approved plan comply with the dimensional requirements of the SC zone. The site plan increases the number of parking spaces from 407 existing stalls to 442 proposed stalls, but it does not meet the minimum requirement of 5 parking spaces for every 1,000 sq ft of gross leasable floor area in a shopping center, which is 682 stalls. The director of Knox County Engineering and Public Works Department has the authority to reduce this requirement during permitting, in accordance with Article 3.50.11. Planning staff supports the reduction in parking to prevent an underutilized parking lot and prevent an increase in impervious coverage.
D. Article 5.34.05.D requires adequate screening for any adjacent residential properties to minimize noise, light, and possible unsightliness of a shopping center. A landscape buffer of evergreen trees shall be installed along the northeastern boundary of the parcel that abuts a recovery house and a single-family dwelling, consistent with the existing peripheral landscaping in the broader shopping center. The applicant intends to retain the existing lighting poles but will replace the bulbs with LED bulbs. Staff recommends a condition for site lighting that accounts for the adjacent residential properties.
E. The previously approved master sign plan included a 4.5-ft tall monument sign to be installed next to the southern entrance of this development. The applicant proposes to replace the previously approved sign with a 14-foot tall internally illuminated monument sign. However, staff recommends reducing the height to 6 ft to be consistent with other monument signs in the shopping center (Exhibit B).

2) KNOX COUNTY COMPREHENSIVE PLAN - FUTURE LAND USE MAP
A. The property is classified as the TCMU (Town Center Mixed-Use) place type in the Knox County Comprehensive Plan, which lists commercial as a primary use. The place type encourages large and compact walkable developments with employment, commercial, residential, civic, and supporting uses integrated horizontally and vertically with connectivity to surrounding neighborhoods. The proposed addition to the shopping center with easy vehicular access and internal sidewalk connections largely meets the intent of the place type. The recommended building form encourages vertical development closer to the street, which is not feasible for a big-box retail store.

3) KNOX COUNTY COMPREHENSIVE PLAN - IMPLEMENTATION POLICIES
A. Ensure that development is sensitive to existing community character. (Implementation Policy 2) - A big-box retail store with outdoor storage would be compatible with other uses in the North Fork Station Shopping Center, which includes a gas station, a tire shop, and a car wash along Norris Freeway, as well as another big-box retail store (Walmart) and a strip mall inside the center.
B. Locate community-serving commercial areas where they can be easily shared by several neighborhoods (Policy 9.11) - The shopping center is accessible to many different neighborhoods through major throughfares such as Norris Freeway, E Emory Road, and Maynardville Pike.

4) KNOXVILLE - FARRAGUT - KNOX COUNTY GROWTH POLICY PLAN
A. The property is within the Planned Growth Boundary. The purposes of the Planned Growth Boundary designation are to encourage a reasonably compact pattern of development, promote the expansion of the Knox County economy, offer a wide range of housing choices, and coordinate the actions of the public and private sectors, particularly with regard to the provision of adequate roads, utilities, schools, drainage and other public facilities and services. The proposed development is in alignment with these goals.