To be heard July 10, 2025Agenda Item No. 47

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Staff Recommendation

Approve the PR (Planned Residential) zone up to 3 du/ac because it is consistent with the Knox County Comprehensive Plan and the surrounding area, subject to one condition.

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1. Disturbance within the Hillside Protection area is limited to 5.8 acres as recommended on the slope analysis.

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PURSUANT TO THE KNOX COUNTY ZONING ORDINANCE, ARTICLE 6.30.01, THE FOLLOWING CONDITIONS MUST BE MET FOR ALL REZONINGS (must meet all of these):

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. Changes in conditions in the area include the Schaad Road extension, road widening on Johnson Road, and the intersection improvement at Johnson Road and Schaad Road. The Schaad Road project consists of a four-lane, median-divided section with bike lanes and sidewalks, while Johnson Road is a local road that connects Ball Road to Schaad Road.
2. Since 2000, surrounding properties have been transitioning from the A zone to the PR zone with densities ranging from 3-5 du/ac. The surrounding subdivisions are single family residential.

THE PROPOSED AMENDMENT SHALL BE CONSISTENT WITH THE INTENT AND PURPOSE OF THE APPLICABLE ZONING ORDINANCE:
1. The PR zone is intended to provide flexibility for different types of residential development and encourage more imaginative solutions to environmental design problems. There are significant slopes on the property within the Hillside Protection area, making the PR zone an appropriate zone to consider since it allows the clustering of lots.
2. Houses, duplexes, multi-dwelling structures, and developments are permitted in the PR zone. At a density of 3 du/ac and with the condition to disturb no more than 5.8 acres within the HP (Hillside Protection) area, the development could yield approximately 43 dwelling units and these likely would be contained on the front half of the lot.
3. 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.

PROPOSED AMENDMENT SHALL NOT ADVERSELY AFFECT ANY OTHER PART OF THE COUNTY, NOR SHALL ANY DIRECT OR INDIRECT ADVERSE EFFECTS RESULT FROM SUCH AMENDMENT:
1. This property has a ridge and steep slopes that run along the rear. The Hillside Protection area includes 21.7 acres on this 30.3-acre site. The recommended land disturbance area within the HP area is 5.8 acres. A condition has been added to disturb no more than 5.8 acres within the Hillside Protection area.
2. Ball Road is a major collector road, and this property is just over a mile from Schaad Road, a multimodal arterial road.
3. Staff recommends rezoning to PR up to 3 du/ac instead of the requested PR up to 4 du/ac because most of the subject property is steeply sloped, undisturbed forest. The topographic constraints of the property would likely result in concentration of development on the front portion of the site which could result in a development out character with other developments along Ball Road.
4. 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.

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 property is within the SR (Suburban Residential) and RC (Rural Conservation) place types, both of which list the PR zone as indirectly related area. When the district is partially related to the place type, one of three conditions shall apply. One of these is that the proposed zoning district is compatible with the current zoning of adjacent sites. PR at 3 du/ac be compatible with the adjacent PR up to 5 du/ac zone to the north and PR up to 3 du/ac across the street to the south.
2. Areas in the SR place type are appropriate for primarily single family residential development with lot sizes generally less than one acre. These areas may feature a range of lot sizes and housing size and styles. The PR zone allows single family houses, attached and multifamily on a range of lot sizes.
3. Areas in the RC place type are intended to conserve forested areas, ridges, wetlands, and other significant natural areas by clustering development and minimizing land disturbance. Generally, these areas conserve between 50-70 percent of a site as natural open space. The parcel is also in the Comprehensive Plan's HP area. There is a condition to disturb no more than 5.8 acres within the Hillside Protection area as recommended on the slope analysis.
4. The proposed rezoning is consistent with Knox County Comprehensive Plan Implementation Policy 5, which creates neighborhoods with a variety of housing types and amenities in close proximity. The PR zone provides flexibility for different types of residential development and is approximately a mile from Amherst Elementary to the south and the commercial node on Oak Ridge Highway and Schaad Road to the southeast.
5. 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. This development is in alignment with these goals.