Disposition Summary

Approve the concept plan subject to 9 conditions.

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Staff Recommendation

Approve the concept plan subject to 9 conditions.

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1. Meeting all applicable requirements of the City of Knoxville Engineering Department.
2. Meeting all applicable requirements of the City of Knoxville Zoning Ordinance.
3. Connecting to sanitary sewer and meeting any other relevant utility provider requirements.
4. Before certification of the final plat for the subdivision, establishing a property owners association or other legal entity responsible for maintaining common facilities, such as common areas, amenities, and/or stormwater drainage systems.
5. Placing a note on the final plat that Lot 6 shall have access only via the internal street system.
6. Providing a street name that is consistent with the Uniform Street Naming and Addressing System within the City of Knoxville (City Ord. 0-280-90).
7. Ensuring that the development shall not exceed the land disturbance budget of the Hillside Protection Overlay or the previously disturbed area, whichever is greater.
8. During the design plan phase, verifying the sight distance for Lots 7 and 8. If sight distance cannot be verified, the affected lot(s) shall either be consolidated, eliminated, or provided access through a shared driveway, subject to review and approval by the City of Knoxville Engineering Department. Providing the location of the driveways for Lots 7 and 8 on the final plat may be required.
9. Providing streetlights to justify the reduced K values per the recommendation of the applicant's engineer (Exhibit B), with review and approval by the City of Knoxville Engineering Department during the design plan phase.

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This proposal is an 8-lot subdivision for single-family houses on individual lots. Two lots will access the existing Monterey Road public right-of-way, with the remaining 6 lots being accessed from Peppercorn Way, which will be a private right-of-way.

BACKGROUND: The property had a concept plan approved in 2006 for 18 single-family detached lots (1-SD-06-C, revision 10-SE-06-C). Between 2007 and 2010, significant grading work and construction of a public right-of-way, Peppercorn Lane, were completed on the site. However, it was determined that the improvements did not meet the City of Knoxville's public street standards and would not be accepted by the City as a public street. The project was abandoned at that time, and the right-of-way was returned to private ownership through street closure (12-A-12-SC and 12-B-12-SC). With a change of ownership, a revised concept plan was approved for this property in 2014 (1-SB-14-C, extension 5-A-16-OB), which expired in May 2018. In 2024, the applicant proposed 5 duplex lots and 1 single-family house lot, utilizing the existing roads as private rights-of-way (5-SC-24-C/5-A-24-SU). The 6-lot subdivision was approved, but the Special Use for the duplexes was denied in November 2024.

VERTICAL CURVES (K VALUE): Vertical curves of a street are designed based on the Rate of Vertical Curvature, K, referred to as the "K value". K value expresses the abruptness of the grade change in a single value. For subdivisions in the City of Knoxville, K values shall be determined directly from the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) reference manual "A Policy on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets". For a design speed of 25 mph, which is typical for City subdivision streets, a sag vertical curve requires a minimum K value of 26. Two locations on the current road have a K value below 26: on Monterey Road, where it intersects Peppercorn Way, and at the approach to the cul-de-sac on the south end of Peppercorn Way. The applicant has proposed an alternative design speed of 15 mph and stated that this would be appropriate for the two locations near stop and/or low-speed conditions (Exhibit B). The City of Knoxville Engineering Department has approved the road design. Streetlights are proposed to justify the reduced K value, as per AASHTO standards.