To be heard August 14, 2025Agenda Item No. 21

---

Staff Recommendation

Approve the request for an eating and drinking establishment with approximately 1,755 sqft of floor area in the C-N (Neighborhood Commercial) district, subject to 3 conditions.

---

1) Meeting all applicable requirements of the City of Knoxville Zoning Ordinance.
2) Meeting all applicable requirements of the City of Knoxville Engineering Department.
3) Meeting all applicable requirements of the City of Knoxville Plans Review and Inspections Department.

With the conditions noted, this plan meets the requirements for approval in the C-N District and the criteria for approval of a special use.

---

This proposal is for an eating and drinking establishment (restaurant) in the Fort Sanders Neighborhood, located on the ground floor of an existing structure in the northeast quadrant of the intersection of Clinch Avenue and Sixteenth Street. Access to the restaurant is from the Clinch Avenue sidewalk. In February 2024, the City of Knoxville Board of Zoning Appeals approved a parking variance that reduced the minimum required parking for a mixed-use, multi-tenant structure from 10 to 5 spaces and the minimum setback for a refuse dumpster from 5 feet to 0 feet. The parking spaces and dumpster are located at the rear of the structure, accessible from Sixteenth Street.

STANDARDS FOR EVALUATING A SPECIAL USE (ARTICLE 16.2.F.2.)

1) THE USE IS CONSISTENT WITH ADOPTED PLANS AND POLICIES, INCLUDING THE GENERAL PLAN AND THE ONE-YEAR PLAN.
A. The One Year Plan and Central City Sector Plan designation for this site are MU-SD, MU-CC15 (Mixed Use Special District, Fort Sanders Neighborhood), which recommends a mix of residential, office, and commercial uses, with retail and restaurant uses located along Sixteenth and Fourteenth Street.
B. The subject property is located along Sixteenth Street.

2) THE USE IS IN HARMONY WITH THE GENERAL PURPOSE AND INTENT OF THIS ZONING CODE.
A. The C-N (Neighborhood Commercial) Zoning District is intended to provide for an environment of integrated residential development and small-scale commercial and service uses, predominantly serving nearby residential neighborhoods. Low-intensity mixed-use is encouraged within the C-N District, with dwellings permitted above the ground floor, as well as multi-family and townhouse development located alongside select commercial uses.
B. The property is located in the NC (Neighborhood Conservation) Overlay Zoning District, which is intended to foster new construction that is compatible with the scale and physical character of the original buildings of the neighborhood through the use of design guidelines. - This proposal does not modify the exterior of the structure, so approval from the Historic Zoning Commission is not required.
C. An addition to the structure is not proposed, so the Commercial District Design Standards in Article 5.4, Table 5-2 do not apply.
D. The City of Knoxville Board of Zoning Appeals approved variances to reduce the minimum number of parking stalls from 10 to 5, and the minimum setback from a refuse dumpster from 5 feet to 0 feet (see Exhibit B).
E. The proposed restaurant within the existing non-residential building is consistent with the C-N District.

3) THE USE IS COMPATIBLE WITH THE CHARACTER OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD WHERE IT IS PROPOSED, AND WITH THE SIZE AND LOCATION OF BUILDINGS IN THE VICINITY.
A. The small-scale restaurant is compatible with the character of the neighborhood where it is proposed.
B. This proposal does not modify or expand the existing structure.

4) THE USE WILL NOT SIGNIFICANTLY INJURE THE VALUE OF ADJACENT PROPERTY OR BY NOISE, LIGHTS, FUMES, ODORS, VIBRATION, TRAFFIC, CONGESTION, OR OTHER IMPACTS DETRACT FROM THE IMMEDIATE ENVIRONMENT.
A. No adverse impacts are expected on adjacent properties resulting from this approval.

5) THE USE IS NOT OF A NATURE OR SO LOCATED AS TO DRAW SUBSTANTIAL ADDITIONAL TRAFFIC THROUGH RESIDENTIAL STREETS.
A. The proposed restaurant is within the mixed-use and walkable Fort Sanders Neighborhood. The site only has 5 parking spaces for the restaurant and retail market located on the upper floor. It is anticipated that most patrons will walk or use alternative forms of transportation.
B. Sixteenth Street and Clinch Avenue are both classified as minor collector streets.
C. The use will not draw substantial additional traffic through residential streets.

6) THE NATURE OF DEVELOPMENT IN THE SURROUNDING AREA IS NOT SUCH AS TO POSE A POTENTIAL HAZARD TO THE PROPOSED USE OR TO CREATE AN UNDESIRABLE ENVIRONMENT FOR THE PROPOSED USE.
A. There are no known uses in the area that could be a potential hazard or create an undesirable environment for the proposed uses within the development.