Approve the PR (Planned Residential) zone up to 5 du/ac.

Disposition Summary

Approve the PR (Planned Residential) zone up to 5 du/ac.

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Details of Action

Approve the PR (Planned Residential) zone up to 5 du/ac.

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Staff Recommendation

Deny the proposed PR (Planned Residential) zoning because it is incompatible with the sector plan and adjacent land uses.

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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. The development of another trucking terminal on Palestine Ln in 2018 increases incompatibility with the proposed PR zoning for the subject property. Such development generates hazardous conditions for residential drivers in an area identified as needing roadway safety improvements.
2. The subject property borders Farragut. There has been nearby low density residential expansion of less-sloped areas within the Farragut boundary since the late 1990s. These subdivisions connect to a street network designed to accommodate residential traffic, with access to multiple major collector and arterial roads to the south. Such access is not available to the subject property, and the topographic conditions are much more restrictive as well.

THE PROPOSED AMENDMENT SHALL BE CONSISTENT WITH THE INTENT AND PURPOSE OF THE APPLICABLE ZONING ORDINANCE:
1. PR zoning is intended to accommodate methods of land development that encourage more imaginative solutions to environmental design problems. The proposed PR density of 5 dwelling units per acre (du/ac) could result in the development of up to 205 homes on the subject property. Essentially all of the subject property is within the Hillside Protection (HP) area with approximately 70% comprised of steep slopes greater than 15%. The slope analysis recommends disturbing no more than 18.43 acres of the 41-acre site. If these preservation guidelines were observed, the ability to cluster density in the PR zone could result in development that appears more like 11 du/ac.
2. The Zoning Ordinance states that the PR zone must be compatible with surrounding or adjacent zones. The neighboring PC (Planned Commercial) and CB (Business and Manufacturing) zones that share access to Palestine Lane have been developed into three major trucking terminals, which are incompatible with the proposed residential zoning. This high volume of trucking traffic in combination with the estimated 1,800+ daily trips that are estimated to stem from PR development at 5 du/ac could create unsafe driving conditions on this narrow, local road.

THE 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. The proposed PR zoning at 5 du/ac could negatively impact the surrounding road network by adding significant traffic volume to an area the Southwest County Sector Plan identified as needing expansion and upgrades. Reconfiguration and improvements of the I-40/75 interchange at Watt Road are not anticipated to start until 2026. Until those improvements are made, dense residential development so close to the interchange is inadvisable.
2. This property's topographic constraints are significant. The slope analysis recommends leaving 55 percent of the site undisturbed. When the subject parcel was included in a 2001 rezoning request to change the zoning district from A (Agricultural) to PC (Planned Commercial), the staff recommendation was to deny PC zoning for the subject parcel in particular because of its steep slopes. (Case 6-N-01-RZ).
3. The County Commission ultimately approved PC zoning on the subject parcel in 2001 with conditions that a 300-ft vegetative buffer be maintained along the southern border with the Saddle Ridge Subdivision and a 100-foot vegetative buffer along the Fox Run Subdivision and the Farragut boundary line. The property has since been cleared for logging. Any future rezonings for the property should condition a re-planting of the vegetated tree buffer to protect the adjacent low density residential neighborhoods.

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 proposed PR zoning up to 5 du/ac is inconsistent with the Southwest County Sector Plan.