Disposition Summary

Approve the request for an outdoor self-storage facility expansion by 52,650 square feet of floor area, subject to 3 conditions.

---

Staff Recommendation

Approve the request for an outdoor self-storage facility expansion by 52,650 square feet of floor area, subject to 3 conditions.

---

1) Meeting all applicable requirements of the City of Knoxville Zoning Ordinance. This includes the principal use standards for self-storage facilities in Article 9.3.AA, which provide driveway width requirements, as well as the requirements in Article 17.1.A.1.a-h for expanding a nonconforming building, structure or use, which include screening criteria for off-street parking.
2) Meeting all applicable requirements of the City of Knoxville Engineering Department, including stormwater best management practices.
3) Extending the Class B landscape buffer yard along the southeast side of the property that abuts the single-family property at 5903 Edmondson Lane. A final landscaping plan should be provided to Planning staff for review and approval before permits are issued.

With the conditions noted, this plan meets the requirements for approval in the C-G-1 zoning district and the criteria for approval of a special use.

---

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's land use classification for this property is GC (General Commercial), which is intended to provide locations for retail, service-oriented commercial, and a limited range of wholesale and warehousing activities. Its general purpose is to provide a full range of goods and services at the community or regional scale. The proposed expansion of a self-service storage facility at this location is consistent with the One Year Plan's intent.
B. The Northeast County Sector Plan's land use classification for the property is NC (Neighborhood Commercial). Typically, the NC designation would not support a storage facility. It is not a permitted use in the C-N (Neighborhood Commercial) zoning district, which is the only zoning district considered in the NC classification. However, when this property was rezoned for commercial uses in 2007, it was subject to the condition that development be limited to NC uses with the exception that a self-service storage facility may be permitted through a use on review (i.e., special use). In this way, the proposed storage facility expansion does not conflict with the sector plan.
C. The General Plan's development policy 8.12 asserts that when commercial uses abut residential property, ordinance provisions or use-on-review conditions requiring fencing, landscaping screens, earth berms, height restrictions, and/or deeper than usual building setback can improve land use transitions. The provided plans along with noted special use conditions regarding landscaping and screening are consistent with this policy.

2) THE USE IS IN HARMONY WITH THE GENERAL PURPOSE AND INTENT OF THIS ZONING CODE.
A. The property's zoning district is C-G-1 (General Commercial), which is intended to provide for a heterogeneous mix of retail, personal service, office, and residential uses within and along commercial nodes and corridors. This zone is intended primarily for indoor commercial uses with limited exceptions per special use approval.
B. The C-G-1 district permits special use review of an enclosed self-storage facility, but does not permit an outdoor self-storage facility. Although the proposed storage units are within a building envelope, they are accessed by exterior doors rather than from an interior hallway. This outdoor-access configuration is defined in the zoning ordinance as outdoor self-storage, and therefore not permitted. However, this proposal is an expansion of an outdoor self-storage facility that was approved by the Planning Commission in 2018 before the City zoning ordinance was updated in 2020. The applicant requested an extension of a non-conforming use, per Article 17.1.A.1.a-h. The Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) approved this request on October 17, 2023 because the applicant agreed to meet all of the requirements in the code. Those requirements are incorporated into this special use review, and are represented through the listed conditions for approval.
C. The provided plans in combination with the noted conditions comply with the Principal Use Standards for self-storage facilities listed in Article 9.3.AA.
D. With the approval of BZA and the recommendations in this special use review, the proposed self-storage development is in harmony with the intent of the zoning ordinance.

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 use, scale and appearance of the proposed self-storage facility expansion is consistent with what was previously developed on the property in 2020.
B. The property is part of a developing commercial node at the intersection of Washington Pike and Murphy Road. The use is compatible with the character of surrounding commercial establishments, which include a gas station and convenience store, dollar store, pizza restaurant and pharmacy.

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. There are single-family and multi-family neighborhoods adjacent to the subject property, which will be visually shielded from this property with setbacks, fencing and landscaping.
B. The provided photometric study and lighting fixture details indicate that the project's lighting should not have injurious impact on adjacent residences.

5) THE USE IS NOT OF A NATURE OR SO LOCATED AS TO DRAW SUBSTANTIAL ADDITIONAL TRAFFIC THROUGH RESIDENTIAL STREETS.
A. The self-storage facility should have a negligible traffic impact, as patrons typically arrive and depart at infrequent intervals with this use.
B. Improvements were made to Washington Pike, a minor arterial street, as well as Murphy Road, a major collector, in 2003 to increase traffic capacity. There are also additional capital improvements planned further south on Washington Pike.

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 conditions on the property that would hinder the proposed use.