Disposition Summary

Approve the I-RD (Research and Development) district because it is consistent with adopted land use plans and compatible with existing development.

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Staff Recommendation

Approve the I-RD (Research and Development) district because it is consistent with adopted land use plans and compatible with existing development.

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PURSUANT TO THE CITY OF KNOXVILLE ZONING ORDINANCE, SECTION 16.1.E, ALL OF THE FOLLOWING CONDITIONS MUST BE MET FOR ALL REZONINGS:

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. This request to rezone the subject property from the I-G (General Industrial) to the I-RD (Research and Development) district is supported by development conditions on site. The property itself functions like a strip office complex with a parking lot full of clients meeting with contractors for services like home renovation and pest control. The landscaped parking and storefront building layout appears designed for this type of client interaction, which is more aligned with the uses permitted in the I-RD zone.
2. This downzoning is also more compatible with surrounding development conditions. Adjacent to the west is the Lighthouse Knoxville Event Center for parties and corporate events, a church and a daycare center. Along the subject property's southern border is the Gables at Westmoreland single-family subdivision. These surrounding uses would benefit from reduced industrial intensity.

THE PROPOSED AMENDMENT SHALL BE CONSISTENT WITH THE INTENT AND PURPOSE OF THE APPLICABLE ZONING ORDINANCE:
1. The I-G zoning district provides for a range of general industrial uses that may produce limited outside impacts, rendering them incompatible with retail, service, or residential uses. Such uses include limited manufacturing, fabricating, processing, wholesale distributing, and warehousing facilities that do not require frequent visits from customers or clients. The client-focused layout of the subject property is counter to the intent of the I-G zone, which explicitly discourages visitation of that nature. The intensity of permitted uses in I-G is also incompatible with the established land uses surrounding the property.
2. The I-RD zoning district is intended to provide for large-scale office and research and development facilities, which may include pilot plants, prototype manufacturing or other light industrial activities conducted indoors and resulting in little or no outside impacts. The I-RD District also accommodates a variety of compatible or ancillary uses to serve employees, such as retail and personal service establishments. The reduced outside impact and more interactive potential of I-RD is consistent with existing development.

THE PROPOSED AMENDMENT SHALL NOT ADVERSELY AFFECT ANY OTHER PART OF THE CITY, NOR SHALL ANY DIRECT OR INDIRECT ADVERSE EFFECTS RESULT FROM SUCH AMENDMENT.
1. This proposed rezoning would reduce potential adverse impacts by reducing the number of intensive industrial uses that are permissible on site.

THE PROPOSED AMENDMENT SHALL BE CONSISTENT WITH AND NOT IN CONFLICT WITH THE KNOXVILLE-KNOX COUNTY GENERAL PLAN AND ITS COMPONENT PARTS, INCLUDING ADOPTED SECTOR PLANS, CORRIDOR PLANS, AND RELATED DOCUMENTS.
1. The proposed rezoning improves consistency with the West City Sector Plan's and the One Year Plan's BP-1 (Business Park Type 1) land use classification for the subject property, which permits consideration of I-RD zoning but does not permit the existing I-G zoning.

ADEQUATE PUBLIC FACILITIES ARE AVAILABLE INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, SCHOOLS, PARKS, POLICE AND FIRE PROTECTION, ROADS, SANITARY SEWERS, AND WATER LINES, OR ARE REASONABLY CAPABLE OF BEING PROVIDED PRIOR TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SUBJECT PROPERTY IF THE AMENDMENT WERE ADOPTED
1. This site is built out in a client-supportive manner that is more conducive to the I-RD zone compared to the I-G zone, and the area has adequate infrastructure capacity to accommodate the uses permitted in the requested zone.