To be heard November 12, 2026Agenda Item No. 38

Disposition Summary

PostponedApprove the Concept Plan subject to 11 conditions.

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1. Connection to sanitary sewer and meeting other relevant utility provider requirements.
2. Providing street names consistent with the Uniform Street Naming and Addressing System within Knox County (County Ord. 91-1-102).
3. If during design plan approval or construction of the development, it is discovered that unforeseen off-site improvements within the right-of-way are necessary as caused by the development, the developer will either enter into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the County for these improvements or reimburse the
County for their direct expenses (if completed by County crews) to make corrections deemed necessary.
4. Implementing the recommendations of the Carter Ridge Phase IX (n/k/a Carter Valley) Subdivision Transportation Impact Study (AJAX Engineering, 6/1/2026) as required by Knox County Engineering and Public Works during the design plan phase.
5. Widening Carter Mill Road to 20 ft along the full length of the property's frontage, and to 18 ft from the western edge of the property to the McCubbins Road intersection to ensure safe roadway conditions after the construction of this subdivision. The AASHTO publication "Guidelines for Geometric Design of Low - Volumes Roads 2019" identifies roadways like Carter Mill Road as a Minor Access Road and for traffic volumes between 400-2000 ADT the minimum width recommended is 18 feet.
6. Entering into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Knox County Engineering and Public Works for completing off-site improvements per Chapter 54, Article V of the Knox County Code (Ord. O-23-4-102). The property owner (applicant) shall be responsible for these improvements, except for the final asphalt surface
course, which will be the responsibility of Knox County.
7. Installing sidewalks per Chapter 54, Article IV of the Knox County Code, including but not limited to, the Carter Mill Road frontage and the sections of Road 'N' that exceed 1,000 vehicle trips per day. The location of the required sidewalks will be determined by Knox County Engineering and Public Works during the design
plan phase. Any sidewalks installed that are not required must be maintained by the homeowner's association.
8. Providing a note on the final plat that all lots shall have access from the internal roads only.
9. Meeting all applicable requirements of the Knox County Department of Engineering and Public Works.
10. Meeting all applicable requirements of the Knox County Zoning Ordinance.
11. Before certification of the final plat for the subdivision, establish a property owners association or other legal entity responsible for maintaining common facilities, such as common areas, amenities, private roads, and/or stormwater drainage systems.

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This subdivision is for 121 detached residential lots on 77.82 acres (1.56 du/ac). In 2025, the subject property was rezoned from A (Agricultural) to PR (Planned Residential) up to 2.5 du/ac (2-C-05-RZ). The subdivision will have one access point to Carter Mill Road.

BACKGROUND SUMMARY

The subject property is the last phase of a 261-acre residential development initiated in 1998 by Carter Mill LLC (a/k/a Carter Mill GP). To date, 435 lots have been approved in the Carter Mill and Carter Ridge subdivisions over eight phases. Carter Mill LLC still owns the subject property, with Skycrest Engineering Services LLC as the applicant/developer of the proposed Carter Valley subdivision (f/k/a Carter Ridge, Phase 9). In 2005, the Carter Valley property was approved for 112 lots (Planning File 3-SH-05-C / 3-J-05-UR). The current proposal increases this to 121 lots. See Exhibit C for the timeline approvals.

VESTING

In 2005, Carter Mill LLC obtained concept plan approval for 412 lots on the south side of Carter Mill Drive (3-SH-05-C/3-J-05-UR). At that time, the Subdivision Regulations based extensions of vesting rights on final plat submittals. A concept plan was vested for 2 years starting on the day of the Planning Commission approval. If a final plat was submitted for review, the vesting period was extended for 2 years from the final plat approval date. In a multi-phase development, the vesting period could not exceed 5 years unless the developer requested and received Planning Commission approval to extend the vesting for an additional 5 years (maximum of 10 years). Taking into account the prescribed vesting timeline, the subject property's 2005 concept plan approval lost its vesting in December 2007 when the timeframe between final plat submittals exceeded 2 years.

In 2008, 2017, and 2023, the Planning Commission approved concept plans for previous phases of the development that had expired. None of the approvals were for future phases. A new concept plan for this expired concept plan is consistent with how previous requests were reviewed and approved. The Carter Valley property is no longer vested and must meet all current development regulations.

PEDESTRIAN AND ROAD IMPROVEMENTS

Sidewalks are required along the Carter Mill Road frontage of the property, tying into the existing sidewalk to the east, and for the portion of Road 'N' that exceeds 1,000 vehicle trips per day. The applicant has proposed sidewalks on all internal streets; however, if installed, the homeowner's association must maintain any sidewalks not required by the Knox County sidewalk ordinance.

Carter Mill Road was widened to 20 ft from the subject property to S Carter School Road by the developer of the Carter Ridge subdivision, who is also the current owner of the subject property. If this application is approved, the substandard portion of Carter Mill Road in front of the subject property needs to be widened to 20 ft, and the remainder of Carter Mill Road to the west must be widened to 18 ft to ensure safe roadway conditions after the construction of this subdivision. The AASHTO publication "Guidelines for Geometric Design of Low - Volumes Roads 2019" identifies roadways like Carter Mill Road as a Minor Access Road and for traffic volumes between 400-2000 ADT the minimum width recommended is 18 feet. The applicant must enter into a Memorandum of Understanding with Knox County for the off-site work within the public right-of-way, based on the cost sharing arrangement outlined in Condition # 6.