Approve the sector plan amendment to the LDR (Low Density Residential) land use classification because of access to sewer and significant changes in conditions. The HP (Hillside Protection) will be retained.

Disposition Summary

Approve the sector plan amendment to the LDR (Low Density Residential) land use classification because of access to sewer and significant changes in conditions. The HP (Hillside Protection) will be retained.

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Details of Action

Approve the sector plan amendment to the LDR (Low Density Residential) land use classification because of access to sewer and significant changes in conditions. The HP (Hillside Protection) will be retained.

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Staff Recommendation

Deny the sector plan amendment to the LDR (Low Density Residential) land use classification because it does not meet the land use location criteria.

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SECTOR PLAN AMENDMENT REQUIREMENTS FROM GENERAL PLAN (May meet one of these):

CHANGES OF CONDITIONS WARRANTING AMENDMENT OF THE LAND USE PLAN:
1. The subject property is located in an area that is wooded and hilly, with residential and agricultural development being the prominent land uses. There have been no significant changes to the landscape in terms of development or environmental conditions over the past 20 years.


INTRODUCTION OF SIGNIFICANT NEW ROADS OR UTILITIES THAT WERE NOT ANTICPATED IN THE PLAN AND MAKE DEVELOPMENT MORE FEASIBLE:
1. The subject property does not have sanitary sewer access and there is no sanitary service shown in the general vicinity.
2. There have been no significant improvements to the road network in this area, and there are no capital improvements planned for this location.

AN OBVIOUS OR SIGNIFCANT ERROR OR OMISSION IN THE PLAN:
1. It is noteworthy that the subject property's land use classification of AG (Agricultural) does not align with its location in the Urban Growth Area of the Growth Policy Plan. The intent of the Urban Growth Boundary designation includes encouraging a reasonably compact pattern of development and offering a wide range of housing options. Furthermore, the AG classification is characterized in the South City Sector Plan as "farmland in the County's Rural Area as designated in the Growth Policy Plan." The sector plan goes on to say that, "agricultural land uses are generally not recommended in the... County's Planned Growth Area," and it is a logical extension that AG is not intended for Urban Growth Areas as well.
2. However, the South City Sector Plan is understandably more community-driven than the Growth Policy Plan, as it encompasses a much smaller geography and land use recommendations stem from public input meetings. By contrast, the Growth Policy Plan is developed by an appointed Coordinating Committee representing the interests of the Knoxville, Knox County and Farragut jurisdictions, and public input is garnered at a broader scale.
It is reasonable to infer that the sector plan's AG land use classification for the approximately 220-acre area including the subject property conflicts with the Urban Growth Area because it originated from an expressed land use desire by affected community members. The Growth Policy Plan defers to the sector plan when it comes to future land use decisions, stating that, "rezonings in the Urban Growth Boundaries shall be consistent with the applicable Sector Plan."
3. Although the AG land use classification is inconsistent with the Growth Policy Plan, it is not necessarily tied to an error or omission in the sector plan.

TRENDS IN DEVELOPMENT, POPULATION OR TRAFFIC THAT WARRANT RECONSIDERATION OF THE ORGINAL PLAN PROPOSAL:
1. The traffic count in this section of Island Home Pike has remained steady over the past twenty years, with identical average daily traffic totals in 2002 and 2022. Similarly, this is not an area where there is a concentration of development activity or significant changes in population that warrant an plan amendment to the LDR (Low Density Residential) land use classification.

OTHER COMMENTS:
1. The sector plan lists two location criteria for the LDR classification, which are not met by the subject property. The first includes sewer utility access and the second criteria is property with slopes of less than 25 percent. As the attached slope analysis shows, approximately one-third of the lot has forested slopes of a 25% grade or greater. The absence of sewer infrastructure and severe slopes on the property further support staff's recommendation to deny the sector plan amendment to LDR.