Approve the C-H-1 (Commercial Highway) district because it is consistent with the development of the surrounding area and the City of Knoxville's One-Year Plan. The TO-1 (Technology Park Overlay) district would be retained.

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Details of Action

Approve the C-H-1 (Commercial Highway) district because it is consistent with the development of the surrounding area and the City of Knoxville's One-Year Plan. The TO-1 (Technology Park Overlay) district would be retained.

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Staff Recommendation

Approve the C-H-1 (Commercial Highway) district because it is consistent with the development of the surrounding area and the City of Knoxville's One-Year Plan. The TO-1 (Technology Park Overlay) district would be retained.

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The subject property is currently zoned OP (Office Park)/TO-1 (Technology Park Overlay). The request is for C-H-1 (Highway Commercial). The TO-1 district would be retained.

The decision of this body will be a recommendation to the Planning Commission, which will hear the rezoning request at the September 12th meeting (9-P-24-RZ).

BACKGROUND: The subject property was part of the Scripps Networks complex. Now that Scripps has sold the properties and no longer inhabits the buildings, the properties are not part of the same network and are subject to individual development.

PURSUANT TO ARTICLE V, SECTION 1 OF THE TTCDA ADMINISTRATIVE RULES AND PROCEDURES, THE DECISION OF THE TTCDA TO APPROVE A REZONING MUST BE BASED ON THE FOLLOWING CRITERIA:

A. CONFORMITY OF THE PROPOSED REZONING WITH THE TTCDA COMPREHENSIVE DEVELOPMENT PLAN (THE EQUIVALENT OF THE TTCDA DESIGN GUIDELINES) AND OTHER PLANS AFFECTING DEVELOPMENT WITHIN THE TECHNOLOGY OVERLAY.

1. General Plan:
a. The rezoning complies with the General Plan's Development Policy 9.10, to encourage commercial and office development that improves the form and function of traditional "strip" development patterns. The TTCDA design guidelines are intended to maintain overall visual quality and continuity within the corridor and achieve functional, aesthetic, and visual unity.

2. Northwest County Sector Plan:
a. The subject property is in the MU-SD, NWCO-1 (Dead Horse Lake Special Use District) in the City's One-Year Plan and the Northwest County Sector Plan, which recommends the MU-CC (Mixed Use Community Center) land use classification. The C-H-1 (Highway Commercial) district is a zone that can be considered in the MU-CC land use type.

3. Zoning Ordinance:
a. The C-H-1 district is intended to provide for higher-intensity commercial uses of a predominantly auto-oriented character. The subject property is situated along Sherrill Blvd, a major collector street that accommodates heavy volumes of traffic coming to and from Pellissippi Parkway.
B. Rezonings should be based on the entire range of uses allowed within a zone to ensure that any development brought forth at a future time would be compatible with the surrounding land uses.

B. THE NEED AND JUSTIFICATION FOR THE PROPOSED REZONING
1. Since the early 2000s, the majority of rezonings in the surrounding area have been to commercial zones such as C-H (Highway Commercial), C-G (General Commercial), and PC (Planned Commercial), reflecting a consistent trend in commercial development in this area along the I-40 corridor.

C. EFFECT OF THE PROPOSED REZONING ON THE SURROUNDING AREA
1. The proposed C-H-1 district is not anticipated to adversely affect the surrounding area, as it is intended to mitigate any potential impacts related to higher-intensity commercial uses on neighboring uses. The surrounding uses include commercial and office, with a church, cemetery, and medical center nearby. Adjacent to the north of the property is Dead Horse Lake Golf Course. To the east is the Fort Sanders Medical Center.
2. This is an urbanized area with ample utility and facility infrastructure to support a rezoning of this site. The subject property is served by the West Knox Utility District (WKUD) for water and sewer services.