Legislative Actions and Appeals Process

The Planning Commission votes on a number of items at its regular meeting. Some recommendations require further action by Knox County Commission or Knoxville City Council. In other cases the decision is final - unless appealed.

Planning Commission Cases		In the City			In the County
Case Type		Recommendation	Action is Final	Appeal to	Recommendation	Action is Final	Appeal to
Concept Plan			•	Chancery Court		•	Chancery Court
Development Plan		Does not apply				•	Board of Zoning Appeals OR a court of competent jurisdiction
Final Plat			•	Chancery Court		•	Chancery Court
Ordinance Amendment		•			•
Plan Amendment
	Approval	•			•
	Denial		•	City Council		•	County Commission
Planned Development
	Concept Review	*			*
	Preliminary Plan	•			•
	Final Plan	*		City Council	*		Planning Commission
Rezoning
	Approval	•			•
	Denial *		•	City Council		•	County Commission
Streety / Alley Closure		•			Does not apply
Special Use		*	•	City Council	Does not apply
Use On Review		Does not apply			*	•	Board of Zoning Appeals

After the Planning Commission		City Council		County Commission
Case Type		Action is Final	Appeal to	Action is Final	Appeal to
Concept Plan		Concept Plans are never heard by City Council or County Commission.
Development Plan		Development Plans are never heard by City Council or County Commission.
Final Plat		Final Plats are never heard by City Council or County Commission.
Ordinance Amendment		*	Chancery Court	*	Chancery Court
Plan Amendment
	Approval	•		•
	Denial		Chancery Court		Chancery Court
Planned Development
	Concept Review *	Does not apply		Does not apply
	Preliminary Plan	•	Chancery Court	•	Chancery Court
	Final Plan	*	Chancery Court	Does not apply
Rezoning
	Approval	•	Chancery Court	•	Chancery Court
	Denial	*		*
Streety / Alley Closure		•	Chancery Court	Does not apply
Special Use		*		Does not apply
Use On Review		Does not apply		*

Notes

Planning Commission Actions

Recommendation
Recommendations to a legislative body will become agenda items at the appropriate body's next meeting and can be opposed at the meeting. An appeal is not necessary at this stage.
Final Action
Final actions taken by the Planning Commission do not move on to a legislative body unless they are appealed. Only final actions can be appealed.
Appeal
If an appeal is received within 5 days after the case was heard by the Planning Commission, it will be considered at the next meeting of the appropriate legislative body. Otherwise, it is subject to the appeal deadlines below and will be heard at the second available legislative meeting.
- City 15 Days to appeal from the date it was heard by the Planning Commission
- County 30 Days to appeal from the date it was heard by the Planning Commission

Appeal of Planning Commission Action

City Council
- Appeal Denied
  Planning Commission Action Upheld
  Case closed
- Appeal Approved
  Planning Commission Action Overturned
  Current meeting becomes the 1st of 2 required legislative hearings
County Commission
- Appeal Denied
  Planning Commission Action Upheld
  Case closed
- Appeal Approved
  Planning Commission Action Overturned
  Case closed

Legislative Actions

All final actions taken by each legislative body can be appealed to Chancery Court.

Court of Competent Jurisdiction

Exceptions and Considerations

Ordinance Amendment

2 Readings are required regardless of Planning Commission action.
Will be heard at the next 2 meeting dates for the appropriate legislative body. As such, the case can be opposed, not appealed.

Planned Development

Concept Review
Similar to a workshop, a Concept Review will be heard by Planning Commission to obtain feedback.
- City Optional
- County Required
Final Plan
- City Legislative body will only hear the zoning map change
- County Administrative / Staff review only

Rezoning (Denial)
Only appeals of a denied rezoning will be heard by the appropriate legislative body.

If the Planning Commission's decision to deny the rezoning is upheld by the legislative body, the case is final, and will not be heard again.
If the appeal of the denied rezoning is approved, it will be subject to the legislative body's appeal process and deadlines.
City Council requires a second reading of the approved appeal.
County Commission's decision to approve or deny the appeal is final on the first reading and doesn't require a second reading.

Special Use
This specific exception only applies when a Special Use case requires the removal of a previously approved Planned District, as designated on the zoning map with (C)

Planning Commission action will be considered a recommendation and not a final decision. As such, the case can be opposed at the upcoming Knoxville City Council meetings.
Special Use cases only apply in the city, and as a recommendation in this exception, it would require 2 readings at the upcoming Knoxville City Council meetings.

Use On Review (Mining)

Planning Commission action will be considered a recommendation (not a final decision like other Use On Review cases).
As a recommendation (and not a final action), it requires 1 reading at the next Knox County Commission meeting.
As a recommendation, the case can be opposed like any other item on the legislative body's agenda.

Anyone may appeal decisions made by the Planning Commission to the appropriate appellate body. This can be a complicated process, and Planning staff should be consulted for advice.

If you have a question about the appeals process, or if you wish to be notified about anyone filing an appeal on a particular item, see a staff member at meeting (seated at either end of the horseshoe-shaped table) or call the Planning office at (865) 215-2500.

When must appeals be filed?

Appeals made to the City Council must be filed no later than 15 days from the date of the action taken by the Planning Commission; appeals made to the County Commission or the County Board of Zoning Appeals must be filed no later than 30 days. Information about the appeals deadlines is published in the Additions, Changes, and Corrections to the Agenda Package on the Planning website.

Where do I file the appeal?

Applications for most types of appeals are available at the Planning Office, Suite 403 City County Building or can be downloaded online. Applications for use-on-review appeals in the county are available from the Knox County Codes Administration office, Suite 547 City County Building. There is a filing fee.

When will the appeal be heard?

You will be notified when your appeal will be heard by the City Council or County Commission, usually about two months after the application is filed. The Knox County Board of Zoning Appeals will determine your hearing date at the time of filing. Before an appeal is heard, Planning runs a public notice in the Knoxville News-Sentinel and prepares an information packet on the property for the legislative body hearing the appeal. Property owners are notified by certified mail, and a sign stating the nature of the appeal and the time and place of the scheduled public hearing is posted on the property.

Can an application for appealing a particular decision be filed more than once?

If an application is denied by a vote of the Knoxville City Council, Knox County Commission, or Knox County Board of Zoning Appeals, a property owner must wait one year from the time of denial to refile the same request. Use-on-review appeals may be refiled by non-property owners as well as property owners under the same above conditions.

If an application for appealing a particular decision is withdrawn before being heard, it may not be refiled for one year from the time of the first filing.

Knoxville-Knox County Planning
865-215-2500 | contact@knoxplanning.org
400 Main St, Suite 403
Knoxville, TN 37902
Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m

Contact Staff