Historic Preservation Planning Seeks to Protect Local Heritage
As part of our mission to promote quality growth throughout Knoxville and Knox County, the Metropolitan Planning Commission administers programs that aid in the responsible management of resources within the natural and built environments. Our historic preservation planning program helps protect our community's historic buildings and structures using overlay zoning and design review guidelines.
Historic resources contribute significantly to the economic vitality of the City and County. Beginning in 1991, in response to property owners' requests, local elected officials deemed those resources worthy of protection by designating them as historic overlay districts, thus protecting those assets for current and future generations.
The City now has 44 individually designated H-1 properties and five historic districts, Mechanicsville, Fourth and Gill, Old North Knoxville, Edgewood-Park City, and Market Square. The County has one HZ district, the Village of Concord, and nine individually listed properties. A complete list of individual propertiescan be found on our website.
Once a property has been designated as historically significant, owner-proposed changes to those properties are reviewed by MPC's Historic Preservation Planner who ensures that changes conform to adopted design guidelines, which were crafted through input from property owners. The planner also gathers feedback from the affected neighborhood's historic zoning liaison and makes recommendations to the Knoxville and Knox County Historic Zoning Commission (HZC) on the appropriateness of proposals. The HZC then renders the ultimate decision of approval or denial of a proposal.
HZC members are appointed by the City and County Mayors and confirmed by City Council and County Commission.
As an example of how the review process works the HZC recently reviewed a proposal submitted by the Tupelo Honey Caf? to operate in a historic building on Market Square. Although an earlier proposal to renovate the storefront had already been approved by the HZC, the applicant submitted a new request with several modifications.
Kaye Graybeal, MPC's Historic Preservation Planner, examined the submitted drawings and, after meeting with area interests, recommended approval of all modifications to the earlier fa?ade design with one exception: the relocation of the front door. Her recommendation was informed by the adopted Market Square Design Guidelines to retain original storefront configurations.
The HZC has the authority to waive a guideline if the physical characteristics of a building or project justify a different point of view. Since the existing storefront was not original, no historic material was being altered or damaged, and the door could easily be relocated to its original location sometime in the future, the HZC approved Tupelo Honey's proposal for relocation of the entry door.
Preservation of the community's historic resources requires collaboration and cooperation among property owners, planners, and informed decision-makers. The effectiveness of the local design review process in protecting historic integrity is apparent throughout the designated historic districts of Knoxville and Knox County, as each are home to rich examples of historically significant properties.
Posted 3-28-2012, written by MPC Staff
