East City Sector Plan Nearing Completion

Planning Commission hearing set for April

Did you know the area from downtown Knoxville to Chilhowee Park was once called Park City? And for good reason! There are a number of unique parks and open spaces along that corridor. Chilhowee Park, the longtime home of the Tennessee Valley Fair, is found there, as are Paul Hogue Park, the Knoxville Botanical Gardens and Arboretum, and the new Thomas "Tank" Stickland Park. There's even a new greenway under construction? Williams Creek Greenway.

MPC is in the process of updating the East City Sector Plan and is making sure the area's rich history of green spaces is honored with more improvements. A Community Facilities component of the plan will accommodate features such as parks, schools, and libraries. Other sections will address land use and transportation for the sector.

Sector plans are an integral part of MPC's planning process. Staff planners use the countywide goals of the Knoxville-Knox County General Plan to make recommendations for each of the 12 sectors. Once adopted, sector plans guide land use and development decisions for 15 years, with updates to the plans about every five years.

The process of updating the East City Sector Plan began more than a year ago with an online survey that gathered early input from neighborhood leaders. More than 180 residents, business owners, and other stakeholders participated. For those citizens who prefer face-to-face interaction, MPC next held a series of public meetings to discuss East City's needs, followed by presentations at nine neighborhood association and business group meetings.

Whether the input came from the survey or in person, one thing was clear. People who live, work, or play in the East City sector want better design on both private and public property. Several aspects of the plan will help them reach that goal.

The Heart of Knoxville Residential District and the Corridor Overlay District are zoning tools that will improve design in older, residential neighborhoods. The Whittle Springs Road Corridor plan will promote sidewalks and guide zoning decisions in that area. And mixed use districts along major roads?Broadway, Magnolia Avenue, and Martin Luther King, Jr, Boulevard, for example?will allow more urban style development. Street activity will be enhanced along those roads with a "complete streets" design that accommodates transit, pedestrians, bikes, and automobiles equally.

To learn more about these and other recommendations of the East City Sector Plan, you can read the draft planon MPC's website. Questions and comments are welcomed and may be directed to MPC Planner Jeff Archer at 215-2500.

The East City Sector Plan is expected to be heard by MPC on April 10, 2014 and, if adopted, will then be presented to Knoxville City Council.