Three Local Communities on the Slate of Sector Plan Updates

MPC planners are working with three Knox County communities to chart a course for future land use and transportation decisions in their areas.

This effort is part of MPC's sector planning process, an undertaking that addresses long-term community needs in 12 geographic divisions that make up Knox County. The communities involved in this round of updates include the Southwest, Northwest, and Northeast County sectors.   

Sector plans and Knox County’s broader, long-range General Plan, adopted in 2003, work together, with sector plans serving as the more localized guide for future land use and development. That guidance is tapped each month by planners, elected officials, and communities in their decisions on proposals like rezonings and subdivisions.

Sector plans include recommendations for land use, community facilities, green infrastructure, historic resources, and transportation, organized in 5-year and 15-year implementation stages. Plan recommendations reflect population and property development trends, projects completed since the last version of the plan was written, and, another key element, community input.

Planners meet with neighborhood groups, civic organizations, churches, and business owners in the sector throughout the entire course of the update process to ensure that community input guides the plan.

Sector plans are updated on a rotating basis. Each of the three plans currently undergoing an update is in a different stage of the planning process:

Southwest County - Recently kicked-off, the Southwest County plan update began with a review of background information, covering topics like population growth, commercial property investment, and new public facilities. In particular, the Southwest County area has seen a lot of park improvements along various sections of Northshore Drive in recent years, and now there is a grassroots effort in the community to link these resources. Working with area stakeholders, the sector plan will likely flesh out more details about greenway opportunities. With background information nearly complete, MPC planners soon will head out to the community to hear thoughts about a vision for the future.

Do you have ideas on how we might best engage residents, business owners, and others located in this part of the county? If so, please contact MPC’s Jeff Archer at jeff.archer@knoxmpc.org. Stay tuned to our website, we will have more information about the sector plan update by March.

Northwest County - The planning process for the Northwest County Sector is a little further along than that of the Southwest County. The first round of community meetings is complete, and the next round is scheduled for February. From the earlier meetings, we heard several concerns from residents, including scattered growth, traffic congestion and limited roadway capacity, lack of sidewalks and connectivity, overcrowded schools, dwindling supply of land for new business growth, and loss of rural character.

Questions and comments about the future of the Northwest County Sector and the plan update effort can be directed to MPC’s Liz Albertson at liz.albertson@knoxmpc.org. Learn more about this plan update at our website.

Northeast County - The Northeast County Sector Plan was completed and recommended for adoption by the Metropolitan Planning Commission in December. The plan will go before Knox County Commission on January 25th and to Knoxville City Council in February for adoption. Some of the major recommendations in the plan include a mixed-use area at Harbison Crossroads, rural commercial areas for existing rural crossroads, a preservation program for Strong-Stock Estate, and creation of a Holston River conservation district. 

Questions and comments about the Northeast County Sector Plan can be directed to Jeff Archer at jeff.archer@knoxmpc.org. To learn more about the plan recommendations, visit the MPC website.

We welcome the opportunity to come to your community or civic group to discuss these planning efforts or other planning topics. Just let us know - we want to hear from you!