John Sevier Scenic Highway Corridor Stakeholder Committee Meeting Summary
In June of 2017, Commissioner Carson Dailey requested that the Knox County Commission approve a resolution (R-17-6-902) for the Metropolitan Planning Commission (MPC) to undertake a study for managing the development along the John Sevier Scenic Highway Corridor.
Commissioner Dailey called a stakeholder committee meeting on Thursday, September 21, 2017 at the Marble Springs State Historic Site to discuss a strategy for accomplishing the scope of work outlined in the resolution adopted by Knox County Commission.
Participants in the first meeting included: Mike Brown, Jim Buckenmyer, Samantha Burleson, Carson Dailey, Joyce Feld, John Gammon, Buddy Gregory, Tim Graham, DJ Krahwinkel, Mark Mugford, Jim Sturdavan, and Bob Thompson. MPC staff present were Gerald Green and Liz Albertson.
The group received a presentation on development and growth trends along John Sevier Highway for the last decade, including population, building permit and traffic count data. They then worked on establishing draft goals for the corridor project, as well as drafting the area of study for the project.
Initial project goals, which are subject to change based on community engagement, include:
- Conserving rural character of the corridor,
- Developing design guidelines,
- Providing a draft plan for adoption by legislative bodies, and
- Providing plan implementation guidance for legislative bodies.
The need to involve more individuals from the east side of Governor John Sevier Highway as part of the stakeholder committee was noted by the committee. There was also discussion about what the larger community engagement process should look like. Community meetings will be held to discuss the project, but they have not yet been scheduled.
The project is expected to last approximately 40 weeks with a targeted policy adoption date beginning in spring/summer of 2018.
Next steps:
Stakeholder Meeting - Thursday, October 26, 2017
Marble Springs State Historic Site, 1220 W. Governor John Sevier Highway in the Neubert House office
All stakeholder committee meetings are open to the public.
