Knox County planning commission approves multiple higher‑density rezonings and subdivision plans amid neighborhood pushback

The Knoxville/Knox County Metropolitan Planning Commission on July 9 approved a series of rezoning and subdivision requests that will allow higher‑density housing in multiple parts of the county, while residents and neighborhood groups urged caution over traffic, environment and community character.

The most contentious item, a rezoning request for Thunder Mountain Properties on Chapman Highway, resulted in a divided commission that ultimately approved PR (planned residential) zoning at up to 3 dwelling units per acre. Taylor Forrester, the applicant’s representative, told the commission the request was consistent with the county’s growth policy and said the property’s plan‑use designations support the rezoning. “We submitted a request to rezone the property to plan residential, at a density of up to 3 dwelling units per acre,” Forrester said during his presentation.

Neighbors opposing the request said clustering on the buildable portion of the site would concentrate impacts and harm steep wooded areas. Dawn Close, speaking for the Dry Hollow community, said the neighborhood was not “a no to development. We are no to overdevelopment or things that are kind of unwise,” and asked commissioners to preserve the hillside and remove a staff‑proposed clustering allowance.

Commissioners debated slope protection and the limits of the PR zone during deliberations. An initial motion to approve the lower density recommended by staff failed; a subsequent motion to allow up to 3 units per acre carried on a roll call tally of 8 yes, 3 no. Commissioners who supported the higher density cited the property’s growth‑area designation and the likelihood that a development plan stage would preserve sensitive slopes. The staff report and the applicant described hillside protection conditions and the requirement that a development plan return to the commission for review.

The commission also approved a separate, closely watched rezoning for property associated with Ben Mullins on Tipton Station Road. Mullins said the overall tract is about 155.7 acres and that the applicant reduced its initial request to 4 dwelling units per acre after additional study; he also pledged a conservation easement for approximately 70 acres of steep, environmentally sensitive land. Opponents, including the South Doyle Homeowners Association, warned of traffic increases and risks to Stock Creek, which staff noted is an impaired watershed. Commissioners approved the rezoning after lengthy public comment and debate.

A string of other rezoning approvals in the Hardin Valley and Ball Camp corridors followed similar patterns: applicants and staff emphasized the parcels’ locations in planned growth areas and the existence or planned construction of transportation improvements (roundabouts, road widenings and sidewalk projects), while neighbors warned that local roads and schools were already strained. The commission approved a Taylor Forrester request for up to 8 dwelling units per acre near Hardin Valley schools and approved a Justin Harvey request to rezone a Ball Camp Pike parcel to allow up to 12 units per acre, both consistent with staff recommendations.

On subdivision matters, the commission granted variances or concept approvals for several projects, including Belltown Phase 3 and the Catlett Road subdivision, where applicants cited topography and hillside constraints as the basis for variances to slope and turnaround standards. Lantern Park Phase 2 required specific discussion because of prior litigation and remanded items; staff and applicants presented variance justifications tied to steep slopes and future connections to adjoining parcels, and the commission approved the concept and development plan subject to updated conditions.

Smaller, administrative items — including individual lot rezones and two‑family (duplex) use‑on‑review requests — were taken up and either approved with conditions or postponed when commissioners requested clearer elevations or contextual drawings. Commissioner Aubrey Higgins successfully moved to postpone one duplex use‑on‑review for 30 days so the applicant can provide full duplex elevations and context showing how the building would fit the block.

What’s next: approvals made at July 9 are subject to the normal permitting and development‑plan reviews; several measures (hillside disturbance budgets, sidewalk connections and traffic improvements) will be enforced or reviewed at the next plan stage. For items that included conditions to preserve slopes or require future public‑works improvements, developers must meet those conditions before final plats are recorded or before substantial grading begins.

The commission adjourned after recognizing several outgoing volunteer commissioners and scheduling follow‑up reviews as required by staff conditions.