Staff proposes classifying dwellings with more than four bedrooms as "independent living facilities," sparking commission concern

City planners on Tuesday proposed an amendment to the zoning code that would presume newly constructed or renovated dwellings with more than four bedrooms are "independent living facilities," a designation intended to bring high-bedroom, rent-by-room projects under special-use review.

Assistant City Attorney Christina McGrawans Tillery told the planning commission the change is a definitional clarification, not a new use, and was prompted by a rise in developments that appear to be rented by the bedroom. "We continue to see a number of projects coming before our plans review and building inspections folks for single-family, two-family and townhouse dwellings with large numbers of bedrooms to be rented out by the bedroom," Tillery said. She added that the threshold aligns with building-code requirements that change at five bedrooms and with census data showing over 98% of Knoxville households have four bedrooms or fewer.

The amendment would create a presumption that new units with more than four bedrooms are independent living facilities; however, Tillery said applicants could supply evidence to the zoning administrator showing the dwelling is intended and used as a single household. "Evidence may be supplied to the zoning administrator that no portion of the structure is intended for use as or actually used as more than one rental unit regardless of the number of leases," she said.

Commissioners pressed staff on how that evidentiary review would work in practice and whether the change could be used to limit affordable or student housing. One commissioner said the proposal "looks like a loophole" that could effectively limit housing options, particularly in neighborhoods near the university. "This is just frankly, that's dumb given that we just passed middle missing middle with no parking requirements," the commissioner said, arguing the amendment could reduce housing availability for students and young people.

Tillery responded that the provision is meant to address a definitional gap that leaves some high-bedroom projects uncategorized. She said the proposal is intentionally flexible so the zoning administrator and planning staff can evaluate varying family circumstances and development types on a case-by-case basis. "We're leaving that flexible so that we can anticipate a lot of different situations," Tillery said, noting the change is not intended to make it harder for large families to build.

Staff also described how zoning and building-code intersections would be handled. If a dwelling is categorized as an independent living facility, parking would be calculated per-bedroom: 0.65 spaces per bedroom plus 0.2 guest spaces per dwelling unit, with transit-area reductions possible. Staff gave a hypothetical: a 40-bedroom duplex at 0.65 and 0.2 would yield roughly 34 spaces before transit-area credits.

The commission did not take a final vote on the amendment during the meeting; the chair said further discussion will continue at a Thursday session. The record shows staff made clear the change applies to new construction and projects renovated to increase bedroom counts; lawfully existing structures would not be affected.