Farragut planning commission fails to advance rezoning for 11830 Kingston Pike after neighborhood opposition

The Farragut Planning Commission declined to advance a request to change the future land-use designation and zoning for 11830 Kingston Pike after a contested public hearing and recusals.

Staff presented the map and zoning requests (Resolution PC26-04 and the companion zoning map amendment, Ordinance 26-08) and showed that much of the parcel would be subject to required 25-foot buffers, limiting the practical buildable area. Applicant Jeff Marsoff of Marsoff Investment said he planned to renovate the existing structure for a small professional office and to landscape a 25-foot buffer to "make it the best version of itself." He described the lot as a hybrid buffer between commercial frontage on Kingston Pike and adjacent residential neighborhoods.

Several neighbors and the Farragut Crossing homeowners association urged denial. A homeowner who identified himself as Troy said the parcel is 1 acre, not the 8 acres reported in local media, and argued that the lot's size, buffers and economic constraints make large-scale redevelopment unlikely: "If someone's thinking they're gonna put a building on 8 acres, that's way different than what they can fit on 1 acre," he said. Jim Gwen, speaking for the Farragut Crossing HOA, said the 2020 decision to reclassify the track as residential created an intentional buffer that should be preserved; he warned that approving one lot for office could set a precedent for future rezoning.

South Ward Alderman Joe Lacroix also urged the commission to deny the changes, saying the parcel is surrounded on three sides by residential uses and that rezoning would risk eroding the neighborhood buffer.

Two commissioners disclosed potential conflicts of interest and recused themselves from the matter. After discussion the commission took a vote on the resolution and the companion zoning recommendation; the motion did not carry and the commission did not recommend rezoning. Staff noted the item will be carried in the record and the applicant may pursue other options with the board of mayor and aldermen.

The commission's action leaves the property with its existing low-density residential land-use designation; no zoning change was recommended. The commission also asked staff to consider options for limiting unintended expansion of office zoning where a residential buffer is intended.