Planning commission approves 32-townhome special use in West Hills after trimming tree-preservation requirement

The Knox County/City of Knoxville Planning Commission voted to approve a special-use permit for Mainland MCA’s proposal to build up to 32 townhomes on a 3.95-acre RN4 parcel on Middlebrook Pike, following a sustained public hearing and a narrowly focused amendment to staff landscaping conditions.

Larry Silverstein, speaking for the West Hills Community Association, urged the commission to deny the request, saying the proposal was “not compatible” with adjoining long-established single-family RN1 lots and that the project would “significantly injure the value of adjacent property” by introducing lights, noise and parking pressure. Silverstein told commissioners the association had objected to prior rezonings and urged the body to apply the special-use standards strictly.

Applicant representative Ben Mullins reminded the commission the property’s RN4 zoning and prior council approvals, described changes made since earlier reviews and said the developer agreed with most staff conditions. Mullins told commissioners the team proposed to retain healthy trees where feasible and to replace removed buffers with a Type B screen when removal was required.

Commissioner John Gil led the motion to approve the special use but also pressed staff and the applicant to tighten condition 5A so that preservation obligations were clear. Gil proposed—and the commission adopted—amending 5A to read, in effect, “maintaining all existing healthy evergreen trees up to 12 feet from the property line,” while keeping the requirement that gaps be addressed with a Type B screen. Gil said the change recognizes the developer cannot build into tree trunks yet preserves a usable privacy buffer for neighbors.

Supporters on the commission cited the site’s medium-density plan designation and argued RN4 allows this scale of development, while opponents emphasized neighborhood scale and compatibility. The vote to approve the special use, with the revised 5A, carried on a voice vote after a motion by Commissioner Gil and a second by Commissioner Anderson.

What’s next: the approval is conditioned on ten staff requirements as amended; the project will return in later permitting steps for final plats, building setbacks and landscape plans that must reflect the amended 5A preservation language and any technical engineering conditions.

Why it matters: the decision illustrates the commission’s effort to balance infill housing needs with established neighborhood character and to use specific, enforceable conditions (tree-preservation language and screening standards) when neighbors cite compatibility and property-value concerns.