Neighbors warn of traffic and school impacts as commission approves 144‑unit Everett Road apartment plan with road‑improvement condition

The Knoxville‑Knox County Planning Commission approved a development plan on June 11 that clears the way for as many as 144 dwelling units on Everett Road, despite repeated neighborhood objections about traffic, school crowding and hillside disturbance.

Residents described a string of recent and approved developments within a half‑mile of the site and urged the commission to delay approval until larger traffic improvements are designed and in place. “Traffic is already a serious problem in our area,” said Tanza Lawrence, a nearby resident, who asked the commission to delay occupancy until a traffic circle recommended by the project’s study is complete.

Neighbor James Burton said the proposed primary access would tie into a private driveway and that the proposed dumpster/service area sits too close to existing homes; he asked the commission to require the applicant to relocate service areas inside the site and to redesign access so it does not rely on private easements.

The applicant’s representative, Robert Campbell, said the developer would coordinate with Knox County to deliver needed road improvements, including work toward the traffic circle at Yarnell and Everett. County engineering staff said they are studying alternatives for that intersection and can withhold certificates of occupancy until improvements are completed or until level‑of‑service thresholds are met. As the engineering representative put it in the hearing, inspectors “would be able to essentially hold COs to ensure that a level of service ... does not reach the point” that creates undue delay for existing road users.

Staff recommended approval subject to eight conditions; commissioners moved to approve the plan and attached those conditions. The transcript records the motion made by Commissioner Levenson and seconded by Commissioner Barger; the motion carried.

What to watch: engineering’s follow‑up design and the county’s procedural path for constructing the recommended intersection improvements. Neighbors asked the commission to require that no building receive a certificate of occupancy until the traffic circle or another specified mitigation is built; engineering told the commission it can enforce CO limits tied to level‑of‑service outcomes while larger capital work is scheduled and funded.