Latest update:  April 14, 2019

Knoxville and Knox County Planning heard the rezoning request for 9222 Tedford Lane at its April 11 public meeting. They turned down the rezoning request. Reasons cited were 1) it would be out of keeping with the neighborhood, and 2) it would add more heavy truck traffic to a very narrow road.

NCA hopes the owners can find another use for the property which is more compatible with the neighborhood. At the same time we are gratified that the KKCP staff and commissioners heard both sides and followed the Growth Plan and Sector Plan, rather than modifying them to make another exception.

Many thanks to all who worked on this issue and stood together for neighborhood preservation and good zoning and planning.

Please join me in thanking County Commissioner John Schoonmaker for hearing our concerns about the Tedford Road re-zoning question and for sharing his knowledge. Most of all, we should thank him for helping us to understand the county’s structure and process for effectively addressing zoning concerns.

Commissioner Schoonmaker suggests we:

*understand the current zoning (agricultural) as well as the zoning proposed (transitional), what is allowed and what is not, and that zoning, once in place endures, regardless of property ownership.

Neighborhood alert:

Neighbors along Tedford Lane and in the surrounding area are expressing concern about the proposed rezoning of 9221 Tedford Lane (the owner is currently operating a landscape business there). The proposal is scheduled to be considered by Knoxville Knox County Planning (formerly MPC) on April 11th at 1:30- 4:30 p.m.

Today Commissioner John Schoonmaker has kindly shared with us the Knox County zoning category for which the owner is applying.

From Knox County online archives –

Transition Zone

A zone intended to allow consideration of compatible mixed use activities within rural residential areas such as apartments, hospitals, clinics, professional business offices, educational and philanthropic institutions, parks, and private clubs.

For more complete information:

https://archive.knoxmpc.org/…/pdfs/county_zoning_summary.pdf

Efforts to Scrap the Knox County Growth Plan Defeated by the County Commission 
by Diane Montgomery
January 28, 2019

Tonight we represented you at the Knox County Commission meeting and came away with a MAJOR VICTORY FOR CITIZENS AND INCLUSIVE, TRANSPARENT PLANNING!

A motion to exempt Knox County from state law PC 1101 (that mandates communities must have and adhere to an inclusive, comprehensive planning document) WAS DEFEATED in a hard fought battle that lasted several hours.

Northshore Corridor Association stood shoulder- to- shoulder with Hardin Valley Planning Advocates and five other community groups from North, East and South Knoxville, the League of Women Voters and the Town of Farragut.

Commissioners Brad Anders and Randy Smith made a passionate, relentless push to abandon present state law (by exemption) and free Knox County to proceed on its own. Their numerous procedural maneuvers ultimately failed (but caused much confusion and numerous clarifications by the County Law Director).

Commissioner John Schoonmaker very effectively represented the citizens by presenting and repeatedly defending and clarifying a counter-measure. He was strongly joined by Michele Carringer, Carson Dailey, Evelyn Gill and Charles Busler who all spoke for the citizens and the importance of planning and citizen input. Commissioner Hugh Nystrom, sponsor of the exemption resolution, much to his credit, conducted the meeting with thoroughness and fairness, no easy task under the circumstances.

Many thanks are due to Kim Frazier, Kevin Murphy and John Schoonmaker who all devoted much time to preparation and communication that allowed the meeting to be productive and fair. We hope you will take time to extend them your thanks and support.

Northshore Corridor Neighbors,

We have very important news.

On Thursday, December 27, on your behalf and that of thousands of other West Knox Countians, Northshore Corridor Association filed a lawsuit in Knox County Circuit Court.

Finally, we will be in a venue that should afford a genuine opportunity to preserve the health and safety of our citizens. We are richly blessed with talent, both paid and volunteer and now will begin a forum that allows us to optimize our greatest strengths.

For some time our leadership team and legal counsel have believed our cause would be best served in a judicial rather than political arena. Getting there required that we work through the intermediate steps and establish important facts and matters. While these proceedings and outcomes have been frustrating, time consuming and costly, the process has been invaluable. We are much better equipped to further our cause – and we are very optimistic!

We also want you to know that in the process of preparing for court and using the opportunities moving into the legal arena affords, we have made some interesting, sometimes startling discoveries.

Not all can be publicly revealed as we head to court but you should know that among these, we have found documentation that indicates a plan to locate a major sewer treatment plant on Tooles Bend Road – immediately proximate to existing homes there.

Needless to say, that raises many additional and very unsavory concerns. A few of those are odor, unsightly views, the potential of homeowners being forced onto and paying for a large unwelcome sewer plant, and potentially plummeting home values.

All of this is in addition to the massive, unsafe dumping of thousands more cars daily onto the already unsafe Tooles Bend, Tedford, Wright’s Ferry, and Keller Bend Roads and finally onto the already very problematic Northshore Drive – all to benefit a single landowner while imposing upon thousands of us!

We will keep you informed as we learn more and are able to publicly share information. Toward that goal we intend to begin setting meetings in our supporting neighborhoods in the coming weeks to share information and to get your input. Please contact us if you would like a meeting.In the meantime we urge you to continue to support our important fight in every way you are able.

Volunteers and financial support are our lifeblood. Thank you for standing with us.

NCA Leadership Team

Friends, we had our hearing at the Board of Zoning Appeals yesterday with a large number of supporters present. Today we are preparing our next steps. We will keep you informed as our decision-making proceeds.

Below is a summary, from one observer’s view, of yesterday’s BZA proceedings:

Synopsis: BZA vice chairman, Bob Thompson, presided in the absence of the chairman and worked hard to let the facts be heard. To save time for a fuller hearing for us, he put all other appeals ahead of NCA’s. Unfortunately, other matters ran long and our hearing did not begin until late in the day.

Our counsel, Tom Hale made an excellent, succinct presentation of our case which,

1) he asserted that MPC did not follow its own procedures and did not adhere to the governing ordinances.

2) He argued that the now-proposed sewer treatment plant was not, as required by procedure and zoning law, a part of the original plan submitted to MPC, nor approved by the Knox County Health Department or reviewed by other relevant bodies, and that further, it is not a permitted use in PR zoning.

3) He made a powerful case, supported by video and a strong expert witness, Don Moore, (a very experienced forensic engineer), that the traffic study was inadequate for the situation and will not protect public safety – as MPC is bound to do. The two men presented an irrefutable case that the roads are already unsafe, not feasible to improve as needed and that increasing the volume of traffic 400% jeopardizes users, particularly children commuting to school.

4) Mr. Hale also argued that the board, as an appellate body is free to assert its own judgement and is not bound by MPC’s prior actions. He urged them to understand the law governing their actions and to take independent action.

Several board members asked important, relevant questions and it was clear they were both sympathetic and concerned, particularly about the safety question. They acknowledged the situation was unsafe and that adding volume would make it worse.

It was clear then that the developer and his team were unhappy with the direction. Arthur Seymour, their counsel, tried to salvage their arguments, focusing on the beauty of their plan and telling the board (paraphrased), “Who knows what might happen with the property if their plans are denied?”

In summary, our facts and presentation were strong and we were pleased with the direction of the hearing. However, MPC Director, Gerald Green emerged from the rear of the room unsummoned and interjected himself into the proceedings – several times, to defend MPC’s actions. Control and direction of the hearing then seemed to begin shifting.

Among recommendations of Mr. Green to the Board was a suggestion that some of the rules for MPC would be changing in the new year and the board need not specify actions that would be required of the developer, such as road improvements. At that point, Board legal counsel, Daniel Sanders cautioned the board members not to rely upon Mr. Green’s advice since there was no certainty of rule changes and they were only authorized to act under existing rules and law.

In effect, Mr. Green and county staffers (from engineering and codes departments), then crafted an argument in defense of MPC that – things have been done a certain way in the county for many years and therefore that constitutes permissible procedure, items not specified at one stage of the process simply “flow through” to the next, that staff would insure the developer adhered to agreements made.

MPC staffer Tom Brechko argued that the sewer treatment plant WAS a part of the plan submitted to the staff for review (although this was apparently unknown by other parties).

He was then asked by the Board to show the plat documenting that fact. After a delay a plat was produced (by Chris Ooten, CEO of Safe Harbor Development and current MPC member) which, from the perspective of the audience, appeared poorly reproduced and which was simply indecipherable by most viewers.

The plat seemed to raise much uncertainty among board members. Still, the staff asserted the plat had included the treatment plant and that staff had been aware of the sewer treatment plant all along, and that the order of events fell within their normal procedures.

When the staffers weighed in, the board was effectively forced to rely upon their assertions. That seemed to raise much uncertainty among the board and they asked their legal counsel for advice several times as they weighed their options. Mr. Hale stepped to the podium and reminded them of their ability to make a decision independent of MPC.

By then, the hour was quite late. One member of the board, Mr. Braden began to push hard for a vote. The acting chairman and another member asserted they were not satisfied and did not feel they had adequate facts for a good decision. One member asked for a continuance. Ultimately, Mr. Braden, a retired, long term Knox County employee and a forceful personality, prevailed, even with the chair continuing to express concern. Ultimately, Mr. Braden successfully forced the vote and was supported by enough other members that the those asking for more time lost. Mr. Braden then pushed for a final vote and NCA lost the appeal matter by a margin of one vote.

To: The Concerned neighbors of Northshore Corridor.

I know it seems like the Northshore Corridor Association has been quiet the last few weeks but take assurance in the fact that we have been working hard to make changes in the approval that the MPC gave to the Post Oak Bend development.

On October 11, 2018 an appeal of the MPC decision was filed with Knox County Board of Zoning Appeals. When an appeal goes before the BZA it is void of the possible politics and backroom dealings that we felt we might have experienced in our effort to promote safety and common sense in the development of this property.

We encourage you to attend a meeting at the clubhouse of The River Club this Sunday the 28th at 3pm. Additional information will be available and questions will be taken to help clarify where we are in this process.

See you Sunday, October 28
3:00 PM at the River Club Clubhouse

Northshore Corridor Association