Monday evening, the Knox County Commission approved the second piece of Advance Knox. Our perspective is that this is a mixed outcome.

Commissioners Frazier, Schoonmaker and Beeler offered up amendments to the plan over the past week. Many of the less consequential amendments made it to the floor for a vote and passed, which strengthened parts of the plan. A big win was the inclusion of creating future development regulations based on the Hillside and Ridgetop Protection Plan. But other discussion items and proposals – particularly those focused on protections for open space like fields, forests, and farmland – didn’t make it to a vote, or were defeated, due to pressure from Mayor Jacobs, who stated he would veto the whole initiative if these amendments were included.

This is a start on improving our land use policies. The comprehensive plan proposes new town centers. It permits a more mixed use where we have infrastructure. It permits and encourages new approaches to increase housing that is affordable. Elected officials have also committed to continue with the next phase – updating our outdated zoning ordinance, which has many sections largely unchanged since the 1960s.

But adoption of the new plan means tens of thousands of acres  are now open for new development, or their development potential is significantly upgraded. Most significant are:

• The Suburban Residential Place Type (mustard-yellow on the FLUM) allows rezoning considerations of up to 12 units per acre. This is a major change from the prior equivalent (Low Density Residential), which allowed up to 5 units per acre.
• Future land use designation for Agricultural uses dropped from around 100,000 acres in the county to about 3,500 acres. Much of the rest was shifted to Rural Living, which allows applications for rezonings of up to 2 units per acre with no plan amendment required.
• There are no requirements defined for development in Rural Conservation place type to actually conserve open spaces, forests, farm land.
• Ritta and Maloneyville will suffer the biggest impact, with several thousand acres of formerly AG-designated land, now designated Suburban Residential or Traditional Neighborhood. Land in those communities just became very attractive for developers to speculate on and make offers for.

There is a lot of work to do in the next phase – updating the zoning ordinance. Until that process is completed, communities and neighborhoods will need to pay close attention to rezoning applications, because development has been opened up without improving development standards and providing protections for rural places and character.

We thank our elected officials, the staff of Knox County and Knoxville-Knox County Planning for the thousands of hours they have spent facilitating and sponsoring this effort. And to all of the residents and volunteer citizens – thank you for engaging, advocating, and sticking with this initiative.