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Planning
Framework
The Planning Framework map, Exhibit
1, identifies preferred areas for development, revitalization and
conservation, based on environmental features and development patterns.
The following land categories are shown:
Rural
Conservation Areas
- River
and stream corridors, including waterways, floodways, flood plains
and riparian wetlands.
- Ridges
and steep slopes, including the major ridges running through the
county and slopes of 15% or more.
Areas
for Future Development
- Rural
residential/growth reserve These include areas set aside for very
long-term growth; agricultural and rural residential are the predominant
uses.
- New
development areas through 2022 (The two decades between 2001 and
2021 are the planning period for the Knoxville-Knox County-Farragut
Growth Policy Plan). These are areas where large, vacant tracts
can be assembled for development of new neighborhoods and districts.
Substantially
Developed Areas
- Post-1945
suburban areas These include neighborhoods created for the automobile
age, designed around a system of curvilinear roads and cul-de-sacs
and the nearby commercial areas.
- Pre-1945
suburban areas These include neighborhoods often built with relatively
narrow, connecting, curvilinear roads (e.g., Sequoyah Hills, Holston
Hills).
- Urban
neighborhoods These include neighborhoods, generally created before
1930, along a grid system of streets.
- Existing
special use districts These include large industrial, medical, educational
and recreational areas that are already developed or committed to
use or conservation.
- Downtown
This area includes the central business district and related, nearby
areas.
Development
Components
The basic building blocks used in the General Plan are:
The
Neighborhood
Neighborhoods are the most basic physical and social units of the
city and the region. Neighborhood unit concepts are shown in Exhibits
2 and 3.
The
Community
A community consists of enough neighborhoods to support shared services
and facilities, such as a high school, a twenty to forty acre community
park, and a community shopping area.
The
District
A district is a developed area devoted primarily to one function,
such as the University district, the Technology Corridor, or the Homberg
shopping/dining district in Bearden.
The
Corridor
Corridors can take one of two forms: development corridors, consisting
of linear, mixed use development along a transportation route, or
resource corridors, primarily open space along rivers, streams, ridgelines
or rural roads.
The
Region
Knoxville is the cultural, economic and governmental center of a 16
county area with over 1,000,000 residents. This area corresponds to
the boundaries of the East Tennessee Development District.
These
components are connected and unified by the following public realm elements:
- streets
and transit corridors
- greenways,
blueways, and parks
- public
spaces and public buildings
Exhibit
2: Diagram for Neighborhood Development
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In the early 20th Century concepts for neighborhood development
were conceived that placed schools within walking distance, commercial
development at major intersections, and public open spaces throughout
neighborhoods.
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Exhibit
3: Local Example of Neighborhood Concepts
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Neighborhood
design concepts were used in the Knoxville area in creating Sequoyah
Hills and Norris. The worthwhile nature of such development is
apparent today. Those communities are over 70 years old and are
remarkably stable. The map and photographs on this page are from
Sequoyah Hills.
Map
Sequoyah Hills: the roads and open spaces were matched to the
rolling terrain and river.
Photo:
Well designed open spaces were created.
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A
variety of housing opportunities were provided.
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The
elementary school was located near the heart of the neighborhood.
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The
neighborhood center included shops and churches, and was surrounded
by apartments.
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Land
Use Plan
Exhibit 4 consists of the Land Use Plan maps
from each of the 12 adopted sector plans. This map is amended by the
periodic updates of the sector plans. The plan may also be amended in
response to applications from property owners. Plan amendment applications
are usually filed in conjunction with rezoning applications. Changes
to the Land Use Plan should be consistent with the policies in the General
Plan.
Tennessee
State law (public chapter 1101) requires that local land use decisions
must comply with the Knoxville-Knox County-Farragut Growth Policy Plan.
The General Plan is linked to the Growth Policy Plan in at least two
ways:
- The
Planning Framework map (Exhibit 1) is consistent with the Urban
Growth, Planned Growth and Rural designations of the Growth Policy
Plan, although the Planning Framework breaks these three categories
down into seven more specialized categories.
- The
Knoxville-Knox County-Farragut Growth Policy Plan, along with the
Knoxville City Charter and the Knoxville and Knox County Zoning Ordinances,
require that land use decisions (rezonings and development plan approvals)
be consistent with the sector plans, which are elements of the General
Plan.
Interpreting
the Land Use Plan
In most cases, the land use recommendations of the sector plans are
specific enough to provide clear guidance. That is not always true,
however, due to the fact that the maps are usually not intended to provide
a parcel by parcel land use recommendation. The following are guidelines
to interpretations of the land use plan:
Transition
Areas
The policies in this plan include provisions for ‘transition areas’
to avoid abrupt differences in adjoining zonings (from highway commercial
to single family residential, for example). It is not practical to show
transition areas at every boundary between residential and commercial
districts. The transitional zoning policies would support office or
medium density residential zoning in an area shown as single family
residential abutting a commercial or other intense district.
Uncertainty
as to Boundaries
When boundaries of land use designations appear to coincide with fixed,
verifiable features, such as streams, lot lines, flood plains or roads,
these features shall be presumed to be the zoning boundary. Otherwise
the boundaries may be measured according to the scale of the map.
Logical
Extensions of Existing Zoning or Development Patterns
The Planning Commission may find that a particular rezoning or plan
amendment is approvable because it is a logical extension of an existing
boundary. To be considered a logical extension, the rezoning should
be consistent with the policies of the plan, should not violate clear
physical boundaries intentionally depicted on the plan map, such as
a road, a stream, or a ridge line, and should be smaller than the area
being extended.
Rezoning
is Premature Based on Inadequate Public Facilities
The Sector Plan’s recommendation for development are usually based on
the idea that roads, utilities, drainage and other community facilities
are adequate to support growth, or can be brought up to standards within
a reasonable time. Severe deficiencies justify delay of implementation
of the plan’s land use proposals. It is often possible to approve developments
subject to bringing the facilities up to standard by some specified
date.
Changes
of Conditions Warranting Amendment of the Land Use Plan
Usually, conditions that have changed sufficiently to warrant a rezoning
contrary to the plan’s recommendation should result in an amendment
to the land use map. Administrative procedures are in place to allow
the Planning Commission to recommend minor plan amendments accompanied
by rezoning applications. The Planning Commission reserves the authority
to recommend land use plan changes based on substantially changed conditions.
Substantially changed conditions include:
- Introduction
of significant new roads or utilities that were not anticipated in
the plan and make development more feasible.
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An obvious and significant error or omission in the plan.
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Changes in government policy, such as a decision to concentrate development
in certain areas.
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Trends in development, population, or traffic that warrant reconsideration
of the original plan proposal.
Updating
the Plan
To remain effective, comprehensive plans must be periodically updated
and amended. The Planning Commission will determine the actual schedule
for major updates through annual adoption of the MPC Work Program. The
Planning Commission, City Council or County Commission may also direct
the MPC staff to update all or part of any plan as the need arises.
This will also provide an opportunity to add new projects to MPC’s work
program in response to changing conditions.
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