On Sept. 11 the Knoxville-Knox County Planning Commission recommended rezoning a property on West Vine Avenue from the DKG Downtown Grid subdistrict to the DKB Boulevard subdistrict, a change that allows residential uses on the ground floor where DKG forbids them.
Proponents, including the applicant’s attorney Taylor Forrester and neighborhood pro-growth group YES Knoxville, argued the property’s narrow, one-way street, steep 40-foot elevation change and irregular lot shape make ground-floor commercial uses impractical. “It simply is not feasible or realistic,” Forrester said, describing West Vine as “a 1-way street, essentially kind of a glorified alley.” YES Knoxville said increasing downtown residential density helps support local businesses over time.
Opponents, including representatives of Immaculate Conception Church and several parishioners, asked for more community outreach and expressed concern about pedestrian access, parking and preserving the character of the block. Father Charlie Donahue said neighbors should have been consulted and urged the developer to meet with surrounding churches and businesses.
Staff had recommended denial in its report, citing the planned role of DKG in establishing a continuous, pedestrian-activated street frontage and noting that DKG requires closer build-to standards and more frequent entries and transparencies on the first floor (e.g., a stricter maximum blank wall length and build-to zone of 0–5 feet). DKB allows a build-to zone up to 25 feet and larger blank-wall allowances.
Commissioners were divided in discussion. Supporters of the rezoning argued the site’s topography and the existing pattern of first-floor residential uses on adjacent blocks make the DKB designation reasonable; critics said adopting DKB could reduce pedestrian-oriented development by allowing buildings to be set back or built with longer blank walls.
The commission vote favored rezoning, and the motion included a rider retaining hillside protection overlay provisions where applicable. Commissioner Barger moved to approve the rezoning with an added condition that hillside protection overlay rules be retained; Commissioner Browning seconded. The chair announced the motion carried with two commissioners dissenting (Commissioners Midas and Gill said they would vote no).
Why it matters: Downtown zoning subdistricts were created to encourage pedestrian-oriented, mixed-use development in appropriate locations. Changing a downtown parcel from DKG to DKB relaxes frontage and transparency requirements and can influence whether a building will present active commercial frontage or residential entrances facing the street. Supporters said the parcel’s physical constraints made pedestrian-oriented commercial uses unlikely.
Clarifying detail: staff noted DKG requires building entries every 50 feet at the ground floor and caps blank walls at 20 linear feet; DKB allows up to 35 linear feet of blank wall and a build-to zone of up to 25 feet. Commissioners noted the property stretches a long block length on West Vine; nearby developments and a steep rise in elevation near South Gay Street were cited as context.
Next steps: The rezoning recommendation will proceed to the city review process as required. Commissioners encouraged the applicant to meet neighborhood stakeholders; one commissioner offered to facilitate a meeting with Immaculate Conception Church leaders.