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Commission approves rezoning on West Vine Avenue to allow ground‑floor housing, with hillside protection retained
Summary
After debate among neighborhood speakers, historic preservation and downtown advocates, the planning commission approved rezoning a West Vine Avenue parcel from downtown grid (DKG) to boulevard (DKB), allowing residential uses at street level; commissioners added a condition retaining the hillside protection overlay.
The Knoxville‑Knox County Planning Commission on Sept. 11 voted to rezone a West Vine Avenue parcel from the downtown grid subdistrict (DKG) to the boulevard subdistrict (DKB), a change that permits residential uses on the ground floor.
Taylor Forrester, representing property owner Lee Burch, told the commission the site’s topography, irregular lot shape and proximity to a steep 40‑foot elevation change make ground‑floor commercial uses impractical. Forrester said the DKG designation — drafted for traditional 300‑by‑300 downtown blocks — is not a good fit at this location and asked commissioners to recommend DKB. “This property is located about 300 feet from [South…
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