The Farragut Planning Commission discussed proposed amendments to Appendix A, Zoning, Chapter 4, Section 6 (customary home occupations). The draft consolidates standards into a simplified type-1/type-2 framework, clarifies the range of permissible small businesses and proposes administrative details such as a two-year permit review. The item was discussion-only; no ordinance was adopted.

Staff said the rewrite collapses several categories into a two-tier system: a lower-impact type-1 home occupation that would not require a permit but must meet standards, and a type-2 home occupation that would require a permit and allow more intensive uses. The draft lists explicit examples for type-2 uses, including small-scale assembly, small-engine and simple auto repair, and certain service businesses. Staff also proposed adding definitions (including a separate "home-based worker" definition for people who occasionally bring a work vehicle home but do not operate a business from the residence) and recommended that type-2 permits be reviewed on a two-year cycle with no renewal fee initially.

Vehicle parking and size limits prompted the most discussion. The proposed draft adds limits on larger commercial vehicles and includes trailers; staff said the measures were intended to prevent large, commercial step vans or multi-stop trucks from appearing in residential yards. Staff described typical step vans used as food trucks or delivery units and showed measurements indicating a 14-foot box often results in a roughly 26' to 28-foot overall vehicle length. The draft also requires that authorized vehicles be parked behind the front plane of the house and placed on an approved surface (for example, concrete, asphalt or pavers) rather than on grass.

Brian Walker, who served on the citizen steering committee, urged the commission to remove the vehicle restrictions from the ordinance and suggested handling vehicle disputes at the homeowners-association level: "The overall thing, and I'll speak for myself, not for the committee itself, but, the overall thing, it should be an HOA issue. Not a town issue," Walker said, adding that many properties in Farragut do not belong to HOAs and that moving vehicles off-site could impose costs and practical burdens on business owners.

Commissioners debated competing aims: preserving residential character and neighbors' expectations versus allowing residents to operate small businesses from their homes. Staff noted the town currently enforces general nuisance and performance standards (for example, prohibiting equipment or operations that create noise, vibration, glare or fumes detectable off the lot) and that the home-occupation rules would sit alongside business licensing and other town codes. Several commissioners signaled support for forwarding a refined draft toward the Board of Mayor and Aldermen, with the understanding the ordinance could be adjusted later if enforcement issues emerged.

There was no formal vote. Staff said they will incorporate commissioner direction and bring a drafting to ordinance form for later review and public hearing.