Planning staff reports nearly 600 cases, strong finances; UDO rewrite targeted for next summer

Director Brooks told the Planning Commission on June 10, 2025, that planning staff and the commission reviewed almost 600 cases in fiscal year 2024–25, up from 524 the prior year, and that the agency is “in good financial condition.”

The summary matters because the commission’s caseload and the agency’s planned rewrite of the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) will shape zoning, street standards and subdivision rules that govern development in the county.

Brooks said the commission reviewed nearly 600 applications this year and that every case category except plan amendments saw an increase from the previous fiscal year. She said a fuller development activity report will be presented next month by staff member Aubrey and hard copies will be provided to commissioners.

Brooks highlighted regional planning work, including completion of a mobility plan she identified as an approximately $5,150,000,000 investment aimed at improving safety, modernization and accessibility and enabling federal dollars to flow to local projects. She said the Transportation Planning Group is working with the City of Knoxville on a Climate Pollution Reduction program for the Knoxville metropolitan statistical area and that the agency’s role has focused on stakeholder engagement and implementation measures; a comprehensive climate action plan is due at the end of the year.

The agency is also working with an outreach consultant to engage jurisdictions outside Knox County — including the cities of Alcoa, Maryville and Oak Ridge — with that work expected to finish this fall. Brooks described a priority investment areas project, done with CAAT and the City of Knoxville, that studies transit-served corridors for potential mixed-use development; she said staff expect to present findings next month.

Brooks said staff have continued work on middle-housing standards and several ordinance amendments in the past year, citing updates to CG1 design standards, changes to industrial definitions, and adding residential care facilities as a special use in office-park zoning. She said staff provided public outreach support for the South Waterfront Advisory Committee and McClung Warehouse matters and participated in city greenway plan updates and advanced NOx implementation efforts.

On the UDO, Brooks said the agency is creating a brand-new Unified Development Ordinance that will include zoning code, street standards, subdivision regulations and other elements for unincorporated county areas. She said stakeholder groups will kick off later this month, community engagement will occur this fall, and staff aim to complete the UDO by next summer.

Brooks described information services support for local partners and tools hosted on agency websites, including knoxplanning.org and knoxtpo.org, and noted the development activity dashboard and a Census data explorer as widely used tools.

On finances, Brooks said fees are roughly 9% of the agency’s overall budget, the City of Knoxville’s appropriation made up about 18% of revenues, Knox County’s appropriation about 13%, and roughly 60% of revenues came from grants or contracts that often flow through the agency as reimbursements. She said salaries and employee benefits are a large portion of expenditures and that the figures she showed were actuals as of April 30; a comprehensive financial report will be released in a couple of months. Brooks said the agency has seen a modest surplus in fees this year tied to higher application volumes.

During a brief question-and-answer period, a commenter asked whether staff would produce a map showing how existing properties would be rezoned under the new UDO. Brooks answered that staff had not decided whether a rezoning would be mandatory; new zones will be introduced and the process could allow property owners options or follow a model similar to the city’s approach that targets specific commercial zones. She said staff will discuss rezoning approaches with consultants as the work proceeds.

A fuller development activity report and the agency’s final fiscal-year financial report are scheduled for forthcoming meetings.