Oak Ridge council deadlocks on rezoning request for Horizon Center; staff to draft zoning-text option

Oak Ridge City Council failed to approve a rezoning request for about 96.5 acres in the Horizon Center industrial park after a 3-3 tie, leaving the property in its current IND-2 zoning and prompting staff to prepare a zoning-text amendment as an alternative.

The council considered a petition by BWXT to rezone Development Area 5 (Roane County tax map 021, parcel 002.04) from IND-2 (Industrial 2) to IND-3 (Industrial 3). Ken Givens, a BWXT representative, told council the company intends to manufacture centrifuges at the site and may later pursue activities that would require Nuclear Regulatory Commission licensing.

“The request is to rezone the property from IND-2 to IND-3…to allow potential enrichment and the radioactive materials we may process in the future,” Givens said.

The planning commission recommended approval on May 15 by an 8-0 vote. In the council’s public hearing and subsequent debate, Planning staff explained that NAICS classifications for certain enrichment-related industries are presently located only in IND-3, which informed the staff recommendation. Councilwoman Smith argued IND-3 was excessive for the uses described and urged a zoning-text amendment to allow specific activities in IND-2 instead: “I don't believe that this business has the kinds of hazards that would require Industrial 3.”

After discussion, the council recorded three yes votes and three no votes; the motion therefore failed and the rezoning did not pass. The council did not record individual named votes in the transcript at the time the result was announced.

Council and staff laid out next steps: staff will draft an amendment to the IND-2 zone text to identify whether and how the enrichment/manufacturing activities at issue could be permitted or allowed with special controls in IND-2. That text amendment would go first to the planning commission for a recommendation and, if advanced, would return to council for two readings as required by the zoning-change process.

BWXT and staff also noted that early phases of the company’s proposed project (Phase 1) are allowable in IND-2 under current rules, while future manufacturing buildings that might involve higher risk materials are the driver of the rezone request.

Council did not take further formal action on the site after the tie vote. Staff said it would present options to the planning commission for a zoning-text amendment and coordinate with councilmembers on the timetable.

The failure of the rezoning leaves the zoning of Development Area 5 unchanged pending any text amendment or a future rezoning petition.