Oak Ridge council approves first reading to rezone former federal site at 350 Powerhouse Road after extended debate

Oak Ridge City Council approved on first reading an ordinance to rezone about 375 acres at 350 Powerhouse Road — a parcel that recently left federal ownership — from FIR (Federal Industry and Research) to an IND‑1 industrial designation, with a 600‑foot RG‑1 residential/open‑space buffer along the Clinch River and additional RG‑1 designation on a southeastern portion of the site.

The vote on first reading followed nearly two hours of council questions and public comments about deed restrictions, wetland and floodplain protections, and the current use of the property by Carbon Rivers for storage and processing of decommissioned wind turbine blades.

The change matters because it will replace a federal zoning label that applied while the property was federally owned and set the city’s regulatory framework for future private uses. Staff and the Planning Commission offered different maps: the owner sought bands of IND‑1 and IND‑2, while the Planning Commission recommended the council’s adopted map of IND‑1 for most of the site with a broad RG‑1 buffer and RG‑1 on the southeast quadrant. Council voted to adopt the Planning Commission recommendation for first reading.

Ms. Williams, a city planning staff member who reviewed the applications for Council, outlined three maps in the packet: the applicant’s request (a 200‑foot IND‑1 band along the river, IND‑2 elsewhere for roughly 275 acres), the Planning Commission…