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Resident urges town to add small 'estate-size' lot zoning; board agrees to workshop
Summary
A resident asked the board to create a zoning category for estate-size lots (roughly 1.5–2 acres), and board members directed staff to prepare materials for a possible workshop and planning-commission review.
Louise Pavlin told the Board of Mayor and Aldermen during the Oct. 9 public comment period that the town’s zoning ordinance lacks an option for property owners who want to subdivide land into estate-size lots smaller than five acres. She said the current process forces owners to seek an R-1 rezoning and multiple variances, which she described as “difficult and confusing.”
Pavlin and other speakers suggested estate-size lots in the roughly 1.5–2 acre range would support small-scale farming and “microfarms” and would provide more housing-choice options than the town currently facilitates. Pavlin said Knox County commissioners had noted successful examples of two-acre microfarms sold at local farmers’ markets, and she urged the town to consider zoning changes that would preserve agricultural opportunities.
Board members responded positively. One member said staff could prepare a workshop item and background research, and that the matter would follow the normal planning commission review process before any ordinance change. Another board member noted there are already residents within the town with lots comparable to the suggested size and proposed the town gather input from those property owners as part of the research.
Next steps: Town staff said they will work with the board to scope a workshop and provide parameters for the planning commission if the board directs them to proceed. No ordinance or vote was taken that evening.
