Johnson City advances Horizon 2045 comprehensive plan after public hearing on neighborhood impacts

Whitney Hodges, planning staff, presented the Horizon 2045 Growth Management Plan and opened a public hearing the commission had scheduled to consider adoption. Hodges read the plan's guiding statement aloud: "By 2045, Johnson City continues to be a regional leader in Northeast Tennessee by being a vibrant, welcoming, and connected community," and described the plan's place types, future land-use map and implementation matrix as guidance for departments, the planning commission and developers.

Hodges repeatedly noted the plan does not change existing zoning or vested rights: "this plan just changes no one's zoning district," she said, and explained that any change to zoning or annexation would still require separate public notice and the formal rezoning process. She described the plan as a tool staff and the planning commission will use annually and in five-year reviews when aligning budgets and policies with growth priorities.

During the public comment period, multiple residents urged the commission to limit the place-type designation near Claude Simmons Road and Knob Creek to rural residential. Lottie Ryans, who said she lives on Stroudflower Place, told the commission she supported rural residential designation to avoid multifamily development near a two-lane road and a tunnel she called a traffic and safety hazard. "We would like the protection of rural residential as the only designation in the approved plan," Ryans said.

Joseph Parker and Fernando Zepeda, president of the Strawberry Fields homeowners association, echoed concerns about traffic and asked to be notified of any future rezoning or annexation affecting large parcels that are for sale near the tunnel. A commenter identifying himself as Sylvan pressed the commission on how deindustrialization shown in the plan would align with private investments in Buffalo Mountain and asked about potential conflicts of interest where local officials sit on outside boards.

Commissioners and staff explained that place types are advisory and that zoning and annexation remain the legal mechanisms that determine what can be built. Hodges said small-area plans can be used to refine recommendations where finer-grained guidance is appropriate and that the plan can be updated through the ordinance process after adoption.

A motion was made and seconded to advance the plan; several commissioners voiced support but signaled willingness to review specific boundaries, especially in the vicinity of the railroad and Claude Simmons Road, before final adoption. The commission moved the plan forward in the ordinance process so that specific adjustments can be considered prior to third reading.