Planning commission approves rezoning for proposed assisted-living community in Telico Village amid neighbor concerns

The Loudon County Regional Planning Committee voted to rezone an 11-acre parcel in Telico Village from R-1 (Suburban Residential) to C-2 (commercial) to allow an assisted-living and memory-care community, following more than an hour of public comment and discussion.

The applicant and operator (identified in the record as S5) said the project would be smaller in traffic impact than a comparable single-family subdivision, noted the property owner wants to sell, and said the homeowners association president and the fire chief had provided a letter expressing conditional support. “We talked safety. We talked about the water and sewer,” the applicant said, and added that the project may require infrastructure upgrades the developer would help pay for.

Neighbors raising concerns at the hearing included a resident who lives behind the site (S4), who said traffic already moves fast on Chattooga Drive and asked how an 80-unit assisted-living facility would affect traffic, lighting, water pressure and sewer capacity. “If he's proposing to put 80 units in there, that's gonna simply increase the number of cars going up and down that road,” the resident said. Other speakers worried about property values and the visual impact of a multi-level building visible from their yards.

A supporter with senior-care experience (S12) urged commissioners to consider the needs of local older adults and emphasized the value of keeping families together in the community. The applicant said the design presented to the commission was a replica of a facility built elsewhere and offered to meet one-on-one with neighbors and to share preliminary drawings once the project moves to a site-plan review. The applicant said some elements such as buffers, lighting and road access would be addressed during site-plan review.

Commissioners questioned whether the project would landlock adjacent parcels and how utilities and emergency access would be provided. The applicant responded that surveys and lot combinations would preserve access and that the fire chief reviewed preliminary layout and emergency access considerations. Staff reminded the body that approval of a C-2 rezoning does not remove subsequent site-plan review requirements: if rezoning is approved, the project must return for site-plan review where buffers, lighting, parking and infrastructure upgrades would be resolved.

After discussion and public comment, a motion to approve the rezoning was made and seconded. The chair called the voice vote and declared the motion passed.

Next steps: with the rezoning approved, the developer will proceed to site-plan review and any required infrastructure agreements or upgrades will be considered during that administrative process. The transcript does not record specific conditions attached to the rezoning nor a numeric roll-call tally in the record; commissioners’ questions and public concerns about traffic, water pressure, lighting and visual buffers were not fully resolved at the meeting and will be addressed in ensuing site-plan and permitting steps.