Planning commission approves 7‑lot Locust Hill concept plan with conditions after neighbors raise access and slope concerns

The Knoxville‑Knox County Planning Commission approved a concept plan for seven lots at Locust Hill Lane, subject to 11 staff conditions that commissioners and staff said are intended to address neighbors’ safety and slope‑stability concerns.

Neighbors testified that Locust Hill is a narrow, dead‑end road with a blind curve and steep slopes that make emergency access difficult and complicate equipment and construction access. Tiana Winter summarized technical concerns — slope greater than 25 percent at portions of the site, need for lot‑by‑lot slope analyses, and requests to combine lots 1‑4 into larger parcels to reduce grading. Jalene Weaver described recent emergency calls and tight turning maneuvers by a fire engine on the street.

Applicant Omar Youssef said the plan had been reduced to seven lots after staff consultations and that he had worked with planning and engineering to limit disturbance. County engineering staff explained the applicant’s disturbance calculation (approximately 1.93 acres planned vs. an allowable 1.97 acres) and said final permitting will recheck those numbers. Engineering also said a site‑distance analysis was required and that road widening to 20 feet for the development length would be required, designed by a professional engineer and bonded before permitting.

Commissioner Anderson moved to approve the concept plan subject to the 11 conditions; the commission approved the motion by roll call (final tally reported as 9‑4). Commissioners who voted against cited remaining concerns about slope stability, sight lines onto Chapman Highway, and the intensity of development on the steep parcel.

The approval allows the applicant to proceed to design and permitting where conditions including engineering designs, tree/vegetation management, and detailed geotechnical work will be enforced prior to issuance of building permits.