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Kingsport board rezones Tyson Lane parcels for professional-office use after safety questions
Summary
After public objections about neighborhood traffic and safety, the City of Kingsport approved rezoning two parcels at Tyson Lane and East Stone Drive from R‑1B residential to P‑1 professional office to allow future medical-office or medical‑spa development; staff said traffic study requirements will be evaluated at site-plan submission.
The City of Kingsport voted unanimously to rezone tax‑map parcels along Tyson Lane and East Stone Drive from R‑1B residential to P‑1 professional‑office district after a public hearing that drew neighborhood concern about traffic and turning access.
Assistant planner Jessica McMurray told the board the rezoning is owner‑requested and that the planning commission had forwarded a positive recommendation based on the future land‑use plan. She said the rezone would allow the owner to submit site plans to the city for review and that “when the development plans are submitted, there will be a full review and that will include a traffic review to determine if a traffic study will be needed.”
Residents who live adjacent to the site told the board they are not opposed to the business itself but are worried about how vehicles will enter and exit. One speaker said narrow neighborhood streets and places where “only 1 car can sit at the end of that street” make new turning movements hazardous and urged the city to consider a dedicated turn lane off Stone Drive into the property rather than routing traffic through residential streets.
Council members pressed staff on when traffic studies are required. City staff said an automatic traffic‑impact study is triggered at 750 vehicle trips per day but that the city retains discretion to require studies at lower thresholds if site plans indicate likely negative impacts. Staff added that site‑plan feedback is typically returned within about 10–15 days after plans are submitted and that the proposed medical‑spa use in P‑1 would also require a separate Board of Zoning Appeals proceeding because it is a special exception in that zone.
Council members noted that rezoning itself does not authorize construction; it simply allows the applicant to submit plans for technical review. After discussion the board took a voice vote and approved the ordinance to rezone the property 7–0.
The decision now allows the property owner to pursue site design and, if needed, subsequent BZA approval for the specific medical‑spa use; traffic mitigation or roadway changes would be addressed during the development‑plan and engineering review stages.
