Knoxville BZA approves most requested variances, denies duplex driveway request

The City Board of Zoning Appeals on an evening session approved several development variances while denying a request to expand a duplex driveway and splitting a sign application for Cedar Springs Church. The board granted variances for a place-of-worship parking expansion, front- and rear-setback reductions for a single-family lot, a multifamily front-setback encroachment discovered during construction, and setback relief for a commercial outparcel affected by a water-line easement. It denied a request to expand a driveway to 50 feet on a 50-foot lot for a proposed duplex, citing a lack of hardship.

The meeting began with Chair Amy Sherrill laying out procedures for public comment and vote thresholds. Staff described each request before applicants or their representatives explained hardships and responded to board questions. Adam Comtop, representing Sevier Heights Church, said the campus functions as more than a sanctuary and that accessory uses and simultaneous activities create higher parking demand than the sanctuary-seat calculation captures. Ben Mullins, representing several commercial and multifamily applicants, described irregular lot geometry, topography and an existing water-line easement as constraints that prevented compliance with current build-to and setback rules.

On the duplex driveway (BZA 250,063), applicant Ryan Lynch said steep rear topography and lot configuration made front parking a practical solution. Multiple board members characterized the situation as largely self-created by subdivision and expressed concern about maneuverability and safety. The motion to deny that variance for lack of hardship carried.

The board split the Cedar Springs Church sign request (BZA 250,064). John Thurman, representing Cedar Springs, said the church campus is large and the proposed replacement sign would modernize wayfinding; he noted a previous variance had allowed a secondary sign at the site. Scenic Knoxville president Joyce Feld opposed the request, arguing the applicant had not shown a legal hardship and that awarding size or height relief would contradict the 2015 sign ordinance’s intent to reduce sign clutter. The board approved the request related to recognizing the secondary sign/site frontage but denied the requested increases in sign height and area for lack of demonstrated hardship.

A self-reported front-setback encroachment for an under-construction multifamily building (BZA 250,062) — identified during a survey after a building went vertical — drew discussion of self-reporting and site constraints; the board voted to approve a small variance for that encroachment. The board also approved a reduced transparency percentage for a proposed gas station after the applicant revised window placements and lowered sill heights, reducing the requested variance from a previously denied, larger exception.

Votes at a glance: - BZA 250,060 (place of worship parking expansion): approved (motion carried by voice vote). - BZA 250,061 (front/rear setback for single-family dwelling): approved (motion carried by voice vote). - BZA 250,062 (multifamily front-setback encroachment): approved (motion carried by voice vote). - BZA 250,063 (duplex driveway width to 50 feet): denied (motion to deny carried for lack of hardship). - BZA 250,064 (Cedar Springs Church sign): item 1 (recognition of secondary sign/site frontage) approved; items 2 and 3 (height and area increases) denied for lack of hardship (split board votes reported). - BZA 250,065: postponed to October. - BZA 250,066 (commercial setback relief due to easement/double-frontage): approved. - BZA 250,067 (gas station transparency reduced to 19%): approved.

The board set its next meeting for Oct. 21 at 4 p.m. in the City-County Building small assembly room and adjourned.

Sources: meeting transcript and on-record comments from applicants and members of the public and staff during the City Board of Zoning Appeals session.