Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Buffer Variance Denial topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board denies landscape‑buffer reduction for outdoor storage yard after neighborhood objections
Summary
The BZA denied a landscape‑buffer and fence variance request for a commercial outdoor storage yard after neighborhood advocates and board members said the applicant failed to demonstrate a legal hardship and existing vegetation cannot substitute for an approved buffer plan.
The City Board of Zoning Appeals on Dec. 23 denied a request by a landscape company to reduce required 20‑foot Class B buffer widths around an outdoor storage yard and to eliminate required solid fencing on some property lines.
Staff reported the applicant proposed a 5‑foot buffer and an 8‑foot fence along the northern boundary and contended natural vegetation and floodplain constraints make full buffers impractical. Applicant representative Brandon Boulding said the company planned targeted landscaping and that the creek and floodplain limit development beyond the existing improvements.
Joyce Feld, president of Scenic Knoxville, urged denial. Feld argued Article 12 plainly requires buffers to reduce impacts on adjacent properties, “provide visual separation, reduce transmission of glare and air pollution, and limit access,” and warned that counting existing vegetation without an approved landscape plan allows that vegetation to be removed later without obligation. She told the board strict application of the ordinance would not deprive the owner of reasonable use of the property.
Board members repeatedly asked whether the hardship was self‑created by past development and emphasized that an alternative landscape design (ALD) cannot be used to reduce the required buffer width. One member noted the applicant had multiple opportunities to bring the use into compliance earlier and that site expansion into the floodplain would not be permitted. After deliberation, a motion to deny the variances carried.
What applicants were told: Staff and board members advised the applicant they may return with an alternative landscape plan that conforms to the code or pursue other measures that do not reduce buffer width (or demonstrate a qualifying hardship).
