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Sevier County commissioners deny rezoning for 405 Rainbow Road, citing sewer constraints
Summary
The Sevier County Board of Commissioners on Sept. 15 denied a rezoning request for 405 Rainbow Road after planning staff said sewer capacity and the lack of vacant land made the requested sewer hookup infeasible; the motion passed 19–5.
On Sept. 15 the Sevier County Board of Commissioners voted to deny a rezoning application for 405 Rainbow Road, a property owner Virginia Burton said contains "thirty-two (32) apartments and other building[s]" rented to tenants. Commissioners approved the motion by roll call, 19 Yes, 5 No, 1 Absent; the five recorded No votes were Rick Valentine, Harold Pitner, Kent Woods, Greg Haggard and Gary Cole.
The application, which would have changed Tax Map 72 Parcel 153.00 from R-2 (high-density residential) to C-1 (rural commercial), came to the board after the Sevierville Planning Commission recommended against rezoning. Planning Director James Temple Jr. explained the department’s technical objections: "This property does not have sewer available and hasn’t had sewer available in years. Several people have tried to hook up to the existing line, the current line on Rainbow Road is too small to accommodate anything on the property. The property is not capable of taking any sewer, there are a couple of buildings in the back of the property that have drain fields. The environmental health department informed our office there is no vacant land where there could be a sewer placed as requested and there is no way to expand on what is currently in the area."
During the public hearing, Virginia Burton told commissioners the goal of rezoning was to enable sewer to be placed on the property to serve the existing rental units. The board’s action was a formal denial of the requested zoning change; no alternative sewer solution or timeline was specified by staff at the meeting.
The commission recorded the motion to adopt the rezoning resolution (moved by Ray Ogle; seconded by Carrol Rauhuff) and the roll-call result. There were no amendments to the resolution discussed during the hearing. The decision closes this application for rezoning unless the applicant submits a revised plan or additional technical information for future consideration.
