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Commissioners approve planned-commercial rezoning for Fox Road parcel with added conditions
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Summary
The Knox County zoning commission approved a planned commercial rezoning for 0 Fox Road to allow a boat-dealership–style use, adding conditions including a 5-foot undisturbed setback adjacent to the right-of-way, limitations on signage and no exterior stacking of boats, after the planning commission's recommendation and a 10-1 vote.
The Knox County Zoning Commission voted to approve a planned commercial (PC) rezoning for a Fox Road parcel (Parcel ID 131158159) owned by Benjamin C. Mullins, with additional conditions intended to limit visual and traffic impacts.
Ben Mullins told commissioners the site would be used for a boat-dealership–type business tied to an existing marina and said he sought a PC zone to move more quickly than waiting on the pending Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) changes. Planning staff read the planning commission's recommendation to approve the PC zone with conditions including landscape buffers and recorded restrictive covenants for allowable uses.
Commissioner Russell moved approval, adding four specific conditions commissioners adopted: no exterior stacking of boats or vehicles for storage; a limit of two monument or building-mounted signs with only indirect lighting; an additional 5-foot setback adjacent to the existing right-of-way on Fox Road where no private improvements would be permitted; and that the frontage landscape buffer be determined at the development-plan (site-design) stage so that landscaping can be coordinated with building setbacks and access.
Planning Director Brooks said planning staff's original recommendation had been to deny the rezoning because it represented a commercial encroachment into a residential area, but told the commission the planning commission's approval plus the additional conditions addressed staff concerns about lighting and landscaping.
Mullins said he was prepared to address the conditions at the site-plan phase and that some restrictions (such as not placing improvements within the 5-foot setback) would ensure the county would not incur costs for future right-of-way projects. Commissioner Russell said the added conditions balanced the applicant's needs and neighborhood concerns.
The motion passed 10 yes, 1 no (Commissioner Thompson cast the lone no vote). The commission recorded that the project will return for a development plan that implements the agreed conditions and that staff will confirm specific landscaping and screening requirements at that stage.
