Knox County BZA overturns staffinterpretation, clears way for pediatric dental office parking at reduced setback

The Knox County Board of Zoning Appeals voted 8-1 in June 2026 to overturn county codes and planning staffinterpretation of a parking setback rule for a proposed pediatric dental office at 0 Beexill Drive. The board found the ordinance provision at issue, section 3.51.08B, did not apply once the subject parcel had been subdivided and was no longer contiguous to a residential lot on the same block face.

The question before the board was whether the enhanced parking setback in 3.51.08B--which requires parking lots in nonresidential zones that are contiguous to residential lots on the same block face to be set back 35 feet--applied to the parcel that is now separated from the nearest residential zone by intervening commercial property. Knox County Codes staff told the board their reading required the 35-foot buffer.

"We have read this to mean that parking lots in the same block face of residential zoning would require to be set back 35 ft from the property line," a county codes representative told the board. Taylor Forester, representing property owner KNC Management GP, argued the ordinance contains two conjunctive conditions (same block face and lot contiguity) and that the subdivided parcel no longer satisfied contiguity. Forester said the subject property is roughly 225 feet from the residential zone and asked the board to apply the standard CN 10-foot parking setback instead.

Heidi Adams, the developer's broker, described the planned facility as a community-serving pediatric dental practice in a modest, roughly 3,100-square-foot building and said it generates lower peak traffic than a typical restaurant. Knox County Commissioner Shane Jackson (4th District) told the board the clinic would serve local families and cited his estimate that "more than 1,500 children attending Al Lots and Bluegrass Elementary" live nearby.

During deliberations board members focused on the punctuation and subject of the ordinance language, with several saying the sentence references the lot (not the zone) and therefore the lot must be contiguous to residential zoning for the enhanced setback to apply. The board concluded the ordinance did not impose the 35-foot parking setback on the subdivided parcel and voted to uphold the applicant's appeal, overturning the staff determination.

The decision allows the applicant to proceed under the CN zone's standard 10-foot parking setback, subject to any other applicable county requirements and permitting processes. The board's action was a formal appeal decision; staff and the applicant will now proceed with site-plan and permitting steps required for development.