Blount County zoning board approves two multi‑family special exceptions amid traffic concerns

The Blount County Board of Zoning Appeals voted to approve two special‑exception requests for multi‑family developments carried over from a June 4 hearing, the board said at its July 2026 meeting.

The board’s chair opened the meeting at 6:00 p.m. and noted that sworn testimony and evidence were taken at the June hearing and the hearings were closed when deliberations began, allowing the board to vote on the existing record. “This is the July 2026 meeting of the Board of Zoning Appeals for Blount County,” the chair said.

One approval concerned a multi‑family project at South Odell Road and West Lamar Alexander Parkway in Maryville that had been tabled from June. During consideration, a board member asked that approval be conditioned on permitting Smoky Mountain Methodist Church, at 4742 East Lamar Alexander Highway, to connect to the City of Maryville sewer system. The member said county and state environmental staff had recommended allowing the church to tie into the existing sewer because of past failed septic fields in the area and their contamination of a nearby creek; the member contrasted the church’s estimated sewer equivalent of a single three‑bedroom home with the “800‑plus units” that would be added by the development. The mover did not agree to add the condition; the board discussed whether requiring the city to provide sewer service fell within the board’s zoning authority and ultimately recorded the approval based on the June record and the applicable permits.

The second approval was for a multi‑family development on Highway 411 South near the 129 junction in Maryville. A member of the public asked the board to repeat what it had just passed and said they had not known about the June hearing; the chair and staff responded that the hearing was posted and had been held in June.

Residents raised traffic concerns at the meeting. One resident asked directly, “What are you going to do about the traffic?” Board members and staff said traffic studies prepared by engineers for the developers and reviews by state and county highway authorities were part of the application packages. The board said the projects incorporated recommended and required measures from the highway department and state to address traffic safety and infrastructure needs.

Mr. King, a board member, acknowledged he had not reviewed the June meeting video and indicated he would abstain from voting on matters for which he had not reviewed the evidence. The board confirmed that members who were not present in June had watched the video of the June 4 hearing before participating.

After votes were completed, a participant voiced protest at the decisions, calling the board “reckless” and saying they would remove themselves from the meeting. The board then adjourned.

The approvals were recorded as recommendations for approval subject to required permits and infrastructure conditions specified by permitting authorities; the transcript does not record detailed permit language or the full vote tally by name for each motion. Next procedural steps for the developments will be the permit reviews and any infrastructure work required by Maryville, the county highway department, or state agencies.