Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Land Use topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council advances townhouse rezoning, approves PUD first reading for 12.6-acre Eastburn Lane site
Summary
Oak Ridge City Council on Nov. 11 approved first readings to rezone a 12.6-acre parcel off Eastburn Lane from general business to medium-density residential and to apply a Planned Unit Development overlay that allows a phased townhouse project; staff said phase 1 townhomes will be sold as individual lots and later phases must return with details.
Oak Ridge City Council approved first readings on Nov. 11 to change the land-use designation and zoning of a roughly 12.6-acre parcel off Eastburn Lane and Oak Ridge Turnpike and to apply a Planned Unit Development overlay that would govern a townhome development.
Staff told the council the planning commission unanimously recommended the plan and that the comprehensive-plan amendment and rezoning correspond to the developer's conceptual master plan. Council opened a public hearing, heard no public testimony on the rezoning, and then discussed how the PUD will be phased: the entire parcel would be rezoned to R-3 with a PUD overlay, but the PUD's detailed standards and site plan apply to phase 1 only and future phases must return to the planning commission with additional detail before development may proceed.
Planner staff clarified the developer's intent to market the townhome units as individually owned lots. Councilmembers pressed staff on whether the PUD would require a single comprehensive plan for the whole parcel or successive, phase-specific plans; staff said phase 1 may proceed with detailed townhome plans, while later phases remain conceptually identified and will require additional review before construction.
The council voted to approve both the comprehensive-plan amendment and the rezoning (first reading) and to advance the PUD request, with the record showing a unanimous 7–0 vote on the first readings.
Why it matters: the move advances a medium-density housing project near the Turnpike that could add for-sale townhomes to the city’s housing stock, but it leaves decision points about later phases and design details to future planning commission reviews.
Next steps: the developer must return with the detailed plan for phase 2 before work on that portion may begin; the rezoning will return for subsequent readings per the city’s ordinance schedule.
