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Commission approves lower-density option for Pine Grove rezoning after developer asks to avoid road work
Summary
The commission approved a PR zoning at 4 units per acre for a Pine Grove Road parcel after the applicant asked to reduce density from the planning recommendation to avoid expensive road improvements; the approval kept a tree-retention condition and removed a road-improvement condition.
Knox County zoning commissioners on July 20 approved a rezoning modification for a Pine Grove Road parcel after the applicant requested a lower-density option to avoid substantial road-improvement costs.
John Valiant spoke for property owner James Jenkins and said the developer would prefer a reduction to four units per acre rather than the planning commission’s recommendation (five units per acre) because of the projected expense and impact of required road work. "We're really hoping that…we could do a density reduction in exchange for not having to, bother with the road," Valiant said.
Planning staff told the commission the planning commission had recommended approval of PR up to five dwellings per acre subject to two conditions: retention of healthy native trees within the 35-foot peripheral setback and improvement of Pine Grove Road from the development's access point to Strawberry Plains Pike as determined by Knox County Engineering/Public Works. Commissioners and Director Snowden discussed road width, topography and impacts on neighbors; Snowden said the road could be brought up to an acceptable minimum width during routine resurfacing but expressed no strong objection to the reduced density from a transportation perspective.
Commissioner Thompson moved to approve PR at four units an acre while retaining the tree-retention condition and removing the second condition that would require immediate road improvements. The motion carried on open vote.
The approval changes the zoning condition for the parcel and allows the applicant to cluster homes under PR standards while reducing the immediate road-work requirements. The applicant thanked the commission and indicated the change would affect project unit totals and next steps in design and permitting.
