Officials worry proposal would increase rural sprawl

By Joel Davis
of The Daily Times Staff

A proposed zoning amendment that would more than double the amount of homes allowed to be built in rural Blount County is drawing criticism from the community and government officials.

The Blount County Commission is considering whether to change the allowable density in the R-1 zoning designation from 1.2 housing units per acre to 3 per acre where sewer or state-approved sand filtration system is supplied. 

Planning Commission Chairman Jim Scully has already spoken against the proposal.

"I voted against it because you're going to create sprawl throughout the county," he said.

Kathleen Skinner, of the Raven Society community group, also opposes the change.

"The implication is that this would open up the entire county for high-density residential development that should be built only within the Urban Growth Boundaries," Skinner said. "People need to know there are no restrictions on where sand-filtration systems can be located."

The Blount County Commission will consider the change during a public hearing at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in Room 430 of the Blount County Courthouse.

From another perspective, however, Bob Reed, governmental affairs chairman for the Blount County Homebuilders Association, said zoning regulations have made it difficult for builders to offers affordable housing to middle-income county residents.

 "The lot prices are out of hand right now," he said. "You've got lots in the county going for $40,000 because there is a short supply. If you double the amount of lots you can build on any tract of land ... there are going to be more lots come to market faster that will help the supply and demand curve."

Rural sprawl

Scully, however, said it makes more sense to encourage higher density growth nearer the cities of Alcoa and Maryville.

"That I would vote for," he said. "You need to control the growth of sprawl. That's why you need an urban plan."

County Commissioner David Graham said the proposal runs counter to the growth philosophy of county residents.

"I don't have a problem with sand-filtration systems," he said. "I don't have a problem with sewer. I have problem with the density change itself.

"I don't find it compatible (with the county's growth strategy). In fact, I find it going in the opposite direction."

According to Building Commissioner Roger Fields, the R-1 designation covers the majority of the county.

"It is the biggest zone we have," he said.

The county does allow higher-density closer to the cities of Maryville and Alcoa. In the Suburbanizing District, which is generally within five miles of the cities, developers can build up to 13 units per acre with access to city sewer, Fields said.

"As your infrastructure grows, your density grows," he said. "It's proportional."

The sand-filtration sewer systems require a special state permit to operate.

"It's all regulated by the state," Fields said. "Once they decide to go with a sand-filtration unit, it goes out of the hands of our Environmental Health Department. There is quite a bit to do in the permit process.

"They also have to be licensed and operated and bonded as a public utility. That keeps them from just coming in and disappearing."

Graham believes higher density growth belongs near the cities, not out in the county.

"In rural, 1.2 units per acre provides for me a win-win situation," he said. "You get density as well as green space, which is what being in a rural area is all about."

Developers can also maximize the size of subdivisions by using better design techniques, such as clustering, Graham said.

Commissioner Gary Farmer, who sits on the Planning Commission, supports the change. He previously said that increasing the density allowed would encourage developers to install sewer in the county.