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The Blount County Planning Commission is considering the creation of low-impact commercial zones for use in the suburbanizing and rural areas of the county.

Discussing land use issues at a Tuesday work session, the planning commissioners seemed to agree with possibilities suggested by Planning Director John Lamb for alternatives to simply rezoning residential property to full commercial use.

“I’ve got the sense we need a new zone,” Lamb said. “That’s the way we’re going. I just want to make it consistent with the (policies) plan.”

“We definitely need to have something lower than full commercial because that is what getting us in trouble,” Planning Commission Chairman Ed Stucky said.

The county could consider the creation of a low-impact commercial zones that could be applied to both existing and prospective commercial uses, Lamb said. The rural low-impact commercial zone would be even lower density.

“It is purely a zoning issue,” Lamb said. “You would have to rezone a tract of land, then it would benefit from the expanded list of uses. It could apply to grandfathered situations. What it allows is the change of that grandfathered situation into the list of allowed uses in that zone.”

“I definitely like the creation of a mid zone for commercial,” Planning Commissioner Tom Hodge said. “I think there is a need for that. I think there is a need for a low-impact, I think we called it community zone — another zone before full commercial.”
‘Village’ areas

The Planning Commission is also discussing the designation of “village” areas with allowable clustered commercial uses.

“Basically, what it is you have some mixed use,” Lamb said. “... It could cover just a standard subdivision where you have enough volume of residents so where you could say you could put a little convenience store/grocery store in the areas. They wouldn’t have to go 20 miles to go to the grocery store. They could just go across the street.”

The commission would need to designate where the “village” areas could be placed.
“You wouldn’t want them spotted everywhere,” Lamb said.

The commission is working on expanding the county’s Policies Plan into a comprehensive plan by integrating data about population and economy, public infrastructure and services and specific transportation and land use components. Green infrastructure will also be a component.

Plan by 2010

Lamb said the comprehensive plan will be finished by April 2010. A completed plan will help make the county eligible for grant opportunities. The Tuesday work session focused on land use in the county.

To be consistent with its policy plan, the county needs to encourage increased density within the suburbanizing zone, which lies closer to the cities; however, there is need for a “reality check,” Lamb said. “We are not really sure that sewer is going to be in that suburbanizing area.”

The county could allow greater density on lots with septic systems.

“You could reduce square footage down to 23,000 square feet,” Lamb said. “That would be 1.5 units per acre. That is about a 25 percent increase in density over what we’ve got, which is a good boost.”

This would require a judgement call, he said

“Should we stay at what is generally a rural zone density or should we give the benefit of the doubt to city plans to extend sewer services to the area?” Lamb said.

“I’m still not convinced that is going to happen,” Hodge said.

“It’s up to the cities,” Lamb said. “Alcoa has been very aggressive in extending their urban services out in advance of annexation. ... Maryville has not been so aggressive.”

“I’m not sure how we go about a reality check because it’s going to be very difficult to get a commitment from the city to say ‘yes, we’re going to provide those services,” Stucky said.Plan by 2010

Lamb said the comprehensive plan will be finished by April 2010. A completed plan will help make the county eligible for grant opportunities. The Tuesday work session focused on land use in the county.

To be consistent with its policy plan, the county needs to encourage increased density within the suburbanizing zone, which lies closer to the cities; however, there is need for a “reality check,” Lamb said. “We are not really sure that sewer is going to be in that suburbanizing area.”

The county could allow greater density on lots with septic systems.

“You could reduce square footage down to 23,000 square feet,” Lamb said. “That would be 1.5 units per acre. That is about a 25 percent increase in density over what we’ve got, which is a good boost.”

This would require a judgement call, he said

“Should we stay at what is generally a rural zone density or should we give the benefit of the doubt to city plans to extend sewer services to the area?” Lamb said.
“I’m still not convinced that is going to happen,” Hodge said.

“It’s up to the cities,” Lamb said. “Alcoa has been very aggressive in extending their urban services out in advance of annexation. ... Maryville has not been so aggressive.”

“I’m not sure how we go about a reality check because it’s going to be very difficult to get a commitment from the city to say ‘yes, we’re going to provide those services,” Stucky said.