Running from the Sevier County line to the boundary of the South City Sector at Island Home Pike, the French Broad Blueway is a scenic waterway along which the historic communities of the Tennessee Valley were originally settled. A blueway designation for this stretch of the French Broad River would serve as a riparian buffer to protect water quality and natural habitat from encroachment of urban and agricultural land uses, as well as improve public access to this important natural and historic resource.

Objectives

• Increase development buffer areas along the French Broad and its tributaries
• Protect slopes, waterways, and natural vegetation adjacent to the river
• Improve public access to the waterway

Short Term Actions
(5 Years)

• Revise zoning ordinance (city & county) to provide for greater setbacks where development abuts waters of the state
  Responsible Agencies: MPC, Knox County Commission, Knoxville City Council, and Knox County Engineering and Public Works
• Require interagency review for any excavation on slopes over 15%
  Responsible Agencies: MPC, Knox County Engineering and Public Works

Long Term Action
(15 Years)

• Develop a program to purchase land for conservation
  Responsible Agencies: Knox Land and Water Conservancy, Knox County Commission, Knoxville City Council
• Develop a program for the transfer of density rights (higher density than zoned in exchange for open space dedication)
  Responsible Agencies: MPC, Knox County Commission, and Knoxville City Council
• Develop a program to improve river access through greenways
  Responsible Agencies: MPC, Knox County, and Tennessee Valley Greenway Association