Proposed Land Use

Map 10: Proposed Land Use

The Proposed Land Use Plan will serve as a guide for growth and for making zoning and subdivision decisions in the sector for the next 15 years. Several small changes have been made to the sector’s Proposed Land Use Map. In some cases, the change was made to reflect existing zoning. In other cases, changes were made based on more accurate information on floodways and slope constraints. Market conditions, planned road improvements, traffic volume and adjacent land use are other reasons for changing the recommended land use. This plan will be incorporated into the General Plan for Knoxville and Knox County, and will be updated approximately every five years. During the interim period, sector plan amendments may be considered by MPC periodically. The General Plan is a 30 year comprehensive plan, outlining long-range vision and development policies. Development policies can be found in Appendix A of this document. The entire General Plan is available on the MPC web site.

The most significant changes in land use are proposed for the following areas:

• Watt Road/Palestine Lane—Changed to reflect commercial rezoning that has occurred since the last plan update. Property with good access to Palestine should be developed. Other portions are in slope protection areas and adjacent to residential neighborhoods; these areas should be set aside or developed with less intensity, and buffers of existing vegetation should be left in place or enhanced by additional plantings.
• Westland Drive/I-140 interchange—Changed to reflect existing land use.
• South side of Kingston Pike near N. Cedar Bluff—Changed from commercial, medium density residential and low density residential to recommend ‘mixed uses’ as defined in the following section.
• South side of Northshore Drive in Rocky Hill—Changed medium density residential to office (behind the commercial area) to reflect recent zoning request.
• Keller Bend Road near Northshore Drive and I-140, behind the commercial area—Recommended some acreage for office to establish a transition to the low density residential area.

Significant parcels with future development potential:

1. N. Cedar Bluff Road at Kingston Pike—Mix of uses including retail, office, medium density residential developed using the town center zone (TC-1) and/or planned commercial zones.
2. South side of Kingston Pike near N. Cedar Bluff—Mix of uses including retail, office, medium density residential and low density residential developed using the TC-1 zone, in harmony with the neighborhood subdivision properties. (Guidelines for TC-1 zoning are available on the MPC web site). Retail should be located in the core area fronting Kingston Pike with transitional areas of townhouses and office surrounding the retail core, buffering existing residential properties. Apartments can be considered above or adjacent to the ground level shops of the retail core. Low density residential at 1-3 dwelling units per acre in the rear portion of the property. Historic protection and adaptive reuse of the Sherrill House (9320 Kingston Pike) is also recommended. Property fronting Kingston Pike in this area may experience pressure to change land use in the future, inconsistent with deed restrictions. Noise, privacy, security, drainage, visual buffers, Kingston Pike access and traffic are all issues that must be addressed if changes to the existing residential nature of these parcels are contemplated for any reason. A mix of medium density residential and office is recommended.
3. Choto Peninsula—Rural and low density residential with recreational amenities and limited neighborhood retail services meeting the criteria outlined in Appendix B.
4. Russell Bend—Low density residential within the PR zone with recreational amenities and limited neighborhood retail services.
5. Toole’s Bend Road, east of I-140—Master-planned low density residential with recreational amenities and limited neighborhood retail.
6. Nubbin Ridge Road horse farm—Low density residential with recreational amenities and potential neighborhood retail services.
7. Hayfield Road to Mabry Hood Road, between Parkside Drive and Kingston Pike—Contains a variety of non-retail commercial uses including warehousing and distribution. Some light industrial uses may be appropriate as reuse opportunities if buildings become vacant. These should be considered on a case-by-case basis depending on type of access needed, visibility and other neighborhood impacts.