Knox County's plan for population growth will make 9,000 acres of farmland developable
Silas Sloan, Knoxville News Sentinel
6 min read
As Knox County considers a new 20-year plan for handling population growth, rural residents have expressed concerns the proposal would turn thousands of acres of fertile farmland into commercial developments.
If the plan is approved, Knox County would reclassify about 9,280 acres, or 14.5 square miles, of rural land to Planned Growth Area, allowing for new commercial and more residential development.
Knox County has about 138,161 acres of rural land today.
Knox County leaders say that while the plan does reclassify rural acres, it will dissuade sprawling subdivisions on much of its remaining farmland.
The team behind Advance Knox, the initiative to create new development guidelines to handle a population growth spurt over the next 16 years, is close to recommending a final plan to Knox County.
Advance Knox's main committee meets Jan. 10 to discuss the plan that will guide where and how Knox County will be developed. It can finalize the plan at this meeting, or it can hold up to two more meetings for further discussion.
The plan they'll consider reclassifies 14.5 square miles of farmland, 3 square miles less than was included in the original proposed plan. Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs introduced the reduced figure Jan. 8 after receiving public input.
If or when a growth plan is finalized, it will be sent to the Knox County Commission, Knoxville City Council and Farragut Board of Mayor and Aldermen for approval.
The Proposed Growth Policy Plan Map outlines plans to expand Knox County's Planned Growth Area boundary by 14.5 square miles. The red area outlines Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs' amendments to the previous proposed plan.
Where you could see more and less development in Knox County
Rural land would be reclassified for commercial and residential use if this plan is approved in:
Karns – 0.245 square miles
Hardin Valley – 4.62 square miles
Washington Pike – 7.64 square miles
Strawberry Plains Pike (south of Interstate 40) – 0.61 square miles
Chapman Highway – 1.38 square miles
The original plan included eliminating rural land in the northern portion of the Ritta community, but that has been taken out. The mayor also expanded the Planned Growth Area along Washington Pike.
Encouraging development in the Planned Growth Area specifically and not all over rural Knox County could preserve 4,700 acres of rural land in the long run, Knox County Engineering and Public Works Senior Director Jim Snowden estimated. Without the changes, he theorized the county's growth would eventually overtake much of the rural land to build new neighborhoods.
The proposed plan also takes steps to dissuade homebuilding on the remaining rural land by further restricting how many homes could be built on an acre from three to two. The hope is restriction will push developers to build homes in the Planned Growth Area instead, Snowden said.
Just because rural land becomes part of the Planned Growth Area doesn't mean development will appear overnight, but it does mean that land could become home to commercial uses or more residential should the property owner decide to develop the land or sell it.
The Planned Growth Area would be considered in county plans for infrastructure to accommodate that growth if it comes, including new schools, road widening and sewer expansions.
"This is not something that's going to be immediately done. This is what the county anticipates doing in 20 years," Snowden said. "So 20 years from now, we'll have roads that are really nice and facilities in those areas."
Within the Planned Growth Area, only some zones will allow for larger commercial developments like town centers. Other zones will allow only less dense suburban developments. The plan's stakeholders think that will help preserve a sense of community while also making room for more people.
It's expected that Knox County's population will grow from a reported 478,000 in 2020 to 557,000 by 2040, according to a 2022 State of the County Report.
Aerial photography views of the Northshore Town Center in Knoxville, TN on Wednesday, July 27, 2022.
Why Knox County rural residents are concerned
Making rural land eligible for commercial development is a concern for those who live in these areas.
Kevin Murphy, president of the board of the Knox County Planning Alliance, lives in a rural area in northeast Knox County that will become part of the Planned Growth Area.
While he generally likes the Advance Knox plan, Murphy said he would like more protections for farmland that will be reclassified.
Murphy said neighbors in the planned growth areas are concerned their surroundings could change drastically.
"If it's in the planned growth area, it could become a lot of anything," Murphy said. "We don't have the rest of the guardrails and the guidance and all that stuff in place."
Murphy said he thinks the new boundaries and regulations could eliminate rural character and decrease the quality of life in those areas. Farmers want neighbors who can share resources and have similar property goals. Those are usually other farmers.
Because land in the Planned Growth Area will be more valuable to developers, Murphy said neighbors are worried about losing nearby farmers and farms.
"The offers to farmers will get to be more lucrative, and more and more families will decide that it's not worth the effort anymore," Murphy said. "And if they can get that much money, then they're going to sell out."
Two maps will guide the county's growth
The future land use map is similar to the preferred scenario, but is more specific about where certain types of development should go.
Advance Knox is developing two maps that will dictate which areas are primed for growth: the Growth Policy Plan map and the Future Land Use map.
The maps outline the same boundaries, just in different ways. Both will need to be approved to take effect.
The map being discussed Jan. 10 is the Growth Policy Plan map. Its job is to give a 30,000-foot view of the boundaries of urban, planned growth and rural areas. This is the map that will show where rural areas will shrink and growth areas will expand.
The committee, meeting at 5 p.m. Jan. 10 in the Main Assembly Room of the City County Building, includes Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs, Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon, Farragut Town Administrator David Smoak, and representatives from the Knoxville Utilities Board, Knoxville Chamber and Knox County Schools Board of Education.
If or when the committee approves that plan, it will be sent to the Knoxville City Council, Knox County Commission, and Farragut Board of Mayor and Alderman for consideration.
Separately, the Future Land Use map is more specific, outlining what kind of residential or commercial development could be built where within specific zones in those urban, planned growth and rural areas.
The Future Land Use map will need to be considered by the Knoxville-Knox County Planning Commission (likely in February) and the Knox County Commission (likely in March). It won't need approval from the Growth Policy Coordinating Committee.
Find where your property lies on the Future Land Use Plan with Advance Knox's interactive map. You can find the map at advanceknox.org by clicking on the "interactive map" button.
