There are two critical developments affecting rezonings in Knoxville and Knox County of which all neighborhood groups should be aware.

First, the residents of the Thorn Grove community won an historic victory in court last week in their lawsuit against the MPC over the sector plan change and rezoning at Midway Road for a proposed industrial park. This is the single most important event in land use policy in recent Knox County history.

Chancellor Fansler ruled that only MPC (not County Commission) has the power to amend a sector plan. Further, and more importantly, he ruled that according to the Knox County ordinance governing zoning changes, a substantial change in circumstances must be shown in order to amend sector plans. In other words, there has to be a good reason given to change a sector plan before a rezoning that is contrary to the sector plan can be passed.

This will have an immediate impact on new rezonings before MPC where the sector plan must be amended in order to approve the rezoning. Your group should also be aware that any past rezoning that required a sector plan amendment where this condition was not met can be reversed in court.

We look for developers to seek a change in the ordinance so that they can continue to request amendments to the sector plans whenever they wish.

We can prevent this from happening! If ever there was a time for neighborhoods to stand together and insist that the MPC and County Commission follow and respect the sector plans when considering development, it is NOW! We need to seize the moment and organize while we have a perfect storm in the development community.

It is time for the development woes that have plagued Knox County for years to be controlled. Most people are not opposed to responsible, planned development, but indiscriminate sector plan changes that have become routine are a major contributor to the poorly planned developments that have occurred all over Knox County.

We are all experiencing the related ills of unplanned and uncontrolled development including lack of infrastructure, stormwater pollution and flooding, insufficient roads, overcrowded schools, urban sprawl, and indiscriminate destruction of our scenic landscape. Developers should be required to show a good reason why the sector plan should be changed to accommodate them - and the fact that they can make more money with a zoning change is not a good reason!

See the bottom of this message for an action plan of what you and your neighborhood group can do to support this initiative.

The second important item you should know about is that the MPC is trying to change the process of how the sector plan is developed. They are attempting to abbreviate, shorten, streamline or otherwise change the long-established method by which the sector plans are reviewed and updated.

Many longtime neighborhood advocates and elected officials have serious concerns about changing a long established process that has worked well for over 15 years; a process that has never been challenged as flawed.

In Knox County no one on either side of a land use issue has questioned a sector plan's validity or the process used to develop it. If it is not broken, it does not need fixing.

The MPC says they have budget or staffing problems and a need to shorten the process to accommodate those that do not like to attend multiple meetings.

Further, they want to incorporate a survey to glean information to be used to formulate the base line for a new sector plan. The concern about using a survey on the front end to gather community opinion is that many of the participants will not have the background and context to understand the questions they are being asked without an opportunity for dialogue and explanation of planning concepts and terminology as has been the case historically.

These proported budget and staffing problems should not dictate that residents and taxpayers have a diminished process or inferior sector plan; nor should those who do not find the land use policies of their community of the highest priority dictate the process to those who do.

Neither should potentially uniformed opinions from individuals not involved in the public meeting process be made part of the sector plan document.

The MPC is obligated to provide the highest quality facilitation and to deliver the highest quality sector plan possible.

WHY THE PROCESS MATTERS:

The sector plan update is a comprehensive review and update of the current sector plan. It is not a cursory or general overview and it has the weight of law in making decisions on land use.

The volume of material to be reviewed and the varying conditions and circumstances to be considered require the commitment of time and effort necessary to produce an accurate, comprehensive, reliable and defensible document that reflects the concerns, interests and visions of each and of all the diverse and varied neighborhoods in the sector.

The process requires detailed discussions of multiple factors including existing circumstances and changing conditions affecting each of the neighborhoods in the sector.

These factors and others must be considered and discussed in the context of each of these areas of interest and/or concern: aesthetic and architectural integrity, conservation of environmental and natural resources, preservation of historic resources, enhancement and/or development of recreational facilities, parks and greenways, transportation and capital improvements, housing and community development and land use in general.

Each neighborhood is unique and typically addresses the issues and the areas of interest specific to it. Historically, each of these areas of interest or concern have required a designated meeting and/or workshop with the necessary and appropriate dialog/discussion to understand, address and form a consensus for each of the issues and/or areas of interest prior to their inclusion in the planning document.

East County residents have prevailed in their legal opposition to the proposed Midway Road Industrial Park exclusively because of a quality and detailed sector plan.

Coincidentally(!) last month the MPC initiated an update of the East County Sector Plan, which is the very sector where the Midway Road rezoning took place, and has attempted to force a change in the sector plan process.

ACTION PLAN:

The MPC is having a meeting of "neighborhood leaders" this Thursday, June 12th from 5pm to 7pm in the Burlington Branch Library meeting room, to discuss the East County Sector Plan planning process. If you can attend, please do so.

We are asking all neighborhood groups to show their support by for the historical sector plan process by sending a letter or email to Mark Donelson, MPC Executive Director, at mark.donaldson@knoxmpc.org and to contact your Knox County Commissioners asking them to support the existing sector plan update process.

Further, we are asking the neighborhood groups to ask their county commissioners to direct the MPC and the Development Corporation NOT to appeal this ruling and NOT to attempt to amend the ordinance.

If you have questions or comments about the ruling or the proposed sector plan process change, please contact Lisa Starbuck at 689-8626 or Bob Wolfenbarger at 521-6566.

Additionally, if you have an interest in these issues or would like to be involved, we encourage you to send an e-mail to info@knoxaction.com or call with your contact information so that we can keep you informed as this process continues.

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