What This Story Is About
- Knox County is proposing a major rewrite of its zoning rules through the Advance Knox Unified Development Ordinance and under the latest draft, agricultural land would move to a new default classification — Rural Residential.
Why It Matters
- The proposed change could allow significantly more residential development in rural areas of Knox County. Farmers worry about increased conflict with new neighbors, potential new restrictions on farm operations, and a lack of voice in the planning process.
- The proposal has not been scheduled for Planning Commission review and would still need two readings before County Commission before becoming law.
For Context
- Under the current Agricultural zone, a one-acre minimum lot applies for dwellings. The proposed Rural Residential zone could allow up to two dwelling units per acre on qualifying properties of five acres or more with sewer access. Property owners may opt into more restrictive designations — Rural Preservation (2.5-acre minimum) or Agricultural Rural (5-acre minimum) — if their land qualifies.
Catch Up
- Advance Knox is Knox County’s 20-year growth and development plan. The UDO is the zoning ordinance that would implement it. A second draft of the UDO map was released recently, prompting widespread concern among farmers and rural landowners. A virtual public meeting was held July 29.
KNOX COUNTY, Tenn. (WVLT) – Knox County is in the middle of a major zoning overhaul that would reclassify agricultural land under a new default category, and many farmers say they only learned about it through Facebook.
The proposal is part of Advance Knox, the county’s 20-year growth and development plan. Under the latest draft of the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO), land currently zoned Agricultural (A) would move to a new default classification called Rural Residential (RR). The plan has not been approved and is still in the draft stage.
What the proposed change would mean
Under the current Agricultural zone, a one-acre minimum lot size applies for dwellings. The proposed Rural Residential zone would maintain a one-acre minimum in most cases, but under specific circumstances — including access to sewer and adequate roadways on properties of five acres or more — developers could build up to two dwelling units per acre with a minimum lot size of 5,000 square feet.
Farming would remain a permitted use under Rural Residential, but some property owners worry the new classification opens the door to more residential development in rural areas…