letters to the editor
Reader disagrees with presstalk caller
I appreciate that farragutpress allows people to express their opinions anonymously in the “presstalk” section.
The second comment on April 28 issue pertained to Herron Road assisted living project and the subsequent rezoning. The commenter obviously only read the farragutpress article and never attended or watched any of the meetings.
I spoke several times at various public meetings on this subject, but the commenter implied that I was concerned about the time required to resolve the zoning issues. He also implied that height restriction placed on the site was solely Alderman [Louise] Povlin’s idea and that the owners objected to this restriction. Neither of these assumptions is true.
The public meetings on this subject were well attended and residents on both sides of this issue spoke. The Metropolitan Planning Committee recognized quickly that the Farragut zoning ordinances did not address senior living residential housing. Using high-density residential or commercial zoning definitely did not seem appropriate for this location. MPC directed the staff to revise institutional zoning to describe senior living facilities and rezoning process was continued after the revision was ap-proved. This process did require a little extra time. During the process MPC committee member Noah Myers suggested a voluntary height restriction on the deed might be appropriate to prevent some future building from towering over the neighbors. During the Aldermen meeting, Alderman Povlin was alert to this previous MPC discussion and asked if the owners were still agreeable. They were very agreeable to this deed restriction on height.
I would like to commend the Herron Family for their long relationship with the community. The Herron Farm shows up on an 1895 Knox County Map and it was well established then. This 4.7-acre site is the final piece of the farm that is still held by the family. The farm once extended all the way to Snyder Road. The family has been diligent to find developers that have built quality subdivisions. The developer for this assisted living facility has done a good job of showing the community an attractive semi-residential use for this site. The owners and developer did show great patience with the town and the community. I would also like to thank Farragut staff, the MPC, and BOMA for their diligence in listening to all the proposals and comments and taking the time to make a thoughtful decision. This was not a time for rushed decisions.
Ken Chipley
