Two properties changed, two not by FMPC
While much of the proposed amendments to the Future Land Use Map regarding the Boring Road corridor got the green light — in a 7-1 vote, from Farragut Municipal Planning Commission during its Thursday, Oct. 20, meeting — the Commission changed two properties belonging to Sam Guinn to Very Low Residential, but kept two other properties belonging to Doug Horne as is — for now.
After hearing the proposed amendments, long-time residents Horne and Guinn asked FMPC to reconsider proposals for their properties.
Guinn’s two properties, heading north toward Fox Den subdivision, were changed from Low Density Residential to Very Low Density Residential.
“My property (area I and J on the proposed map) is fifth-generation,” Guinn said, asking to leave the designation “just as it is – Low Density Residential.” However, he later conceded to the Very Low Density Residential designation.
Horne, owner of Republic Newspapers, Inc., parent company of farragutpress, also asked that his property designation, allowing six to eight units per acre, remain the same, explaining the proposed designation would hurt his property values. “It hurts our children, our grandchildren,” he contended.
Commissioner Noah Myers agreed, “This (proposed resolution) takes away (Guinn’s) rights and (Horne’s) rights.” He argued the FLUM is used as a “holy grail” among planning commissioners — past and present.
However, Vice Mayor Louise Povlin, also an FMPC representative, argued, “I cannot accept three to six (units per acre for Horne’s properties).”
Finally, FMPC voted to keep his properties designated as it is on the current Land Use Map, but would “workshop” future discussions on those properties at a later date. Still, Myers was the lone vote against the motion to approve the resolution for amendments because he still “struggled” with the Buffer designations.
FMPC has discussed the proposed amendments since August. “This resolution represents several months’ process that we’ve had with community engagement,” Community Development director Mark Shipley said.
“This particular part is found in the central part of the Town: Boring Road, Smith Road and Kingston Pike.”
“The public meetings were held to determine if the “vision we have mapped in our Comprehensive Land Use Plan (developed in 2012 and updated in ) is current or there are some things that might need to be revisited, modified or clarified” he added. “The study area was a little more complex than the other (areas in Town) – a little bit more diverse – so we ended up dividing it into different sub-areas.”
Shipley noted the area includes uses from commercial to residential to rural. Much of the land use designations stemmed from the Old Ingles building having been in poor condition “and the consultants that worked with the Town and the community felt like that (building) potentially could be demolished … a possible location for a mixed-use residential development,” he said.
However, “like other areas that we looked at in the Town, things changed,” Shipley said. “The community is constantly evolving.” There were 12 areas along the corridor with proposed changes. All but four areas were changed as proposed.
Hobbs Road
On another matter, FMPC voted unanimously to approve a variance so a resident at 221 S. Hobbs Road could have driveway access onto South Hobbs Road.
