Vice Mayor, Meyer explain anti re-zone/Harmony votes
One final look at a key BOMA land-use decision
The following are comments from two Farragut Board of Mayor and Aldermen representatives concerning their opinions, and their vote, on whether to allow 10 acres of property behind Ingles to be re-zoned from Office (O-1), General Single-Family Residential (R-2) and Rural Single-Family Residential (R-1) to Community Service (S-1).
Re-zoning would allow developer Doug Horne (owner of Republic Newspapers, LLC, parent company of farragutpress) to build a three-story Harmony at Farragut senior living community.
After the following comments were heard during the Thursday, Sept. 9, BOMA meeting in an almost full Town Hall boardroom, the final vote was three against re-zoning (Mayor Ron Williams, Vice Mayor Louise Povlin and North Ward Alderman Scott Meyer) and two in favor of re-zoning (South Ward Aldermen David White and Drew Burnette).
(The comments of White and Burnette on why they voted in favor, and Williams’ comments prior to his vote, can be found in the March 15 farragutpress issue).
The comments of those voting against are listed in the order in which they were called upon to comment by Williams:
Vice Mayor Povlin
“… The bulk of the property that is the subject of tonight’s discussion has been zoned R-1 since 1982. In 1982, 1987 and 1992, rezoning requests were approved to re-zone residential property to allow for commercial development of a portion of the property that fronts Kingston Pike, which included the old Ingles in 1982, in addition to the old Ingles in 1987 and a theater, I believe, in 1992.
“In each of these zoning requests, a 95-foot deep buffer zoning district was required to protect the property behind the commercial development, which was zoned primarily R-1 Rural Residential. … This area has evolved in a way that does not support the 2012 vision of mixed-use neighborhood. … On page 6 of the (Comprehensive Land Use Plan) it states, ‘major updates should include substantial public outreach to help check that the current plan reflects current attitudes.’
“… Public Vision Workshop produces quantifiable data to access the current attitudes of the public.” (Concerning the land area in question) two Public Vision Workshops were held, one in November 2021 and one in March of 2022. These meetings were well attended.
“The result of these Public Vision Workshops clearly indicated the public wanted the area north of the buffer district, and the old Ingles, to be designated Very Low Density Residential, which is consistent with the Land Use designation of Baldwin Park, the area along Boring Road and Village Green. …
“The proposed Harmony project is high density in form and scale. The proposed building’s scale is much larger than Low Density Single Family Residential.
“It’s a form and scale the public has indicated they do not want to see in the area. It opens the door for high density use to be considered on the remaining portions of this parcel.
“… There’s been much stated about the need for more senior living facilities, but there has been no objective proof that there is an actual need, or that the need is required to be fulfilled within the boundaries of the Town of Farragut.
“A review of the Traffic Impact Study filed with this project and in comparison to residential districts, including very low density and low residential, shows that the proposed project generates more traffic than all the residential uses the public has repeatedly indicated they prefer. …”
Alderman Meyer
“Most of the Municipal Planning Commissioners who recommended this assisted living and skilled nursing facility did so based on the premise that Farragut’s aging population needs such a facility.
“Respectfully, I believe an appointed board of volunteers with no population health plan experience is not qualified to determine the health needs of a given population.
“However, the Tennessee Health Facilities Commission is qualified to do so. … A
reasonable service area, which is defined by the THFC as
‘a majority of the population of a service area for any
nursing home, should reside within 30 minutes travel time from that facility.’
“Based on this criterion, the service area … would include portions of West Knox and eastern Loudon County. … From a conservative, cursory review, I identified the following number of Farragut and West Knox County facilities within a 15-minute drive: six nursing homes with 657 beds and 17 assisted living facilities with 1,326 beds. I did not review facilities in eastern Loudon County, which would obviously add to these numbers.
“In terms of occupancy rates, I personally contacted multiple facilities located inside of Farragut, and none of them told me they had a waiting list for beds. … Without consideration to, one, existing institution capacity; and, two, how well we are aging, (needing Harmony at Farragut) is a stunted assumption based on a false generalization.
“… Additionally, over the last four years, I have received lots and lots of resident input by attending HOA board meetings, conversing with constituents and reviewing Town workshop comments overwhelmingly supporting keeping this parcel’s residential zoning.
“Residents believe the traffic impact from the proposed facility would be greater than residential development, and the form of the proposed facility is not compatible with the residential property surrounding the parcel.
“I hear the residents. I will be their voice. …”
Editor’s Note: Due to space limitations, a story about three BOMA reps answering critics during a Thursday, March 9, meeting will run next week.
