Knox County changing its zoning terms
By Mike Steely
Senior Writer
steelym@knoxfocus.com
The Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) now being developed for Knox County will, among other things, change the zoning code terms and zoning districts.
Allison Mouch, a consultant from Orion Planning + Design, hosted an online presentation Tuesday to explain the proposed changes. More than a dozen people joined the public session, and the next will be scheduled for February.
The final recommendations will go to the Knox County Commission in May.
Mouch said the idea is to be as transparent as possible and get input and questions from the public.
Tuesday’s session dealt with zoning and focused on four types of land use: walkable compact growth, suburban growth, rural areas and other areas.
Some of the proposals include changing the names of zones, such as turning AG (agricultural) into AR (Agriculture Rural). Other new category name changes suggested included RR for rural residential, NR for neighborhood residential, MR for mixed use, TND for traditional neighborhoods, RHB for rural crossroads and rural living, and BC for Business and Commercial.
Other zoning term changes include TC for town center, LI for light industrial, HI for heavy industrial and CO for corridor overlay and technology.
The changes proposed are meant to better define zones and districts by consolidating and updating the land use terms. The next step would include general building standards for lots and buildings, parking and loading, non-conforming zones and public input.
More information, a public survey and video of past meetings are available on the county’s Unified Development Ordinance website, www.advanceknox.org/udo/feedback. Residents can also leave comments or view others’ comments at www.advanceknox.org/udo/participate.
