Folks in the Parkridge community are upset their community isn’t being treated fairly. What Parkridge residents are angry about is the use of land right next to Caswell Park as the site for a three-story apartment complex for the homeless.
The City of Knoxville intends to give the property to the Volunteer Ministry Center. Residents have pointed out to city officials the area in question is zoned park and open space, yet the die seems to be cast and this is an example of the Rogero administration’s Recode rampage. The questions raised by the Parkridge community, as well as the city’s response very well may be the new way of doing business in Knoxville. The Rogero administration seems hellbent upon pushing through Recode and mayoral candidate Indya Kincannon is running for Rogero’s third term. While Kincannon would have voters believe she and Madeline Rogero are two peas in a pod, there are a great many similarities and few, if any, differences. Both have degrees in urban planning. Kincannon also likes to claim credit for having run the Knox County School System, although she has already apologized for not having been more sensitive to the needs of teachers under the reign of then-superintendent Jim McIntyre. Indya Kincannon claims she has always put people first, yet her treatment of teachers during her time on the Knox County Board of Education disproves that notion. Kincannon claims she oversaw 8,000 employees in the school system while Tennessee State law absolutely gives sole authority in personnel matters to the superintendent. Kincannon claims she always supported “efficient, transparent and equitable funding” and if by that she means she was always asking for higher taxes, that would be true. Whatever her meager record as a member of the board of education, Indya Kincannon is all in for Recode and intends to push Rogero’s legacy. Her opponent, Eddie Mannis, has pointed out the all too apparent flaws in a process that likely cannot stand a legal challenge and promises to ask the city council for a six-month moratorium to work out a plan that benefits everybody.
Keep in mind, Rogero and Kincannon have been brutally honest in expressing that housing for the homeless will be liberally sprinkled ALL across the City of Knoxville. For those who think land abutting a park owned by the city is part of the park, think again. To add insult to injury, the Rogero administration has afforded the Parkridge community very little consideration in the entire process. The City of Knoxville is moving the rezoning right along in spite of the overwhelming opposition from the neighborhood for this project.
Every property owner in the City of Knoxville needs to be paying attention to what is happening to the Parkridge neighborhood.Because if you think your neighborhood is protected, you probably also believe in the Easter Bunny and leprechauns. The question you’d better be asking yourself is your neighborhood next?
