MPC Offers Needed Revisions to Hillside & Ridgetop Plan
The Knoxville Chamber announced on Monday that it was encouraged by MPC's proposal that County Commission drop the Hillside and Ridgetop Protection Plan originally proposed by MPC and consider a revised plan that addresses issues raised by the Chamber and other business groups.
The Chamber consistently opposed the original MPC plan for going too far on hillside regulations and not far enough in protecting scenic ridges. MPC proposed that almost 40% of Knox County be designated as a protected area, but acknowledged that its plan related only to erosion and did not provide scenic protection for ridgetop areas. The MPC plan was rejected by County Commission and has been postponed by City Council.
As an alternative to the MPC plan, the Chamber proposed Plan B, which focused on slopes greater than 30% and provided specific standards for consideration of development proposals. It also proposed adoption of specific ordinances and regulations governing development in steeply sloped areas, with the provisions of the plan to be considered advisory guidelines. That would leave final development decisions in the hands of City Council and County Commission.
After the Chamber raised these issues, MPC acknowledged that its plan did not adequately address those concerns, and MPC proposed significant revisions to its own plan. The revisions include:
- Making the plan advisory in nature until specific codes and regulations are adopted.
- Revising the density and clearing charts to make it clear that the proposed limits are recommendations and not legally binding.
- Adopting specific standards for consideration of development plans and concept plans, rather than subjective review by MPC.
- Recommending specific changes to codes and regulations.
- Specifically acknowledging that City Council and County Commission are not bound by the plan and may approve more intense development plans.
With these revisions, MPC is effectively incorporating many of the key Plan B concepts into the revised MPC plan. While the Chamber continues to believe that Plan B is better than the MPC plan, the proposed revision of the MPC plan addresses many of the critical issues.
The Chamber looks forward to receiving the revised draft of the MPC plan and is hopeful that it will appropriately address these concerns. The effect of MPC's proposed revisions is that development will continue to be controlled by the codes and regulations, not by a vague plan, and the Chamber plans to work with MPC and the City and County Engineering Departments to ensure that the Plan B concepts are incorporated in those code and regulation amendments and used for consideration of future development proposals.