Great post! Hadn't heard anything about this development. Looking forward to more info.

(The Mrs., coincidentally also named Michele, grew up over there, and I spent many a summer afternoon fishing in Butterfly Pond, but that was before I knew the Mrs.)

Which 14 acres are they looking to supplant? Being a native South Knoxvillian myself, I can picture several areas in Colonial Village that would be targeted by developers (if those areas haven't been developed already).

In the KnoxNews podcast with Larry Clark, Knox County Commissioner, it sounded like the area is where the old skating rink was and Lowes will be the anchor tenant. He also mentioned Tax increment financing. I had a little trouble hearing, but that is what it sounded like.

I'm sorry about that, but if a developer wants to do it, I can assure you that County Commission will be more than pleased to allow it to happen.

I lived in Colonial Village for a number of years. In fact my first home (i.e., as a mortgage holder) was in Colonial Village. A small but beautiful cedar sided home lush with native plants.

But I wonder, it sounds as if you are opposed to Mr. Mollenhour's proposal.  So are you anti personal property rights and personal freedom. I suppose you feel you idea of architecturally diverse homes is superior to that of Mr. Mollenhour?

Hey, if you hold out long enough, maybe you will get a trailer park instead - wish for double-wides... 

Disclaimer - I have never met or know of Mr. Mollenhour other than as it relates to this issue. I have close friends who live on Magazine, attended the public meeting called by Mr. Mollenhour, do not know Mr. Mollenhour, but still recognize 1) as a landowner he has rights and 2) development will occur whether it is him or someone else, and 3) isn't building close in to the city on property such as Magazine counter to the so-called / dreaded urban sprawl most progressives denounce? (ok, #3 was only my thought, that wasn't a part of our discussion over the weekend)

I suggest you find a way to work with him to guide the development into something you can agree to rather than just trappling on his property rights until something is built that you really don't want. I.E, act positively on this rather than complaining 

Can you say - NIMBY?

If the guy had a history of saving trees in his developments I'd have some symathy. I agree with RD that we can't just pull oup the moat after us. I don't want to breath the extra fumes produced if these people are commuting out to Semour. And I support the idea of clustering homes and building townhouses so the natural area can be preserved.

But... I don't see where the City has a history of holding developers' feet to the fire regarding tree preservation. I know the county sure doesn't even try. The best defense is a good developer and this ain't it. Also the sinkholes worry me.

Plus, at 5 du/acre it's way more dense than the surrounding neighborhood which I would guess is 3 du/acre. Perhaps a 42 unit development could be done that would be a credit to the neighborhood and stay away form the sinkholes but not this.

Since someone asked:

As its webpage says, "The Knoxville, Knox County, KUB Geographic Information System (KGIS) has been providing maps and GIS-related services to the greater Knoxville, Tennessee community since 1985."

Enter an address, parcel id, or owner's name to search. Click the address, parcel id, or owner's name in the results for a Property Map and Details Report.

Good for being a concerned (or nosy) neighbor, or for finding your School Zone, Voting Location, local representatives, etc.

(link...)

Pick "Property Map and Details Report"

Although the form asks for specific addresses, you can get a whole neighborhood in a few searches... Just don't enter the full name of the street on one line; there are two fields:
for "Street Name," type "Colonial"
for "Street Type," pick "DR" from the drop down list

Result: 39 properties and owners listed

All public records, but this kind of research used to take an afternoon at the clerk's office.