On Thursday, March 11th, City Council is holding a workshop on the East County Sector Plan, including the Midway Road business park recommendation, at 5:00 pm in the Small Assembly Room.

I would encourage you to attend to learn more about this important and complicated issue, which affects all of us as Knox County taxpayers. Those of us who have been working on the Midway Road issue for years believe this is a classic example of urban sprawl, placing an employment center on the rural fringe and extending infrastructure to support it. The Development Corporation would like to equate Midway Business Park with new jobs. However, they do not have any prospects for this business park and they have several empty or near-empty business parks they can't fill already.

continued...

The rural community of Thorn Grove has been fighting this drastic change to their way of life for almost 10 years, culminating with a successful lawsuit that changed the land back to AG zoning and has caused MPC, City Council and County Commission to pay more than lip service to the Sector Plans. The plaintiffs won because Chancellor Fansler ruled that the land was improperly rezoned to Industrial because they didn't show there had been a significant change in conditions that would warrant a Sector Plan change.

The Development Corporation decided that the most expedient way to achieve their goal was to influence the East County Sector Plan update, which is exactly what has happened. The MPC staff included the business park in the Sector Plan over the objections of the neighborhoods and the large number of participants in the public process, and MPC Commissioners approved the Plan at their meeting last month.

Should be a very interesting workshop. See you there!