Wed
Feb 28 2007
12:17 am
City Council Meeting
By: bizgrrl

Many thanks to Knoxville City Council Members.

A Maloney road developer's appeal to rezone property for apartment-style condo development was denied. The MPC had already denied the request. The developer also withdrew his site plan change that would have allowed more apartment-style condos on the property. The neighborhood really came together to fight this, and the neighborhood won.

Extra bonus: Approved! SoKno Waterfront Zoning Regulations. Another win for the neighborhood.

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Up Goose Creek's picture

I don't get it

Submitted by Up Goose Creek on Wed, 2007/02/28 - 11:02am.

How is it a win for Lakemoor Hills to STOP apartment style condos in a single family neighborhood but also a win to ALLOW 10,000 s.f apartment buildings or apartment style condos in the allegedly low density SW-1 zone?

____________________________________
Less is the new More - Karrie Jacobs

Cletus's picture

Mamaw, I don't get it,

Submitted by Cletus on Wed, 2007/02/28 - 9:41am.

Mamaw, I don't get it, either. Who are you talking about?

R. Neal's picture

How is it a win for Lakemoor

Submitted by R. Neal on Wed, 2007/02/28 - 10:31am.

How is it a win for Lakemoor Hills to STOP apartment style condos in a single family neighborhood but also a win to ALLOW 10,000 s.f apartment buildings or apartment style condos in the allegedly low density SW-1 zone?

That's a good question. I was under the impression, though, that it could have been worse and that you at least got the setbacks and height restrictions restored.

But I'm with you on the impact big condos between the river and the single-family residential areas around Scottish Pike and Phillips Ave. will have on the neighborhoods, and how long they will stay single-family residential and/or affordable.

I confess, however, that I'm not as interested as I once was and I'm not keeping up with developments as I should. It looks like there's nothing in the plan that would get me to move back over there, and a lot of it won't happen in my lifetime anyway.

So I hope it works out and they at least get rid of the tank farms and industries and revitalize the Heart of South Knoxville. And maybe I'll be in the market for one of those riverfront condos someday when I get tired of mowing my yard. But when that day comes it could just as likely be a condo in Florida instead of South Knoxville.

Up Goose Creek's picture

edit

Submitted by Up Goose Creek on Wed, 2007/02/28 - 11:08am.

Cletus, before my edit I was complaining about some who doesn't appear to mind that the SW-1 zoning is designed to encourage existing owners to sell out.

And I realized that everyone is entitled to their own opinions so who am I to criticize.

There's been this huge battle brewing over building heights and no one notices that the little guys are lost in the shuffle. Or they are in denial, or they are fatalistic about the whole process.

The city has been putting on this big show about saving the nighborhoods but that was a sham to lull us into complacency. I feel like such a fool for beleiving them when I could have bought homes to resell to homeowners who'd care about the neighborhood. I can only pray that enough folks who care about the 'hood will stay put.

Sorry about the confusion -- I hit edit on my 1st post when I should have hit reply.

Number9's picture

Inevitable...

Submitted by Number9 on Wed, 2007/02/28 - 11:31am.

The city has been putting on this big show about saving the neighborhoods but that was a sham to lull us into complacency. I feel like such a fool for believing them when I could have bought homes to resell to homeowners who'd care about the neighborhood. I can only pray that enough folks who care about the 'hood will stay put.

It was an uphill battle from the beginning. I called it government assisted gentrification. All those meetings didn't really help in the end did they?

You tried and did a lot. I hope people will remember about those who did try to protect the neighborhoods. In the next City Council election I hope someone from your neighborhood will run.

Rachel's picture

Martha,I'm really sorry you

Submitted by Rachel on Wed, 2007/02/28 - 12:35pm.

Martha,

I'm really sorry you think this was all a "sham" and that you believe the SW-1 zoning is designed to "encourage existing owners to sell out."

But for the very, very last time, I wish you would stick to criticizing the elements of the codes you don't like instead of imputing bad motives to those who disagree with you.

I supported the code. I wasn't trying to "lull" anyone into complacency. I wasn't supporting a code that I thought was designed to "encourage existing owners to sell out." I don't want to destroy either the Scottish Pike or Old Sevier neighborhoods. And I can promise you that the folks from Old Sevier who supported the code don't want their neighborhood destroyed either.

We just disagreed with you on how to best accomplish the goals of the Vision Plan. People with the same goals can honestly disagree about ends. That doesn't mean that anyone is evil, or playing dirty tricks on you.

If you don't learn that lesson soon, you're gonna find yourself without any friends.

Nine wrote: All those meetings didn't really help in the end did they?

Name three things that were added to the code as the result of "all those meetings." Oh, you can't? That's because you you never bothered to read the code or came to any meetings. So now please just shut up.

Rachel's picture

Thanks ya'll!

Submitted by Rachel on Wed, 2007/02/28 - 12:58pm.

BTW, many thanks to City Council for supporting the south waterfront effort. They have all attended public meetings. They held at least 3 workshops on the plan and code. Their decision came from a very well-informed place and that's a very good thing.

Thanks to the Mayor, who insisted that that we have an open transparent process and who supported the results of that process. And to Dave Hill - who oversaw a complex and sometimes tumultuous process with grace and good humor.

And of course thanks to all the (literally hundreds) of folks who participated in the process.

In a time when county govt's actions are leaving citizens feeling disenfranchised, cynical, and disgusted, this effort demonstrated just how much can be accomplished when government and citizens work together.

High fives to all of us.

Up Goose Creek's picture

Complacency

Submitted by Up Goose Creek on Wed, 2007/02/28 - 1:40pm.

I don't feel that you lulled me into complacency. Not at all. And I think that you sincerely believed that the zoning would protect the neighborhoods from development pressures and pressures of eminent domain at the time you reassured me that it would. Perhaps you still do. I don't.
____________________________________
Less is the new More - Karrie Jacobs

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