Sat
Jul 22 2006
08:31 pm
Colonial Village Development - Part 4
By: infostat

I didn't want this to get buried in my last post. I called the MPC yesterday to see if the Magazine Rd. property had been scheduled yet for the rezoning request from R1 to RP1. Indeed it has. It is on the agenda for Thursday, August 10 at 1:30 p.m. I find the timing unscrupulous. Prior to the MPC meeting, Mollenhour is holding his own public meeting with residents of Colonial Village. This in itself seems commendable. But he undermines it and discredits himself by holding it in the late afternoon (have to confirm the time, but I've heard 5:30 p.m.) on August 3, which is election day!!! And its not in our neighborhood, but over in Island Home at Ijams. If this weren't bad enough, the meeting is exactly one week to the day of the MPC meeting which also coincides with the deadline to submit any petitions and documents we would want to be included in the packets at the MPC meeting. Neighbors have been saying we should wait to do anything until we learn all the details on August 3, but by then it will be too late to do anything! I believe this has been Mollenhours strategy. Make people think you care about their concerns, that you're different than other developers, by holding a special meeting just for them where they can learn about your plans and ask questions and yada yada, but do this in a way that they end up completely disempowered because they've waited too damn long because they trusted you. Sweet.

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R. Neal's picture

It's probably too late, but

Submitted by R. Neal on Sun, 2006/07/23 - 7:12am.

It's probably too late, but maybe folks in the neighborhood (and all over South Knox) could get together and see if there is a possibility of getting the owner to donate the land to the city for a park. Or, mabye enough people and a sugar daddy or two could raise enough money to make her a counter offer. Maybe you could get the city to pony up some dough, or propose a bike trail in the park and get Jimmy Duncan to get some of that free federal transportation funding.

infostat's picture

Wanted: Sugar Daddy (or Mama)

Submitted by infostat on Sun, 2006/07/23 - 7:50am.

It feels so late in the game (and we just cleated up!!) for such alternatives. I don't know the events that led up to now, but I'd guess the developer approached the elderly owner with an offer and her family got involved, saw green, and are pushing to make it happen. Now if only a sugar daddy or mama would step in and make a better offer...I'm telling you, if I were some wealthy bloke and wanted to live in a beautiful, old neighborhood, close to town, but surrounded by woods, I'd grab up this land in a heartbeat. It could sustain a house or even a few on the flatter, higher portions and still retain several acres of contiguous forest. A real estate friend, just taking a wild stab at it, guesses the contract is in the neighborhood of $200,000 - about the same price as one of the downtown condos or the asking price of one of the units the developer is hankerin to build.

The time to have asked the family to donate the land would have been before an offer was on the table. If for some reason, this doesn't go through, then that is clearly the next step.

bizgrrl's picture

It sounds like you are

Submitted by bizgrrl on Sun, 2006/07/23 - 8:35am.

It sounds like you are getting pretty organized. Here are just a few suggestions you may or may not have already implemented.

Contact your Knoxville City Councilman Joe Hultquist (865-579-1250, joseph49@bellsouth.net). Many people in the South Knoxville area think he has been a great help. Maybe he can help you. If nothing else maybe he can provide direction and knowledge on how to work the system.

Find a lawyer that can give guidance and advice. You do not necessarily need a lawyer to do everything. You guys can do the grunt work and have the attorney do the reviews, letters, and maybe presentations.

Get geographic and contour maps of the land. If there is already some sort of flooding going on then there should be special attention paid to this development and possibly negotiations are in order for what structures are to be allowed as well as drainage and access. Contact a civil engineer.

Go review the records on this land to see if there are any possible deed restrictions or covenants. Also, look up any neighborhood covenants, etc. for Colonial Village. Just because the neighborhood is old does not mean this information is not on file. I looked up the covenants for a neighborhood older than 45 years and it was all on file.

Get a paper record of all local homeowners affected by this developement. Get signatures. Get them to attend the various meetings.

Contact as many of the long term residents in the area to see if they can provide any background on the neighborhood in the early stages and the subsequent development.

infostat's picture

Maps, covenants, etc.

Submitted by infostat on Sun, 2006/07/23 - 8:47am.

These are great suggestions. I have devoted a good chunk of tomorrow to public record searching downtown.

R. Neal's picture

Also, if you didn't already

Submitted by R. Neal on Sun, 2006/07/23 - 8:57am.

Also, if you didn't already know about it, check out KnoxGIS. You can find all kinds of stuff there. Maps, lot lines, sat photo overlays, property ownership records, etc.

(link...)

bizgrrl's picture

For those interested in this

Submitted by bizgrrl on Sun, 2006/07/23 - 10:41am.

For those interested in this development, the Colonial Village Neighborhood Association may provide a voice.

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