Planning News

Featured News20242023202220212020201920182017201620152014201320122011Press Releases
Did you know that in our last fiscal year we held 95 meetings that were open to the public? Or that the City of Knoxville and Knox County together passed four new zoning amendments? Did you know that Knoxville-Knox County Planning Commissioners heard 509 cases? Read on to learn more about what we have to report in this year's Annual Report. 
Aubrey joined Planning staff in September as a research assistant. Read more to find out what led her here and what she's been up to so far. 
Did you know that in the City of Knoxville, 4,182 acres are consumed by parking? That's 6.27 percent of the city's land. And that another 1,452 acres, or 2.18 percent, are consumed by "quasi-parking." So what exactly is quasi-parking, and what does it all mean for Knoxville? Read about our analysis of parking counts in the city to find out. 
We recently celebrated another round of our biannual employee appreciation and invite you to congratulate our staff for their hard work, dedication, and years of service.
This study examined existing transportation conditions and future needs in the Hardin Valley area. It prioritized improvements with the goals of maintaining mobility and addressing safety for people using different types of transportation. The final report is now available.
As a key commercial area and entry point into Knoxville and Knox County, the Chapman Highway corridor affects tens of thousands of people each day. The recently completed Chapman Highway Implementation Plan provides a prioritized list of projects intended to transform and improve the corridor.
Want to know more about recently approved sector plan amendments? We created a map to show all approved plan amendments in Knox County since 2010. You can get a good overview for countywide activity and find details about each amendment.  
Our newest planner, Lindsay Crockett, joined Knoxville-Knox County Planning in June. Read more to find out about her experience and how she's already contributing to the agency's work!
The Knoxville Regional Transportation Planning Organization is interested in how much land in Knoxville is consumed by automobile parking. Read more to learn about the work our organization is doing to complete this project and inform future planning efforts.
Though 2020 is still several months away, preparation for next year's Census has been underway for the last few years. Read on to learn more about Knoxville-Knox County Planning's role in the local initiative. 
As a courtesy to property owners and the overall community, Knoxville-Knox County Planning provides public notice signs to inform the public of applications made to our agency. These signs were recently redesigned and are marked with our logo and letters that identify the case type.
Knox County and the surrounding region have seen considerable population and economic growth in the past several years. To highlight the role of Knoxville and Knox County in regional growth, we've taken a closer look at changing demographics, labor force, and development activity, and identified emerging trends.
If you've ever had to fill out one of our forms, you know that finding the appropriate application can sometimes be a challenge. To simplify the process, we are consolidating the 15 forms we were using into just 4. 
We welcomed Michelle Portier to the agency in April. Read on to learn more about her previous work and what she'll be doing with Knoxville-Knox County Planning. 
The 2018 Development Activity Report shows that Knox County's residential building was strong and that non-residential building had significant gains. Growth in the Northwest and Southwest County Sectors were ahead of the rest, showing a continued interest in these areas.
Planning staff recently collected resources and information related to land use, transportation, and community facilities for Knox County on a single webpage. This page will act as a one-stop-shop for residents and local officials interested in growth information in Knox County.   
Schaad Road and a portion of Lovell Road east of Pellissippi Parkway will soon be under construction for a roadway improvement project. Once complete, the corridor will connect Kingston Pike at Lovell Road to I-75 at Callahan Drive, increasing connectivity in the area. The project is split into three separate phases. For details on each, including scope, improvements, costs, timelines, and a corridor video, visit the project overview.  
A second community meeting for the Hardin Valley Mobility Study was held on April 10. This meeting built on previous input to create three scenarios for future development. Staff asked for feedback on these and on specific transportation projects. 
There’s no shortage of construction activity underway in Knox County right now. Apartments, commercial buildings, retail spaces, and other projects continue to pop up. Knoxville-Knox County Planning has launched a new web application, called Groundbreakers, that provides a mapped inventory of these major developments.
Savannah Robertson joined Knoxville-Knox County Planning as the Smart Trips Program Coordinator in February. She is already busy handling day-to-day operations, attending events throughout the area, supporting employers and implementing new programs. Help us welcome her!
Knoxville-Knox County Planning is looking for a dedicated planner to lead the agency's historic preservation program. The position will also administer local infill housing guidelines, review development applications, prepare long-range plans, and provide customer service. 
The workshop that was scheduled for March 28 has been rescheduled for April 17, 2019 from 8:30 - 10:00 am.
Knoxville City Council will hold a workshop about Recode on April 4 before considering the updated ordinance for a vote. For your comments to be considered by Council at this workshop, please submit them by March 15, 2019. 
The next Hardin Valley Community Meeting will be held on Wednesday, April 10, 2019 between 5:30 PM and 8:00 PM at Hardin Valley Academy. 
The first community meeting for the Hardin Valley Mobility Study was held in January. Participants were asked to rank a list of priorities for the overall area. They were also asked to prioritize types of improvements at specific locations. In addition to the data gathered at this meeting, two surveys were available online earlier this year. One focused on traffic and safety, while the other looked at land use and development. This input will continue to inform project recommendations.
Help us welcome graphic designer Kelli Byard to Planning staff! She joined us in January and is already involved in several projects.
Knoxville-Knox County Planning is looking for a creative and dedicated planner to join our team. This is a professional planning position in the Planning Services Division which administers subdivision regulations and processes applications for rezoning, use on review, subdivision and sector plan amendments for the City of Knoxville and Knox County. This division also studies community growth patterns and prepares plans that guide agency policies.
Knoxville-Knox County Planning offices will be open on a regular schedule on Tuesday, January 29, 2019.
In cooperation with Knox County, Knoxville-Knox County Planning has scheduled a community meeting for the Hardin Valley Mobility Plan on January 15, 2019. The workshop will be held from 5:30-7:00 pm in the gymnasium of Hardin Valley Academy, 11345 Hardin Valley Road.
Knoxville-Knox County Planning staff will host a series of meetings in early February for the One Year Plan update. The One Year Plan is a tool that helps city officials make decisions about zoning and land use and is updated annually.