Thompson School Road Neighborhood Association v. Knox County, Tennessee

CourtCourt of Appeals of Tennessee
DecidedFebruary 4, 2025
DocketE2024-00310-COA-R3-CV
StatusPublished

This text of Thompson School Road Neighborhood Association v. Knox County, Tennessee (Thompson School Road Neighborhood Association v. Knox County, Tennessee) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Tennessee primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Thompson School Road Neighborhood Association v. Knox County, Tennessee, (Tenn. Ct. App. 2025).

Opinion

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF TENNESSEE AT KNOXVILLE November 12, 2024 Session

THOMPSON SCHOOL ROAD NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION, ET AL. v. KNOX COUNTY, TENNESSEE, ET AL.

FILED Appeal from the Circuit Court for Knox County FEB 0 No. 2-246-22 William T. Ailor, Judge EB 94 2025 Clerk of the Appellate Courts REc'd By

No. E2024-00310-COA-R3-CV

This appeal arises from a declaratory judgment action regarding a decision of the Knox County Commission to amend zoning for the subject property. The trial court affirmed the rezoning. Finding no error, we affirm the ruling of the trial court.

Tenn. R. App. P. 3 Appeal as of Right; Judgment of the Circuit Court Affirmed; Case Remanded

JOHN W. MCCLARTY, J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which THOMAS R. FRIERSON, II, and Kristi M. DAVIS, JJ., joined.

Daniel A, Sanders, Knoxville, Tennessee, for the appellants, Thompson School Road Neighborhood Association, Ted Reed D/B/A Redeemed Computer Repair, Charles K. Harrell, Jordan Bishop, and Penny Harrell.

Michael W. Moyers and Garrett P. Swartwood, Knoxville, Tennessee, for the appellee, Knox County, Tennessee.

Taylor Forrester, Knoxville, Tennessee, for the appellees, HAM Land Partners, LLC, and I-75 Land Partners.

OPINION I, BACKGROUND

The property subject to rezoning in this action consists of 108 acres located in Knox County at 7921 and 7923 Thompson School Road (the “Subject Property”). The appellants, Thompson School Road Neighborhood Association (“Association”), Ted Reed d/b/a Redeemed Computer Repair, Jordan Bishop, Penny Harrell, and Charles Harrell (collectively, “Appellants”) filed this action for declaratory relief. The Association is a not- for-profit neighborhood group of individuals residing along Thompson School Road. Ted Reed is the sole proprietor of Redeemed Computer Repair, which operates in the vicinity of the Subject Property. The named individuals reside nearby.

At the time of the challenged rezoning decision, I-75 Land Partners, LLC, (“I-75”) owned the Subject Property. HAM Land Partners, LLC (“HAM”) was added by agreement of the parties because it acquired the Subject Property from I-75 after the filing of this action.!

As observed by the trial court in Benson v. Knox County, No. E2015-01357-COA- R3-CV, 2016 WL 2866534, at *3 (Tenn. Ct. App. May 12, 2016), the General Plan “outlines a long-range vision and policy framework for physical and economic development” in Knox County. As we observed in that opinion, the General Plan is “advisory in intent,” expressly provides that it is “a policy framework for making day-to- day decisions about the timing, location, character and extent of development,” and its policies “are not rules.” Jd. at *4.?

The record reveals that the General Plan divides Knoxville and Knox County into 12 planning sectors. Sector plans emphasize planning and land use specific to the sector on a 15-year horizon. Knox County adopted the current Northeast County Sector Plan relevant to the matter before us on January 25, 2016.? At all relevant times, the Subject Property was designated “rural” under the Knoxville-Farragut-Knox County Growth Policy Plan (“Growth Plan’).‘

As noted by statute, the Growth Plan provides boundaries for urban growth, planned growth areas, and rural areas in the county. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 6-58-107(b). Its purpose is to direct the coordinated, efficient, and orderly development of the local government and its environs that will, based on an analysis of present and future needs, best promote the public health, safety, morals, and general welfare. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 6-5 8-107(c). After adoption of a growth policy plan, “all land use decisions made by the legislative body and the municipality’s or county’s planning commission shall be consistent with the growth plan.” See Tenn. Code Ann. § 6-58-107(a).

A key feature of all sector plans is the standard land use map and classification table. The General Plan explains:

1 HAM became the fee simple owner of the Subject Property on August 24, 2022.

2 The General Plan only requires adoption by the local Planning Commission. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 13-3-301, ef seq.

3 The Knoxville-Knox County Planning Commission created the Northeast County Sector Plan based on a community input process.

4 The Growth Plan is the only plan that is required to be adopted by a local legislative governing body. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 6-5-101, ef seq.

-2- In 2007, [Planning Commission] developed a standard land use classification table to use in all twelve sectors. The table includes descriptions, location criteria, and recommended zoning for each proposed land use classification (See Appendix B). ...

Rural Residential (RR) Very low density residential and conservation/cluster housing

subdivisions are typical land uses.

Recommended Zoning and Programs:

County’s Rural Area: OS, E, RR (Rural Residential, a new zone with densities of one dwelling unit per acre or less), or PR @ densities of one dwelling unit per acre where dwellings may be clustered in one portion of a subdivision.

The only other zone for consideration in the Rural Residential area is A (Agricultural)—a zoning district with a minimum residential lot size of one acre.

On February 24, 2022, I-75 filed an application for sector plan amendment and rezoning concerning the Subject Property with the Knoxville-Knox County Planning Commission (“Planning Commission”). The sector plan amendment requested a change from AG (Agricultural) to LDR (Low Density Residential). The rezoning application requested a change from A (Agricultural) to PR (Planned Residential) with a density of up to five dwelling units per acre. On April 6, 2022, Planning Commission staff issued a report in connection with I-75’s application which recommended amending the sector plan to RR (Rural Residential) and rezoning the property to PR (Planned Residential) at a density of two dwelling units per acre. On April 14, 2022, the Planning Commission, meeting in regular session, voted to approve a sector plan amendment to RR (Rural Residential) and to recommend a rezoning from A (Agricultural) to PR (Planned Residential) at a density of 2.9 dwelling units per acre.

On June 27, 2022, the Knox County Commission (“County Commission”) met in zoning session to consider I-75’s application. The County Commission first considered the sector plan amendment, followed immediately by the rezoning. During consideration of the sector plan amendment, Kevin Murphy, representing non-party Gibbs Planning Advocates, explained the agricultural designation for the Subject Property was because “there is a strong desire for continued agricultural use and to prevent sprawl in the Northeast Sector.” Mr. Murphy observed that the Rural Residential designation would limit rezoning to Planned Residential at “up to one unit per acre.” Perceiving Mr. Murphy’s objection to density higher than one dwelling per acre, County Commission Chair Richie Beeler questioned Planning Commission Executive Director Amy Brooks as follows:

3. Chairman Beeler: Thank you, Mr. Murphy. ... Uh, Ms. Brooks, I want to clarify, is, is Mr. Murphy’s assertion correct that a Rural Residential in the Rural Area is recommended at one unit per acre?

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Bluebook (online)
Thompson School Road Neighborhood Association v. Knox County, Tennessee, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/thompson-school-road-neighborhood-association-v-knox-county-tennessee-tennctapp-2025.