2026-10-13 - City Council

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02:14.59] Good evening everybody, it's six o'clock. I'd like to call this meeting to order. We'll begin with an invocation led by Councilmember DiBartoleben, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance led by Councilmember Hales-Lee. Please rise as you're able.

02:31.33] We're each born through water. It is a symbol of life. We all drink water. It sustains life. We all sweat water. It recognizes our labors. We all wash with water. It is a symbol of transformation. Yet water can be destructive.

02:50.97] In my own experience, I reflect upon Hurricane Helene, Andrew, and Katrina in the 2006 tsunami in Thailand. I reflect upon the lack of clean water from the rural haulers in Appalachia to the rural villages around the world. Water is not neutral.

03:05.62] Neither are the decisions we consider to us tonight. Allow us to make decisions that lead to abundance for each and every Knoxvillean. Amen.

03:14.06] Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

03:30.67] Okay, Mr. Johnson, would you please call roll? Councilman Adams. Here. Councilman DiBartoleben. Here. Vice Mayor Huget. Here. Councilman Grant. Here. Councilman Hales-Lee. Councilman Honeycutt. Councilman Lloyd. Here. Councilman Parker. And Councilman Thomas. Here.

03:51.72] All members are present, Mayor. Thank you. Now on to approval of minutes from the September 29th meeting. Is there a motion? Motion made to approve and second it. Any questions or discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor, please say aye. Any opposed? Motion carries.

04:09.27] Tonight's agenda. Are there any items to be withdrawn? No. Any items to be postponed? Any items to be added by motion? Vice Mayor Huget. Thank you, Mayor. It's not really an ad by motion, but I do need to move under elections and confirmations.

04:37.10] Well, C to after, I mean, 9C to after 10D because it doesn't take effect unless 10D passes. Okay, is there a second to that motion? Does everyone understand the motion before them? Any further questions or discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor, please say aye.

05:00.24] Aye. Any opposed? That motion carries. We'll hear item 9C after item 10D. Any other items to be added by motion or switched in order? There are no memorials or honorary resolutions. Is there a motion on, oh, on the consent agenda? Councilmember DeBartleben.

05:22.55] I'd like to remove resolution 12J. Okay. Any other items to be removed from the consent agenda? Vice Mayor Huget, your light is on. Okay.

05:34.26] Seeing no further discussion, all those in favor of the consent agenda as amended, please say, oh, I need a motion on the consent agenda. Sorry. Is there a motion on the consent agenda as amended? Okay. Motion made and seconded. Any further questions or discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor, please say aye. Any opposed? Motion carries.

06:00.79] Now, time for my mayor's report. I want to start by thanking everyone who came out this morning to honor our fallen firefighters. We had our annual Knoxville Fire Department memorial service. It was a wonderful opportunity to honor the men and women who dedicate their careers protecting our city and even risking their lives to do so.

06:21.04] To Chief Stan Sharp and the entire department and everyone who helped make that a wonderful way to honor our fallen firefighters. Thank you for putting together such a special remembrance.

06:33.58] Last night, we had another meeting about Hill Avenue and I want to take a moment to thank everyone who came out. This was the second meeting about the future of the Hill Avenue site. And for those of you who may not know where that is, that's where the KPD headquarters used to be.

06:51.31] It's currently an empty meadow on Hill Avenue. We've heard some amazing ideas and I appreciate all the conversation around this site. Thank you to everyone who's taken the time to fill out the online survey and there will be more engagement opportunities in the future.

07:09.58] Tomorrow Bike Walk Knox is hosting another walk with elected officials and this is a great way. I know many council members have participated. It's a great way to experience firsthand some of our transportation opportunities and challenges.

07:24.19] The walk kicks off at Gresham Middle School at 630. I hope you all can join us.

07:31.46] Next week, mark your calendars for another exciting ribbon cutting as part of our Transforming Western Project. It will be next Wednesday, the 21st of October. We will celebrate the gallery at Beaumont.

07:44.94] This is KCDC's first mixed-use space and it will include two mixed-income residential buildings for a total of 52 new homes.

07:53.93] We're going to be having a brand new space for the Knoxville Fine Arts and Craft Center and I had a chance to look at it. It's amazing, the light, the space for kilns and drying racks and wonderful space for an art center.

08:07.97] It will also have a health center. So that's going to be 1030 a.m. at Western Heights, Wednesday, the 21st.

08:16.25] And finally, a quick reminder about our rules of decorum. We are here to do the city's official business. Those who wish to speak either to a specific agenda item or during public forum need to sign up with the city recorder before 4 p.m.

08:28.83] Do not use profanity and when speaking to specific agenda items, you must stay on topic.

08:35.21] Remarks must be germane to the question ahead of the assembly. That is, statements must have bearing on whether the pending motion should be adopted.

08:42.21] Those who fail to adhere to these rules will be ruled out of order. For those of you who are listening, please note, if you disrupt a public meeting, you will be asked to leave or escorted out.

08:51.84] Thank you in advance for everyone's respect for these rules. That concludes my mayor's report. Are there reports of committees or council members serving on committees or boards?

09:02.25] Okay. Are there announcements from council members? Council member Adams, I think your light was on first. Yes, I wanted to share a few things that are going on in district one for Halloween because there's a lot.

09:20.29] The first ever official Halloween costume bike ride hosted by the Knoxville Hallows Eve Society is having a tour de frites on October 16th at 6 p.m. and helmets are required.

09:35.67] And the ask of the organization is also that if you're wearing a costume that involves blood, please make sure that it is clearly fake. So if you have a wreck, the EMTs know what's real and what's fake.

09:48.87] We also have spooky streets at Dogwood Elementary happening on Friday, October 23rd from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. and at South Knoxville Elementary on Sabir Avenue from 530 until 730.

10:03.06] Those are all free. And you'll also find candy and customary at Island Home Airport on October 25th. It's like a trunk retreat, but it's with airplanes and it's from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.

10:17.76] Thank you, Councilmember Parker. Thank you, Mayor.

10:22.01] Knoxville Community Media is celebrating Community Community Media Day, October 20th of this month, and they're currently sharing a lot of information on their website and on their social media about the importance of community media.

10:39.57] Part of that reason is because of how funding is being impacted as individuals move to streaming services and we don't get those cable franchise fees that we used to get through cable companies.

10:53.63] And so you can learn more about community media and you can even make a donation to support the work by visiting knoxcm.org.

11:04.64] Thank you. Vice Mayor Fugett. Thank you, Mayor. As is our custom, I would like to wish Councilwoman Halesley a happy birthday today.

11:16.92] Hers is not next week. Tomorrow is actually right now. She's spending her birthday here. So happy birthday.

11:25.00] Councilmember Grant. That's commitment right there.

11:35.50] Thank you, Mayor. Just a few brief announcements. Tomorrow, October 14th, our Procurement Department is actually hosting outdoor maintenance bid opportunities.

11:45.77] There's an open house. It's going to be at our Public Works Building, 3131 Morris Avenue. The first session is going to start at 9.

11:54.30] It'll be a second session at 12 and a third session at 2 p.m. So these bid opportunities really consist of service areas, landscaping, anything of that matter.

12:05.83] So if there's a local business out there that might be interested, I definitely want to invite them to be able to participate in that opportunity.

12:12.40] The Department of Transportation is doing a DBE outreach event October 21st at the same location from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

12:23.42] What will be covered there? Just what an actual DBE program is, how to get certified, different program updates, how to meet compliance and an opportunity to support staff.

12:35.75] So I definitely want to encourage local small businesses to please, please try to attend both of those opportunities.

12:43.77] Myself, we'll be hosting a district six town hall meeting October 29th from 6 p.m. to 7 30 p.m. at the J.T. O'Connor Senior Center.

12:55.29] Just encourage not only district six constituents, I'm asking my fellow council members and community members all over Knoxville to please attend if they can.

13:05.82] There'll be district six updates along with what's next Knoxville will be there to create opportunities for more members of the community to give their input with that.

13:15.10] And so just encouraging members to stay engaged and hope to see everyone there on the 29th. Thank you.

13:21.25] Thank you. Moving right along to elections and confirmations.

13:29.02] Nine B is resolution confirming the reappointment of John Hines to the Board of Environmental Appeals for the city of Knoxville.

13:35.73] Motion made to approve and second it. Any questions or discussion? Seeing none. All those in favor, please say aye. Any opposed? Motion carries.

13:46.89] Now we'll go down to 10 D. That was approved on consent. Oh, I'm sorry.

13:52.51] Nine C is a resolution approving the appointment of the members and chair of the City Council's audit committee.

14:00.05] Motion made to approve and second it. Any questions or discussion? Seeing none. All those in favor, please say aye. Any opposed? Motion carries.

14:12.37] Eleventy is a resolution of the Council of the City of Knoxville approving an appeal by Rachel Craig, thereby overturning the decision of the Knoxville Knox County Planning Commission to approve a level three alternative compliance review in the S.

14:26.82] W. Five and S. W. Six districts for part of located at three one five Crabella Avenue district one.

14:33.85] Okay. Thank you for reading that. We're going to start. I'm going to ask Mr. Frost to set the legal framework for counsel and then we'll go through the rest of the process.

14:45.25] Mr. Frost. Thank you, Mayor.

14:49.52] This is a level three process as it pertains to the proposal tonight or the appeal.

14:59.58] So this plan was instituted in 2006. This is the first time a level three appeal has ever gotten to City Council.

15:09.88] So I thought I would because of just the general unfamiliarity with it, I thought I would very briefly go over what's laid out in the code.

15:20.89] You know what to apply and I'll reference article seven point oh point two point G point eight the approval criteria.

15:34.01] Let me I'll be brief and trying to go over that in reviewing an application for for alternative compliance review in cases other than applications concerning reconstruction or expansion of nonconforming structures in which nonconforming uses operate.

15:51.39] The Knoxville Knox County Planning Commission must consider the following. This is under appeal tonight, but you're going to be using the same criteria.

15:59.69] First one consistency with the applicable adopted plan to that the development will not have substantial or undue adverse effect upon the neighborhood.

16:08.91] The character of the area traffic conditions parking public infrastructure and other matters affecting the public health safety and general welfare.

16:17.88] Number three that the development will be constructed and operated to be compatible with the district.

16:23.88] Number four that the proposed development can be adequately served by public facilities.

16:28.88] Number five that the proposed development will not result in the destruction loss or damage of any significant natural scenic or historical district site or feature.

16:39.83] Number six compliance with the intent of the applicable form district and plan. Number seven compliance with all applicable zoning ordinance requirements.

16:51.08] Number eight compliance with all applicable subdivision regulations.

16:55.08] Number nine compliance with the major road plan.

16:59.08] Number 10 compliance with the one year plan and number 11 compliance with the storm water and street ordinance.

17:06.14] So that's your framework for considering what's before you tonight.

17:12.64] Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Frost.

17:15.53] So now I will call upon the appellant to come up to the podium.

17:22.56] The appellant has up to 15 minutes to present the case.

17:26.78] You can use as many speakers during that time as you wish.

17:29.78] I would ask that each speaker identify him or herself with their name and address for the record.

17:36.80] And again, you'll have a total of 15 minutes after that 15 minutes concludes.

17:42.79] The appellee or the person opposed to the appeal will have up to 15 minutes and also can call as many as many as many people as they wish following those two 15 minute segments.

17:56.00] If the proposition the proponent appellant will have up to two minutes for rebuttal and Mr. Johnson will be our timekeeper and the clock will be visible on the screens.

18:08.02] So you ready, Mr. Johnson? Okay.

18:11.34] Thank you. And please, if you could start by identifying saying your name and address for the record.

18:15.34] Oh, I'm sorry. You got to turn on the microphone.

18:19.97] We'll start the clock when you're at your little button. Yeah, you got it. Okay.

18:25.05] Thank you. Am I live? Okay. Yeah. My name is Janice Toker, 326 Taylor Road.

18:31.05] I've lived in South Knoxville for 39 years and have been very involved with the South Waterfront since its beginning.

18:37.21] I appreciate our then mayor, Bill Haslam, for engaging the community to create the vision.

18:43.59] Rachel Craig, who served on the South Waterfront Oversight Committee, a stakeholder group, filed this appeal on behalf of the six individuals named.

18:55.13] Unfortunately, Rachel cannot be here this evening, so I'm reading this on her behalf.

18:59.13] We realize this is the first time you have dealt with a South Waterfront development proposal evaluated as a level three alternative compliance review.

19:08.73] So my job tonight is to give you a bit of history and define some terms.

19:12.73] The vision plan and associated code were developed through an intensive public process.

19:18.49] There are many meetings for the general public and all oversight committee meetings were open to the public.

19:24.71] There was discussion, there were disagreements, there were compromise, but most of all there was collaboration.

19:32.57] The end result was a product owned by the community.

19:35.86] Our intention with this appeal is to honor that process, the people who participated in it, and the vision plan and form based code it produced.

19:46.52] The vision plan is a lengthy document, but its objectives can be boiled down to this.

19:52.22] The creation of a mixed use, human scaled, gridded urban form that supports an engaging pedestrian experience and integrates into the connective tissue of the community.

20:04.56] The code that implements the vision plan is form based.

20:08.30] The zoning you are most familiar with is use based, which directs development to different areas based on use.

20:15.58] Single family housing goes here, multifamily there, commercial over there.

20:20.93] Form based code doesn't care about use.

20:23.57] It regulates, well, form, how buildings address the street and one another.

20:28.69] It looks at things like building height and footprint, lot size and block size, the perimeter around the lot, and setbacks.

20:38.41] With a few small exceptions, the entire south waterfront is owned mixed use.

20:43.14] No matter what is proposed for this site, senior housing, student housing, office, whatever, it must be evaluated against the form based code.

20:52.33] Use is irrelevant to the review of the proposal for this site and should not be a factor to evaluating the appeal.

21:00.13] Most multifamily developments in the south waterfront go through what is called the level two approval process.

21:07.86] In that process, if a development proposed meets the code, it's automatically approved.

21:14.28] If it deviates from the code, those deviations are sent to BCA for approval as variances.

21:20.82] However, the city staff advise CRE to choose a level three alternative compliance review process.

21:28.14] Alternative compliance allows a proposal to deviate from the code, but insists that it still meet the intent of the vision plan.

21:37.50] To demonstrate alternative compliance, the developer should clearly explain how their proposal meets the intent and objectives of the vision plan, as I stated earlier.

21:47.31] CRE asserts that the proposal does that, but they have failed to provide an explanation of how it does that.

21:56.93] We contend that it does not meet those objectives and that it's the basis for this appeal.

22:03.51] We feel our position has broad community support, as you saw in the public comments to planning commission,

22:10.36] and by the vote of all but one of the city appointees on commission against approval.

22:16.65] In addition here tonight, a representative from a number of South Knoxville neighborhoods, city church, a neighbor to that site, yes, Knoxville and Bike Walk Knoxville.

22:27.59] Could all who are supporting this appeal please stand. Thank you.

22:40.96] Hi, my name is Suzanne Taravella 2908 Severe Avenue. I have been a South Knoxville resident for 18 years.

22:50.77] I'm a South Knoxville business owner and architect, and my five year term as chair of the city's design review board ended in June.

22:58.05] Today, along with my fellow advocates, I'm here to champion the design principles of the vision plan and the associated South Waterfront form based code.

23:06.56] The South Knoxville community, including several of us here today, went through a robust public process to arrive at a shared vision for this part of the city.

23:15.49] That vision is implemented through the South Waterfront form based code. It was adopted nearly 20 years ago.

23:22.41] However, the shared belief that it is the best path forward for our community is still alive and well.

23:27.41] Development on the Kerbella site or in any urban context is more than a building. It is urban infrastructure.

23:35.62] Its first occupant will most likely be the use proposed by CR endeavors as rental units for the 55 and up population.

23:42.90] But this will not be the last use of this building. As best practice, we plan infrastructure such as this for both the present and the future.

23:52.12] Based on tried and true urban development principles that can be found in the best cities all over the world.

23:57.50] These principles are mandated in our South Waterfront form based code and associated vision plan and the level three compliance plan.

24:05.85] Level three compliance review by the Planning Commission was deemed appropriate for this proposal by the city because the site,

24:12.62] currently separated into SW5 and SW6 zoning designations, does not comply with the strict interpretation of the form based zoning code.

24:21.65] It should be noted, however, that SW5 and SW6 have the exact same requirements for block size, lot size, and building footprint.

24:30.69] The only variation between the two is maximum building height.

24:33.69] It would not have been difficult to reconcile these requirements using the traditional review process.

24:39.46] In any case, level three review requires design strategies that align with the objectives and intent of the vision plan.

24:45.41] Level three review should not be treated as a free pass for all design deviations from the adopted code.

24:51.89] And I want to be very clear, we are not here to dictate the design based on our personal preferences.

24:57.78] We are advocating for development to follow the adopted code, which is the law.

25:01.84] As was mentioned, the intent of the vision plan is the creation of a mixed use, human scaled, gridded urban form that supports an engaging pedestrian experience

25:11.77] and integrates into the connective tissue of the community.

25:14.77] In order to benefit from a level three alternative compliance review, a proposal should clearly and convincingly show that it meets the intent of this code.

25:23.34] This proposal has seven design deficiencies, which were identified with the administrative review committee.

25:31.09] These requirements are complementary and essential tools in fostering neighborly behavior.

25:35.41] This is why they are required by the code and worthy of the effort to design and build them, even on sites like this one.

25:42.41] They are the essential instruments of the vision plan and their own mission has consequences.

25:47.34] Effective, creative, alternative solutions should be included in a level three design.

25:54.41] The identified deficiencies include block size, maximum perimeter, setbacks, ground floor transparency, and blank parking garage walls, among others.

26:04.07] So I'm going to go through a couple of these and why they're so important.

26:08.31] Block size, lot size, maximum perimeter, and maximum footprint requirements help to ensure both residents and the public have access through and around the site for transportation,

26:19.73] experiential variation, visual interest, and community engagement.

26:24.01] The proposed tunnel fails to meet the intent of the vision because it segregates the experience of the resident from the experience of the public.

26:31.30] This creates an enclave that is not integrated into the connective tissue of the community.

26:35.77] Language taken directly from the code includes, quote, "Private developments such as gated communities are prohibited in the Knoxville South waterfront.

26:45.84] They inhibit access to public spaces and create physical and social enclaves.

26:50.84] Public rights of ways shall remain open facilitating access to the site and fostering connectivity," end quote.

26:58.59] A tunnel segregating residents from the public and limiting access to the development's own residents to downtown is not an acceptable alternative compliance strategy that meets the intent of the vision plan.

27:09.22] Number two, the concept of eyes on the street that is public presence and engagement along the street edge is a core component of public safety in urban environments,

27:18.34] which is why the setbacks and program along street edges are identified as priorities in the vision plan.

27:23.34] Minimizing setbacks brings people closer to the street so that they may observe and engage with others in the public realm and facilitate neighborhood awareness.

27:34.06] Along Mimosa and Dawson specifically, noting not severe avenue, but along Mimosa and Dawson specifically, the design lacks eyes on the street.

27:44.57] This style of engagement would promote safety across the site and the surrounding neighborhood, including future development on the adjacent Baxter properties.

27:51.57] This proposal fails to offer alternative compliance related to setbacks.

27:55.92] Further, ground floor transparency allows understanding of how the building is used and communicates a sense of place and neighborhood identity.

28:04.33] Shared program that benefits the residents and the community should be considered if traditional retail is not currently viable.

28:11.33] For example, a public facing mail hub, rentable community room, pet salon, and residential porches are just a few examples that we discussed at our meeting with CRE.

28:21.89] Finally, rather than blank walls, structured parking should be wrapped in public facing program to facilitate public engagement and again, eyes on the street.

28:30.10] This doesn't have to be traditional commercial real estate to be effective.

28:33.35] It can be any creative mix of people oriented use of this edge.

28:37.35] No substantive effort has been made to change the design of the blank parking garage walls to offer alternative compliance.

28:43.79] The current proposal at the corner of Dawson and Severe lacks detail and appears to solely rely on infeasible infrastructure improvements to be made with taxpayer funding in the future.

28:54.46] We stress this point because CRE's proposed city led efforts lack concrete planning or funding.

29:08.97] Therefore, this private development cannot rely on that taxpayer funded support as its sole strategy for compliance and must be evaluated on its own merit.

29:19.52] Knoxville is fortunate to have numerous examples of both recent and historic developments that support the vision.

29:26.32] One river walk across Blount Avenue from this proposed project fits into the urban grid by providing a public plaza between its two buildings, allowing pedestrian engagement between Blount Avenue and the Riverwalk.

29:37.57] Lone Tree Pass at Summit Hill in Gay creates an engaging urban pedestrian connection through the development between West Fine Avenue and Summit Hill Drive along a steep slope.

29:47.49] Perennial examples of good urban design in Knoxville include Market Square, the Phoenix Building, the Holston, the Daylight Building, the Farragut Hotel, the Emporium and many others.

29:58.48] They each contain private upper levels with their ground floors adjacent to the street and at least somewhat open to the public.

30:05.70] This is urban design. Many of our building spans the steep slope from State Street up to Gay Street while maintaining the walkable urban grid.

30:16.03] CRE will tell you that this is a tough site. As an architect, I can assure you it is possible to develop this site in alignment with the vision if the owner's priorities are in the right place.

30:25.03] By following the principles of the Adopted Vision Plan, we're asking for the development of this site to follow the rules, for it to be a good neighbor by being accessible, safe, engaging and reusable so that both the private residents and the public can benefit from viable pedestrian-oriented urban infrastructure both now and in the future.

30:45.35] We wouldn't have the vibrant, successful downtown that we have now if our predecessors hadn't prioritized access, walkability, engagement.

30:55.02] We urge you to uphold our appeal and insist on substantive design revisions that align with the vision plan. Thank you.

31:08.56] Hello, I'm John Cadott. My address is 2548 Scottish Pike, and I am speaking on behalf of Tommy Smith, who was unable to be here today.

31:17.35] So these are his words. Council, this year I've enjoyed my Tuesday evenings elsewhere, but I have not forgotten the work that goes into this.

31:25.49] Sincerely, thank you for serving. I'm going to offer some broader contacts that I hope will help.

31:30.68] I don't plan on making this a habit, but this one is consequential for years to come.

31:35.06] First, I am sure some of you feel the burden to make something possible. Release that. You don't have to carry it.

31:40.06] It's okay to wait for something that aligns with the South Waterfront Code. That time will come.

31:45.28] Second, please don't chase more senior housing or less student housing. The form-based code is intentionally agnostic and I dare say ageless.

31:53.28] Hell, I'm a few school pickups away from being a senior and I'll happily live on that hill if it aligns with the South Waterfront Code.

32:01.56] Third, the footprint of this concept is double what is allowed. Double.

32:06.05] This is a 700 foot width the size of two city blocks. That's the same as a racing Union Avenue downtown to fill it with a private building.

32:15.35] Imagine downtown without the engaging spaces on Union Avenue.

32:19.40] If you hear anything from me tonight, please hear this. Does South Waterfront Code even matter or should we just review proposals and decide on a whim if a certain project looks good or does it help a certain population?

32:32.01] No. The South Waterfront Code does matter. It was thoughtfully put together with ingredients that have guided development for more than 20 years.

32:39.01] We don't need to reimagine it for every new development.

32:42.01] I asked the developer at the first public meeting an important question. How did the South Waterfront Code inform your approach?

32:49.57] What aspects of it did it shape the development?

32:51.70] Unfortunately, his answer was nothing specific. We usually take the same approach on all markets.

32:58.43] This will set a precedent for the next decade of development.

33:02.43] One of the guiding principles of the down river plan that you approved in March is to maintain the intent of the form based code and limit variances.

33:09.40] If doubling the size of allowable footprint and requesting seven deviations from the code is allowed, then those principles are already being ignored just further up the river.

33:20.16] South Waterfront residents have been consistent following the code or providing alternatives that align with it.

33:25.22] Unfortunately, this is short on both. Please make a clear statement here. Build within the South Waterfront principles.

33:31.47] South Knoxville is willing to wait for development that aligns with the South Knoxville.

33:35.47] Thank you. Thank you. Now is the time for the appellee to come to the podium.

33:44.60] You'll have up to 15 minutes to address counsel and you may use as many speakers as you wish.

33:53.49] And if you could start by stating your name and address for the record and you'll have to turn the microphone back on.

34:01.53] There's a lot. You got it. That's the one. All right. Yes. My name is Nick Kitsos. One one one nine severe avenue.

34:09.32] I just wanted to wholeheartedly show my support for this project at 315 Cabella Avenue as the owner of Lowe's Barbershop on severe avenue.

34:17.32] I believe it's important to show support and encourage opportunities for more housing here in South Knox, especially on this site as a difficult one.

34:25.51] It's particularly I particularly love this redevelopment because it will bring year round residents which will soften the effects of student housing and students in the area.

34:36.73] They also have included plans to improve sidewalks and pathways that I feel connect the neighborhood.

34:44.02] The site that exists currently does not engage with the community as it sits, but this development will change that.

34:51.27] The development will benefit me and my business on severe avenue and I support this project and I will happily welcome the future 55 and older residents into my barbershop on severe avenue.

35:07.61] My name is Alex Dominguez, 4274 Woodland Brook Drive. I represent Kerns Bakery as a developer of that adaptive reuse.

35:17.09] Good evening and the food hall is serving south waterfront.

35:23.26] I had the pleasure of serving on the advisory board, so I attended quite a few of these meetings.

35:28.63] Kerns adaptive reuse has demonstrated what thoughtful investment can accomplish, but successful revitalization cannot happen in isolation.

35:36.88] A thriving neighborhood needs residents, businesses, recreation and connectivity working together.

35:42.84] As a member of SWAG, I participated in discussions about the project and have seen the many modifications the developer has made in response to the community's concerns.

35:50.84] In my views, the developer has gone above and beyond to address those concerns.

35:54.80] I strongly support the project. The proposed 55 and older community will bring new residents, purchasing power, daily activity, civic engagement to the south waterfront.

36:03.92] With access to the arts trail, pedestrian connections, nearby businesses and public spaces, it will strengthen, not stand apart from the surrounding neighborhood.

36:13.00] Great communities need people of all generations. This project will help create more active, connected and economically sustainable waterfront.

36:21.12] Please approve this project and it helped advance the south waterfront, south Knoxville revitalization. Thank you.

36:31.44] Ryan Robertson, 6014th Street South, Birmingham, Alabama, American Cannon, council members, city staff, thank you, it's good to be with you tonight.

36:41.88] I'm here representing and on behalf of CR Endeavors. Before I begin, I want to briefly address the timing of the materials that you received.

36:49.07] We were advised by council's council that the material could be submitted to the council until 24 hours before this meeting.

36:55.07] So our package was prepared well in advance, but we thought it was important to follow the process exactly as we're instructed out of respect for the body and its rules.

37:04.20] I apologize for any inconvenience this short review may have caused.

37:07.20] I'd also like to begin with a word of thanks to SWAG, the neighbors of South Knoxville, the community, and Councilwoman Adams.

37:15.52] Over the past several months, they have questioned us, they have challenged us, they have pushed us, and honestly, we are excited that we think the project is better because of it.

37:24.80] I'd like to ask you to picture this site for a moment.

37:29.36] It's 5.7 acres, but because of extreme slopes and geotechnical constraints, only about 3.2 acres can realistically be built on.

37:37.39] It's a plateau roughly 40 feet above Sevier Avenue and 15 feet above Dawson Street.

37:42.39] The South Waterfront Code works beautifully for typical lots where a building can step right up to the sidewalk.

37:48.64] On this site, meeting every setback would mean carving away the Rocky Hillside, and with it, the views and historic ghost stairs.

37:56.11] Every one of our seven hardships comes back to the same cause, the land itself.

38:01.14] When we first came to Knoxville, we didn't begin with a filing or submission.

38:05.33] We began with phone calls to neighborhood leaders, lunch and coffee meetings because we wanted to hear from the people who know this place best.

38:12.33] When City Councilwoman Adams and SWAG asked us to slow down, we did.

38:19.36] We postponed our planning submission so that community could weigh in first and subsequently again after our second submittal.

38:25.36] Then we opened the doors to the Shriners Temple once in the evening and again the next morning at Kearns Food Hall so that people with jobs and families could find a time that worked.

38:34.39] Each meeting ran more than two hours. More than 300 of your constituents came.

38:38.39] Our team stood in that room. We talked with people one-on-one, answered their questions, took notes and listened.

38:45.85] After our first Planning Commission hearing, we came back to Knoxville.

38:48.85] We sat down for more than two hours with SWAG, KCDC and Councilwoman Adams.

38:52.91] After our second hearing, we were asked to return again, spent more than two hours with SWAG, City Leadership and Councilwoman.

38:59.87] But listening only matters if it leads to change, so rather than tell you what we've changed, I'd like to show you.

39:05.54] You'll find a packet that I brought tonight, same as our submission to you all yesterday.

39:09.53] If you wouldn't mind walking through this with me on page one.

39:13.50] What you're about to see is not just what we're proposing to build, but how this project got here and who helped shape it.

39:18.50] Each page shows a change to the design and nearly every one of those changes began with a conversation with SWAG, with neighborhood meetings, with community leaders and with Councilwoman Adams.

39:29.58] On page two, this is where we started in January. One long, continuous building. We were working hard to respond to the difficult site.

39:37.58] So the building stepped down with a topography and the courtyard followed the shape of the land.

39:41.58] We also proposed an elevator to connect the lower promenade to the sidewalk at the Gay Street Bridge.

39:46.58] Looking back, it was a reasonable first answer to the site, but it wasn't yet an answer to the community.

39:52.58] On page three, in February, we began breaking down that long wall. The orange areas will show you the new gabled roof forms at each end in the center.

40:00.80] So the building would read less like one continuous structure.

40:03.80] We also gave it a distinct stone clad ground floor to bring it down to a more human scale.

40:08.83] On page four, in March, by our first ARC submission in March, we had carried that work across the middle of the building.

40:15.43] The purple areas will indicate and show new roof lines, shifts in the massing, breaking up the facade and into smaller pieces.

40:22.43] We also moved the elevator to line up better with the Gay Street Bridge as requested.

40:26.43] Even so, it was still one building and that is what we heard about next.

40:30.43] On page five, this page reflects an important change in the project.

40:34.43] After meetings at the Shriners Temple, the message from the neighbors and swag was clear.

40:38.43] The building was too much of a wall and it blocked people's views that they care about.

40:42.43] So we split the building into two separate buildings.

40:44.43] That opening shows, in blue, creates a view shed to the mountains behind us and new views towards downtown in the river.

40:50.40] We added balconies to every unit, extended the stone up into the gabled volumes, and reworked the roof lines to match.

40:56.40] At Knox Planning's request, we also moved the elevator again, this time toward the neighboring public property.

41:01.68] On page six, in July, with further refinement after meeting the swag in the community, we kept listening and three things changed.

41:09.38] First, the whole historic stairs coming from Severe.

41:12.51] We heard from the very beginning how much they mean to South Knoxville.

41:15.51] They stayed.

41:16.57] Second, the JFG sign comes back.

41:18.82] Swag and the neighborhood groups asked us to bring it back and give it a prominent place, and we did.

41:23.85] Third, we added a publicly accessible breezeway and viewing platform connected to the preserved stairs and the trail network through the site.

41:31.55] And you'll notice the elevator is gone.

41:34.02] We had proposed it in three different locations, but when concerns were raised during the community meetings, we took it out.

41:39.02] We weren't attached to our own ideas that we didn't think served the community well.

41:43.02] On page seven, I want to spend a little bit of time on our breezeway because I know it is at the heart of this appeal.

41:50.02] We think it is as a passage and more of a public gallery experience.

41:55.20] It continues the art trail that we are intertwined with and connects the public to the Sono Trail.

42:00.20] Walking from Mimosa, you enter the breezeway, pass through a covered gallery with public art on the walls with local artists,

42:06.20] and come out onto an open-air viewing platform looking over downtown and the river, then continue on to Gay Street Bridge.

42:12.48] It is roughly 14 feet tall and 12 feet wide.

42:16.61] Based on U.S. Department of Transportation pedestrian studies, it can comfortably carry about 80 people a minute and up to 274 at peak times.

42:24.61] This is not meant to be a place people choose to walk, not just a place people choose to walk.

42:29.55] But we want this to be a place people choose to walk, not just a route.

42:34.72] On page eight, in August, with SWAG and neighborhood community feedback again, we turned our attention to the street.

42:41.70] Today, at the corner of Severe Avenue and Dawson Street, it is dark at night.

42:45.87] We proposed a publicly accessible arts plaza there with room for a farmer's market and food trucks.

42:50.94] We widened the public sidewalk to connect to it.

42:53.24] Along Dawson Street, we added landscaping and architectural lighting,

42:56.24] and redesigned the screening on the lower floors to let it light through so it feels active, not a blank wall.

43:02.27] Page nine, our proposed design, that was approved at our third submission to planning commission meeting.

43:09.97] This page brings it all together, and this is the design the planning commission approved in August.

43:13.97] Two distinct buildings with a view shed, gable roofs and masonry that break up along the sides, the historic stairs, and the trail preserved.

43:22.50] A public breezeway art gallery and viewing platform, the JFG sign restored, an arts plaza, wider sidewalks, and a lit landscape Dawson Street.

43:31.46] If you flip back just for a moment to page two, I think you'll see how far this project has come,

43:37.48] and how much of that distance was traveled because people took the time to tell us what they thought,

43:42.64] and we valued their input and subsequently implemented it in our project.

43:45.64] On page ten, this will give you a good idea from a street level rendering standpoint.

43:51.08] This is what it looks like.

43:53.08] That corner of Severe and Dawson, dark today, becomes the arts plaza with a farmer's market and food trucks,

43:59.14] and people gathering on a summer evening or UT game day.

44:02.14] The paths wind up the hillside, the JFG sign is lit at the top where the neighborhood asks for it.

44:08.30] Almost nothing you see on this is on our first design.

44:11.61] As we look over the last rendering, I'd like to close by speaking briefly to the process and to the appeal itself.

44:16.63] We followed alternative compliance process because of everything you just saw.

44:20.63] It isn't a way around the code.

44:22.63] It is part of the code.

44:24.66] 702(g) exists for projects that can't meet a strict reading of every standard,

44:29.66] but do meet the intent of the district and the vision plan.

44:32.88] The code itself reads in the document, and I quote, "It is not intended to be rigid or inflexible."

44:38.84] And we haven't graded our own work.

44:41.61] The project was reviewed by the Administrative Review Committee over four times,

44:44.70] the zoning administrator and subsequently approved by Planning Commission.

44:47.70] The review tonight is one more layer of public process and we welcome it and appreciate it.

44:52.70] We believe the project fits the vision.

44:55.27] The Bell Tower Walk District calls for mid-rise housing and parking beneath are behind the buildings,

44:59.27] and that's what we propose.

45:01.27] The Henley Gateway District contemplates multi-story office and high-rise hotel,

45:05.42] and our project is less intensive than that.

45:08.55] They will be home to 55 and older residents,

45:10.67] neighbors who will walk to the shops and restaurants on severe and help support new ones.

45:14.67] We have had over 50 inquiries to date from prospective residents who would like to call this home.

45:19.67] We believe a project like this should strengthen the city it's built in, not just add to the skyline.

45:25.17] That's why we have intentionally chosen to work with local partners from the start.

45:29.17] Our architects Michael Graves from their office here in Knoxville on Emory Place,

45:33.43] and our civil engineering is being handled by CCI Corp. also here in Knoxville.

45:37.55] Over decades of developing in cities across the region,

45:40.55] we have learned that the best projects are built by the people who know the community best.

45:44.55] As the project moves forward, we're committed to carrying that same approach through construction,

45:48.55] hiring local contractors, suppliers and businesses,

45:52.55] wherever we can that the investment made here stays here in Knoxville.

45:56.55] I want to speak respectfully about the concerns in the appeal

46:00.37] because we share the goal behind them as we understand it,

46:02.37] those current center on public access.

46:04.37] Public access matters to us.

46:07.37] This is why the breezeway and the plaza, the preserved stairs and the trail are all open to everyone.

46:12.37] This is not a gated community.

46:15.04] It is a place we hope neighbors will walk through, experience and enjoy.

46:19.29] I won't stand here today and say that we've gotten every detail perfect

46:22.32] or that we have agreed, that everyone agrees with every choice we've made.

46:26.51] What I can tell you is that we showed up and we showed up

46:30.37] and we showed up and we listened and we changed this project because of what we heard.

46:34.82] It is a better project today because of SWAG,

46:36.82] because of the neighbors who came out to Shriners Temple, Current Speed Hall

46:39.82] and the many community meetings and phone calls we received.

46:42.85] We respectfully ask that you uphold the Planning Commission approval tonight.

46:45.85] Thank you.

46:46.85] Thank you.

46:51.47] There are no more speakers on your team.

46:53.47] Okay.

46:54.40] All right.

46:55.88] The appellant has up to two minutes for rebuttal if there's someone from the appellant side who wishes to speak.

47:04.74] Hello, me again.

47:07.69] Suzanne Taravella, 2908 Severe Avenue.

47:10.65] I just want to address a couple of the comments that were previously made

47:14.88] and I'll try to go in order in which they came up.

47:17.86] The gentleman from the bobber shop on Severe Avenue

47:21.96] were excited about his excitement in the development in South Knoxville

47:26.96] and happy that his business is on Severe Avenue.

47:30.05] But all of the merchants on Severe Avenue don't share his view.

47:35.66] We went to their meeting recently and not everybody is in alignment there.

47:43.64] So we agree that great communities need people

47:46.96] and we need people in our great communities to be able to interact with each other.

47:50.96] We need to be able to see them on the street,

47:52.96] walking their dogs, exercising, hanging out with their kids,

47:55.96] shopping, and using the perimeters of these streets

47:59.96] to have life in our communities and to engage with each other.

48:03.94] So we're agreed on that point.

48:06.57] 5.7 acres, as was mentioned in Tommy's comments that John read,

48:11.76] is twice the size of the site that's typically allowable in the South Waterfront form-based code.

48:17.76] And it's true that only a part of it can be built if we are preserving the ghost stairs.

48:23.89] But our problem is not with the ghost stairs.

48:26.53] Our problem is with access through the site

48:29.53] and the corner of Dawson and Mimosa.

48:36.61] So that edge is the primary concern.

48:38.89] We've talked before about the hardship of the land

48:42.30] and many things can be done to land that has a steep slope.

48:47.42] Like I mentioned, all of Gay Street down to Straight Street figures this out.

48:51.64] I have worked with a civil engineer that's working on this project many times

48:56.79] to do many tough things, and I think that if the priorities are aligned,

49:00.79] they are smart, engaged, competent people who could figure this out

49:06.33] if they got that direction from their owners.

49:09.74] Thank you. That's two minutes.

49:11.74] Okay, thank you.

49:12.74] Okay, Council, that concludes the timed responses

49:21.69] and speaking from the Appellant and Appellate.

49:24.61] Council Member Adams.

49:25.78] Thank you, Mayor.

49:27.86] And thank you to those who are here tonight to speak to this appeal,

49:32.21] especially the community members who have written hundreds of comments

49:36.83] and have come tonight to voice their perspectives.

49:38.83] This appeal is unique in two distinct ways.

49:42.98] First, because it is dealing with form-based code.

49:46.42] Form-based code is exactly that, based on the form and placement of structures,

49:51.67] not their use.

49:52.67] Most of the time, this body deals with use-based code.

49:55.83] Is it residential or commercial?

49:58.83] What density can you have in a particular RN zone?

50:01.76] Form-based code relies on the form of structures and their placement

50:06.21] to drive the type of development that will enable the desired interaction

50:10.21] with humans, with cars, with communities.

50:13.18] It relies on the form, and this is why variances are rarely allowed.

50:17.95] To deviate from the form is to inherently compromise

50:21.84] the vision and intent of the code.

50:24.02] There are only two areas of the entire city that use form-based code,

50:29.47] Maryland Avenue and the South Waterfront.

50:31.56] Both of these areas are in my district, District 1.

50:36.85] Second, this particular council has never heard a form-based appeal before,

50:41.27] because these come through the Level 3 ARC review process,

50:45.52] something used literally fewer than the times I can count on one hand.

50:49.52] No one has a great deal of experience with them.

50:52.61] They do not arrive on our desk with a standard case file

50:56.93] complete with the planning staff recommendation.

50:59.84] They do not even come with a recommendation from the ARC review lead, Peter Arendt.

51:04.18] What we do know is that it went back and forth at Planning Commission

51:08.43] for three hearings, and when it passed, it did so by a 7-6 vote,

51:13.43] with all but one city commissioner voting no.

51:17.52] The last time a Level 3 review was heard, before this Kerbella case,

51:22.35] was a case involving a zoning variation being sought for SW3.

51:27.35] It was for a garage to be positioned in the front of a residence instead of in the back,

51:32.54] because the owner wanted it that way.

51:35.14] Even though the code strictly prohibited, the deviation was denied unanimously,

51:41.01] because the form-based code didn't allow it for a reason.

51:45.36] Positioning garages on the front of houses prioritizes cars over porches

51:50.67] and actually inhibits the kind of walkable pedestrian and human scale community

51:55.64] the form-based code is trying to guide.

51:58.95] This is relevant to tonight's appeal because it makes abundantly clear

52:03.65] the scale of deviation that is being requested.

52:06.65] It is not one deviation, not two, not three, but seven,

52:12.36] and each of these is requesting something outsized

52:15.68] and strictly prohibited in the form-based code.

52:17.68] Block size, 1,400 feet, is the maximum allowed.

52:22.41] This project is asking to increase this to 3,000 feet, more than double.

52:26.51] The block size of 1,400 feet is defined in order to prevent super blocks

52:31.93] of monolithic structures.

52:33.85] Such structures do not create a walkable, human-scaled urban fabric.

52:37.92] Maximum lot size, three acres is the maximum.

52:41.52] This project is asking to increase to 5.7 acres, almost double.

52:46.52] Lot size, like the block size, is defined to prevent overbuilding a parcel

52:52.78] to the point that it is out of scale with the rest of the environment.

52:55.78] There are five more regarding footprint, footplate, regarding transparency,

53:00.25] built into the code to encourage commercial retail activity.

53:03.25] Maximum setbacks to encourage street activation.

53:06.25] Minimum building frontage to encourage walkability and interaction.

53:10.24] And then lastly, the setback on severe.

53:12.24] I reviewed the record provided to us.

53:15.46] I listened to the speakers tonight.

53:17.42] Only one of the deviations, the setback on severe,

53:20.77] is a genuine hardship that passes the test of our approved criteria.

53:25.76] This is what deviations are for.

53:28.65] Not because the form-based code is inconvenient for a particular project.

53:34.19] Form-based code is not about the use, because we know what is built today

53:39.59] may change use multiple times over the next few decades.

53:42.59] But the architecture and the form will remain.

53:45.59] And that is what will determine whether this community,

53:48.78] this city, can interact with this parcel in the way it was intended.

53:53.81] As outlined in the South Waterfront Vision Plan

53:56.45] and made law in the South Waterfront Code,

53:59.45] precedent is being set for how this law is supported and enforced.

54:04.95] I intend on making a motion to approve this appeal.

54:08.90] However, I am very interested in what my colleagues have to say

54:13.57] and having a dialogue.

54:17.76] Any other comments?

54:23.39] Councilmember DiBardo-Lavan.

54:25.51] Thank you.

54:26.82] Yeah, I have a couple things to say.

54:27.82] I'll acknowledge first that this is a tricky site.

54:31.10] I walk it a lot.

54:32.10] Thursday night I walked it home from the 808 across the Gate Street Bridge.

54:35.10] And it's a tricky, tricky site because of the topography, the size.

54:40.13] I oppose this particular project primarily because of a couple things.

54:44.83] One is the block size.

54:46.83] It takes away the human scaleness of the block.

54:55.16] Doubling the amount of time that it's going to take to walk past an empty wall is a lot.

55:00.44] And so it really takes away the human pedestrian experience.

55:06.06] It also takes away the community experience.

55:09.06] So the block size is one.

55:10.06] The lot size is another.

55:12.06] Going to so large of a lot.

55:15.21] Basically, it's what's called a Garden City model

55:19.93] where you create a place for the residents to live and have an amenities.

55:25.05] But everybody who's passing by the outside of the community,

55:27.08] the neighborhood that's there, they don't get to experience any of that.

55:31.24] They just get to experience passing by.

55:34.36] Also, the lack of ground level transparency, I think, is a real issue.

55:40.99] It also reduces the human-scaled experience.

55:44.99] I think we have some interesting comparisons here in Knoxville already.

55:49.85] So one, what we're calling the Breezeway, feels very inadequate to me.

55:57.73] It reminds me of when TVA in the two towers, the east tower and the west tower,

56:04.16] sorry, the east and the west tower, they were told that they had to build a public plaza.

56:09.62] So they did.

56:10.62] How many times do you walk on the public plaza at the TVA?

56:13.57] You don't because it's up these steps.

56:15.84] It's very overwhelming.

56:19.42] And it was purposely designed not to be welcoming.

56:22.42] I'm not saying that's the case with this.

56:24.42] But me thinking about how many times I would venture down,

56:27.48] I might one time as a tourist venture down to see what this Breezeway looks like.

56:32.70] But I don't think it creates a regular community experience.

56:36.70] And so I don't think it's enough.

56:37.70] The other thing about the south water code is that the buildings

56:41.70] are supposed to be oriented perpendicular to the river

56:45.94] so that there are sideways through and not parallel to the river.

56:49.94] And the size of this building makes it both parallel and perpendicular.

56:54.94] A contrast is Southbanks, which is down there at such a landing.

56:58.94] A little larger lot, 11 buildings, 11 different buildings with sidewalks

57:03.12] that the public can walk on in between each of those buildings

57:06.12] with sight lines down to the park and down to the river.

57:10.12] And so I think the nature of this garden city-like development

57:15.13] takes away the experience for all those who are outside of this development.

57:21.81] I think the Levano, which is on the blunt side, is another lesson here.

57:27.37] It's the student housing that's just past city view,

57:31.37] but it also has removed every view of the river

57:34.43] and every access to the river there.

57:37.43] And then the last thing that I'm actually surprised by,

57:40.43] I wondered about the ghost stairs.

57:42.43] I went to KGIS and I looked back over the historic aerial photos

57:46.43] and I found in 1969 there are houses up there, single-family homes.

57:50.43] That's what the ghost stairs led to. They led to homes.

57:53.39] After the '69 photos, there's gone, there's a big parking lot.

57:56.36] But before '69, they're there.

57:58.56] I also went back to the original plat, which is also on KGIS.

58:02.56] And on that plat, the Cabela site is one site.

58:06.10] The parking lot is 11 different, I'm sorry, 10 different parcels on the ward map.

58:13.59] So on the original ward map set up in the very early 20th century,

58:17.59] they also saw that the space, it could be more approachable.

58:21.78] And so that's why I posed this project.

58:23.78] Council Member Thomas?

58:32.73] Yes, I won't go into detail. It's already been very well said.

58:37.79] But a couple of comments.

58:39.76] The idea behind the foreign-based code has to do with human scale.

58:46.02] And I think this development is just too big for that particular neighborhood.

58:52.24] And it's not integrated in the community.

58:55.30] And those are two criteria for foreign-based code.

58:58.30] And I wasn't directly involved when these foreign-based codes were formulated.

59:05.12] But I remember when the discussion was going on.

59:09.12] And as far as the intent of what kind of development these foreign-based codes were supposed to deliver,

59:17.62] I just don't believe this particular development is consistent with that kind of intent

59:22.62] that the collaboration came up with and determined that that was going to be the rules we apply.

59:31.96] So I'm going to be in favor of granting the appeal.

59:36.99] Council Member Honeycutt and then Housley.

59:41.94] Thank you.

59:43.32] First of all, thank you all for being here tonight.

59:47.66] And obviously everyone in this room cares tremendously for our community.

59:52.66] No matter what side of tonight's discussion you might be on.

59:57.91] And thank you.

60:00.00] Thank you to the development team for being interested in Knoxville, wanting to invest here, wanting to bring housing, especially for seniors here to South Knoxville and the community.

60:10.31] And again, irregardless of what happens here tonight, I hope that the dialogue will continue and the investment will continue and things will progress forward.

60:19.29] This is a challenging site. I think we all recognize that this is not a typical site, that this site offers, does need sort of special attention and special requirements.

60:35.19] And I think that there has been attempts at that. The other sort of thing I can sort of reiterate to myself and to everyone is that we're not here tonight to decide if we like the form-based code or not like the form-based code.

60:50.82] We're not here tonight to decide if we like the project or don't like the project. The code was adopted by the community through a lot of debate prior to us being up here.

61:00.27] So I see our role is saying, okay, if they want seven deviations from that code, then have they made the concessions, have they made the design to meet the intent of that code.

61:16.24] And the intent is pretty clear and it's been reiterated here today. So a mixed-use walkable human-scale development that's an extension of our city fabric.

61:27.87] And so I think I would like to ask a question to the developer about, you're asking for seven deviations. Obviously some of them are required because of the site and the topography.

61:42.44] But how do you feel like you've addressed some of the ones you've chosen to do in terms of building massing and that kind of stuff?

61:51.74] How do you feel like you've met the intent of the code through choosing to do all seven deviations?

62:01.60] Sure. Thank you for the question.

62:03.84] I think what we have tried to do specifically to your question about the site and fitting within the vision is really what brought us here to ARC because a strict interpretation of the code is hard to achieve on this site.

62:18.40] We respect the code. We appreciate the code. If we were able to do a development here, we would be in support of it.

62:24.46] We understand why it's there and what the opportunity is to lead and that be first.

62:30.46] I think of the seven deviations have been things that we have had to back into mulling over design for the past year in conjunction with SWAG, in conjunction with Councilwoman Adams, in conjunction with the community.

62:43.58] We have tried to eliminate those as best we could. Our transparency is 6 percent less than it needs to be. We're at 63 versus 70, so 7 percent.

62:54.54] Our block size is, because of the site and the topography, it has been said it's 5.7.

63:00.63] With the rock and with the slopes, we can only build on 3.2 acres.

63:05.21] We understand and respect the block size, but we've condensed it as closely as we could to meet that vision and the intent of the code knowing that a strict reading is not possible, which is why we are doing an ARC review.

63:19.72] We are asking a footprint of 3,000 square feet versus 1,400 square feet.

63:24.97] We have compressed that as closely as we could to make sure that we could meet that as best we could and not have to ask for anything.

63:30.97] The setbacks as stated by Councilwoman Adams, that is a deviation or a hardship that can't be overcome, and I think we'd be hard pressed to think that from a slope standpoint and rock, we did some geotechnical report and we hit rock at 0.8 of an inch on this site.

63:50.26] So carving into the hill while understanding that sidewalk level and street level buildings and retail would be preferred, and we would love to do that.

64:02.80] We just know that that's not viable by us or by anyone.

64:06.99] I think, again, the setbacks and stuff, obviously, because of the topography, it's pretty clear.

64:12.99] I think the ones that are harder to justify are the block size, lot size, and building footprint.

64:17.92] Well, and I think the block size, too, what we've done is understanding that 3-acre site is the code.

64:24.44] So to fit that vision, we are now building on 3.2, and we've created the breeze where 80-plus people at any given time can walk through assessively to get through and have a view of downtown that they have now, but they could continue to have for the foreseeable future.

64:41.43] Connect straight to the sidewalk that will take you down to the corner of Severe and Dawson.

64:45.43] So the pedestrian flow created by what we are hoping to do doesn't exist today.

64:51.77] And grading that down to a road or to a slope, it would not be assessable from the top of the hill down to Severe Avenue other than the way that we have had designed it.

65:00.77] So I think we acknowledge --

65:02.80] Yes, thank you.

65:03.80] I guess my time ran out, so you're talking right now.

65:05.92] Okay, I'm sorry.

65:06.92] Yeah, but I think we're just trying to --

65:08.94] Okay, thank you.

65:09.94] Yeah, I'm sure there'll be more questions from council, so stay close.

65:16.72] Councilmember Halsley?

65:17.72] Yeah, I don't really have any questions much, I don't think.

65:21.01] I want to give a shout-out to the Shriners.

65:23.01] I was actually at the first meeting that they had for the neighborhood, and they were there with their wives in the neighborhood.

65:30.23] There was a lot of people there.

65:32.41] They chose their own developer for less money because they, I guess, felt like they could work with this developer.

65:40.56] And I think, thanks to SWAG, they have worked collaboratively with them, and it seems like, to me, it's a lot better project than it started out to be.

65:48.55] Much better.

65:49.93] I mean, I think it looks quite honestly better than -- I shouldn't say this out loud -- most things on the waterfront.

65:54.93] So I know the comments.

65:58.76] I went through a lot of the comments, in fact, all of them, and about 75 percent of the comments that were made to the planning -- on planning's website had more to do with traffic than they did with this development.

66:09.70] And so they were just looking at traffic.

66:11.95] It's like, so, I mean, we're going to have traffic no matter what.

66:14.95] And as far as the fallback to the higher bids, I think that the Shriners received was for two student housing groups.

66:23.10] And I think, to be honest, most people in South Knox will think we have enough student housing, that UT South has arrived and we're done.

66:30.64] So, and a 55-plus community is great, in my opinion, because I think it will, via walking and driving, will promote traffic on severe avenue, and it won't really increase car traffic.

66:45.06] So I just think -- I think they've done a really good job of working together, and I think it's a nice project.

66:49.28] So I think it looks much, much better.

66:51.28] Okay.

66:55.76] Any further -- there's any further questions or comments?

67:03.06] Councilmember Adams.

67:08.19] I attended two of the four neighborhood meetings that were taking place in South Knoxville last night.

67:15.79] And at both of these in-person meetings, and in notes that I provided to another meeting, I encouraged citizen participation in what's next Knoxville surveys for our city's comprehensive plan.

67:27.74] I encouraged participation in the Hill Avenue survey to gather input on the vision for what could happen on roughly eight acres in our downtown.

67:36.83] One person asked me last night, "What happens with the input?"

67:43.67] And if you're lucky, this is what happens right here.

67:49.20] You have citizens who have been so engaged in a process in setting a vision for the way their community develops that they show up, and they invest their own time and energy and create a vision that gets turned into law.

68:03.50] And that vision and law help create investment and success like we see all along the south waterfront.

68:11.39] That did not happen by accident, and it didn't happen overnight.

68:17.12] The people who are speaking tonight in this appeal are just a few of the same ones who invested that time and created the south waterfront vision plan and who worked with the city to turn it into the form-based code.

68:29.45] The pull quotes in the document that Council was sent, we received that, and there are voices in that that express their value of the plan and that it's guided that development.

68:47.06] And right now, we're at a juncture of upholding the code and the vision and intent that we asked a community to create.

68:56.73] I support the community-driven south waterfront vision plan and its form-based code before the excitement or enthusiasm for any promised project.

69:07.45] Boil it down, and you see that what we have is seven outsized deviations that, taken singularly, would be enough for a denial. Combined, there is no question.

69:21.02] I make a motion to approve this appeal.

69:26.92] Okay, the motion has been made to approve the appeal. It's been made and seconded.

69:30.92] Any further questions or discussion?

69:35.38] Seeing none, all those in favor of the motion, please say aye.

69:41.71] Aye.

69:42.77] Any opposed?

69:43.77] The motion carries. 6-3, is that right?

69:51.04] Okay, did you get that, Will?

69:58.13] I'll make a motion for a roll call, Will.

70:01.19] Okay.

70:02.45] Councilman Adams.

70:04.69] Yes.

70:06.13] Councilman DeBardlevin.

70:07.80] Yes.

70:09.69] Vice Mayor Fugett.

70:12.48] Councilman Grant.

70:14.88] Councilman Housley.

70:16.43] Councilman Honeycutt.

70:17.74] Councilman Lloyd.

70:19.84] Councilman Parker.

70:22.19] Councilman Thomas.

70:24.17] May I have the votes five in favor, four opposed.

70:26.87] Okay, the motion to approve the appeal carries.

70:30.96] Okay, next item, please.

70:41.28] 12-f is the resolution authorizing the Mayor to execute an agreement with

70:45.89] Premise Health Employer Solutions LLC for operation and management services

70:50.89] for the City's employer-sponsored health center and field offices

70:54.95] for a period of three years with two one-year options to renew

70:58.94] at an estimated annual cost of $2,800,000.

71:02.94] Motion made to approve. Is there a second?

71:08.36] Thank you.

71:12.82] Thank you.

71:13.82] Motion's been made and seconded.

71:16.94] I just asked members of the audience to take your conversations outside.

71:21.41] We are continuing our agenda.

71:24.41] Council, I just want to just point out that this health center

71:29.30] is a really valuable asset and our employees really, really appreciate it.

71:33.30] For $10 a visit, our employees can get primary, acute and urgent care,

71:38.33] preventative care, annual physicals, vaccinations, lab work imaging,

71:43.26] and even some prescription dispensing,

71:46.26] and I think also, very importantly, wellness support, fitness training.

71:51.13] It's just another way that we support our employees and show that they are valued.

71:55.22] So thank you for your support of this investment.

71:59.22] Any further questions or discussions?

72:01.28] Seeing none, all those in favor, please say aye.

72:03.28] Any opposed? Motion carries.

72:05.69] 12-g is resolution authorizing the Mayor to amend the easement agreement

72:15.80] with the owners of the William F. Conley building at 507 South Gay Street

72:20.80] to allow proposed features to encroach into the public rights of way

72:23.80] of South Gay Street District 6.

72:28.84] Move to approve.

72:29.99] Motion made to approve and second it. Any questions or discussion?

72:34.12] Seeing none, all those in favor, please say aye.

72:36.19] Any opposed? Motion carries.

72:38.67] 12-h is resolution authorizing the Mayor to execute an agreement

72:44.07] with Gresham Smith to provide professional engineering services

72:47.07] for the Tazewa Pike corridor study in and amounts not to exceed

72:51.16] $248,023 District 4. Motion to approve.

72:56.16] Motion made to approve has been made and seconded.

72:59.45] Any questions or discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor, please say aye.

73:03.09] Any opposed? Motion carries.

73:07.64] 12-i is resolution authorizing the Mayor to execute a five-year agreement

73:10.64] with IRA Rinks East, LLC to lease ice making

73:15.73] and ice skating equipment services and supplies to the city

73:19.73] to operate the ice rink at the Market Square holidays on ice event

73:24.98] for an amounts not to exceed $103,000 for the initial year of the agreement.

73:29.94] District 6. Move to approve.

73:33.47] Motion made to approve and second it. Any questions or discussion?

73:36.48] Seeing none, all those in favor, please say aye.

73:38.59] Any opposed? Motion carries.

73:43.35] 12-j is resolution authorizing the Mayor to execute any law documents

73:46.35] necessary to apply jointly with Knox County for the

73:49.31] 2026 Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Award

73:53.31] in the amount of $158,586 with no required matching funds

73:59.56] from the U.S. Department of Justice for improved operation

74:02.56] of the criminal justice system and if such application is approved,

74:06.56] authorizing the Mayor to accept such a grant award.

74:12.59] Motion made to approve and has been seconded.

74:15.32] And there are two people who signed up to speak in opposition to this.

74:19.38] First is Elizabeth Pop.

74:22.20] If you come to the podium, state your name and address for the record

74:25.20] and you'll have up to three minutes to address council.

74:30.28] Elizabeth Pop, 37917.

74:33.47] So here we are again talking about more money for the Police Department

74:37.59] and there's nothing on the agenda about alternative response.

74:44.37] I was here last week saying, or two weeks ago,

74:47.37] no more money for the Police Department until Noel is gone.

74:50.37] He's not trustworthy and he's not respected.

74:52.94] Second, no more money for the Police Department until you all,

74:55.94] City Council, the body with the power of both the purse and the pen

75:00.94] until you fund alternative response,

75:03.23] something that the community's been asking for for six years.

75:06.23] This Police Department keeps killing people who need help

75:09.71] because they are not medical professionals.

75:11.71] They are not trained or educated and should absolutely not be in charge

75:15.71] of someone in a health crisis.

75:17.71] Third, how is it that the Police Department can keep asking for money

75:23.82] and not giving any details?

75:25.82] I don't understand why detailed information isn't required

75:29.04] every single time they ask for money.

75:32.03] It matters zero if it's free, unmatched, monies or not.

75:36.03] Details on its use should still absolutely be required

75:40.35] before it's even considered.

75:42.35] Transparency and accountability need to be required

75:45.76] before, during, and throughout the funding.

75:48.70] It appears like there's private conversations that go on

75:51.71] and he gets whatever he asks for.

75:54.83] Fourth, according to the agenda attachments,

75:58.98] JAG funds support all components of the criminal justice system,

76:03.01] including courts and maybe through the provision of services

76:08.13] directly to individuals and/or communities

76:11.13] and by improving the effectiveness and efficiency

76:14.13] of criminal justice systems, processes and procedures.

76:17.13] There are so many improvements needed in our local justice system

76:22.13] and here are just three suggestions.

76:25.09] One, an online accessible court docket.

76:28.51] It's found in many other places, including in Sullivan County, Tennessee.

76:32.51] And there's a statewide one in Missouri, if you all want to look at one.

76:35.53] That gives access to the public and attorneys and improves efficiency.

76:40.04] Second suggestion, more translators.

76:43.26] Right now there's only one and they hop from courtroom to courtroom

76:46.26] and court cases have to be put on hold all the time.

76:49.26] This would improve due process, court efficiency and effectiveness.

76:53.40] And the third suggestion, switch on the cameras in the courtrooms

76:56.64] to allow for live streaming.

76:58.64] They're already there. Turn them on.

77:00.76] This improves transparency, access and oversight.

77:03.85] All three of those suggestions actually serve the community.

77:07.91] No more money for Noelle's KPD.

77:12.86] Okay, the next person signed up to speak on this item is Rick Roach.

77:15.86] Mr. Roach, if you'd come to the podium,

77:17.86] state your name and address for the record

77:19.84] and you'll have up to three minutes.

77:24.89] Mr. Roach Knoxville, everything that she and Ms. Pop said.

77:29.72] And come, man, got to do the right thing occasionally.

77:41.45] Again, I say this to you guys over and over again, okay?

77:46.68] Here we have a situation where I can't find any details

77:52.66] about how the money's actually going to be spent.

77:54.66] And I'll address that question in the county commission

77:58.63] about their portion of those funds when they come together again.

78:03.65] But the city of Knoxville through the police department

78:07.96] has continuously, as Ms. Pop said,

78:12.66] been able to give the police department whatever it needs,

78:18.33] even if it has to go to the federal government.

78:20.33] Yet you can't find a way to institute community

78:28.29] under its original name alternative response.

78:36.73] You've misrepresented, council members have misrepresented

78:40.18] what community response is all about.

78:42.50] You've overblown what's going on with co-responder

78:48.00] and you've not had the, I don't know,

78:53.81] strength, courage, insight to ask the hard questions

78:57.06] about what co-responder is actually doing.

78:59.06] And I'm going to give you a quick personal situation

79:02.72] that happened with me.

79:04.99] I moved into a new home one day.

79:12.55] Hey, Rick, come here, come here.

79:17.80] There's a guy sitting on the porch.

79:20.79] This guy was just released from Helen Ross-McNath facility,

79:23.79] detention from detention.

79:25.79] He was okay and put back out on the street.

79:27.79] And the one thing I didn't want to do

79:30.97] because of my experiences with co-responder

79:32.97] or the lack of actually an effective co-responder program

79:35.97] was I didn't want to call the police department.

79:39.25] I didn't want to call you guys.

79:41.63] And I felt bad about that, but then I did.

79:47.52] And I specifically said when they arrive,

79:51.85] when the team arrives, half of the civilian take the lead

79:54.94] because the person that was sitting on the porch in need

79:57.94] used to live at that address.

80:00.19] And that was the only place he knew where to go.

80:03.40] And he was in bad shape, okay?

80:06.45] He was on multiple medications,

80:08.41] but he had been put on the street.

80:11.52] And you guys can do better.

80:17.60] You guys can do better, okay?

80:19.76] Two police showed up and a social worker who never spoke,

80:22.99] never spoke.

80:26.74] It makes sense.

80:28.83] We need to have the numbers about what you guys are doing.

80:31.96] Thank you, Mr. Roach.

80:34.02] Councilmember Parker.

80:36.98] Thank you, Mayor.

80:39.01] I'd like to get more information on this grant.

80:43.26] Also, I'm not sure what happened with the printing,

80:48.25] but my printed copy just looks like gobbledygook.

80:53.76] So not able to read the grant routing form,

80:56.92] and there's not much information there, so need more details.

81:01.34] Sure.

81:03.17] So this grant here is a joint application between us

81:05.17] and the county.

81:07.12] Our portion is 115,871.

81:11.15] Out of that, we're going to ask if we are awarded this grant.

81:15.63] This is a grant we get every year, so we expect to get it.

81:18.69] Approximately $50,000 for mobile radios.

81:21.63] Approximately $40,000 to fund our mounted unit.

81:26.09] Approximately $13,000 for training for our crime stoppers.

81:30.31] And about $12,000 in supplies.

81:32.44] And is there a reason why you cannot put that on the grant

81:37.65] routing form so the public is aware of what this grant is for?

81:42.63] Sure.

81:43.63] I think the reason is because of the time frames when these

81:46.63] grants drop, we have to get the information in that system.

81:52.17] I think it's about a month out.

81:54.17] And this grant is actually due on October 16th.

81:57.20] These grants have been dropping in a really, really tight window.

82:00.20] We just don't have a lot of time to put all that together.

82:04.45] Thank you.

82:08.90] Vice Mayor Fugett?

82:10.81] Thank you.

82:12.00] Chief Noel, you know, what we're discussing here is what we

82:16.52] often approve, which is grants in case we get them.

82:19.84] And in order -- we have to approve you applying for a grant.

82:24.81] But it would be nice in the near future, just to kind of get

82:30.91] a context of the amount of dollars we've asked for in grants

82:34.91] and what percentage we've actually gotten and be able to

82:38.87] follow up on which grants we did get, which we didn't get,

82:42.89] and how -- which ones were actually funded.

82:46.98] Does that make sense?

82:47.98] Because as we had in our board -- in our council dinner tonight

82:54.35] talking about procurement, so much money flows through on

82:58.35] council's agenda, about 78 percent of all the money that

83:02.35] gets spent in the county -- in the city -- we're not kind of

83:06.73] commissioned -- in the city comes before council.

83:10.18] So it is a lot to keep up with all the grants and what

83:14.18] percent did we get?

83:15.18] What did it go for?

83:16.18] So I just -- I would make that request on behalf of council

83:20.18] at some point to get an update about which ones we applied for,

83:24.34] what we got, and --

83:25.34] Yeah, we'd be happy to do that.

83:26.56] Yeah, I just think that'd be nice.

83:28.56] Give us a little time.

83:29.56] Yeah, not tomorrow.

83:30.56] Yeah.

83:31.56] But give us -- give you some time.

83:32.56] Some of them will be interesting.

83:33.56] Which then we get, and some of them are more long shots.

83:36.56] Right.

83:37.56] Right.

83:38.56] Okay.

83:39.71] It'll be good.

83:40.71] We will definitely get this grant.

83:41.71] A lot of times I try to tell you guys kind of like handicap

83:43.71] if we'll get it, and not a lot of times they're long shots.

83:45.71] We'll -- unless something, you know, radical happens,

83:48.71] we will get this grant.

83:49.71] But this discussion just prompted me to think about that.

83:52.68] Sure.

83:53.66] And it would be nice to get a follow-up on that.

83:55.65] Thank you.

83:57.54] Sure.

83:59.24] Thank you, Mayor.

84:00.24] I do feel like -- I think we all know,

84:05.82] especially up here being on council,

84:07.82] you know, that it's our duty to bring forth certain matters,

84:14.59] you know, when they're brought to our attention.

84:17.58] I know I can only speak for myself.

84:21.88] I can't speak for the rest of you.

84:24.49] Recently I received an anonymous letter,

84:30.14] stamped from the Knoxville Police Department.

84:35.21] So it came from the police department.

84:40.93] I'm not sure if any other council members

84:42.99] did receive this anonymous letter or not.

84:46.98] And I can't speak whether or not

84:49.01] that this information is true or not, right?

84:52.85] But we can't ignore it.

84:54.39] I don't want to ignore it.

84:57.15] I do think it's our job as council members

84:59.15] to ask questions and seek certain answers

85:02.50] through the appropriate channels.

85:05.24] Accountability and transparency, it's our duty, right?

85:10.28] We're required by voters.

85:12.63] We're required to make sure that accountability is made

85:18.33] and being done on the highest level of city government.

85:21.47] We all took that oath up here to do that.

85:25.33] And so I am going to support this request.

85:29.45] I do think the funds will bring forth, you know,

85:33.92] an opportunity to help approve the department.

85:37.67] I do think there's better ways that we can communicate

85:41.72] in terms of where funding goes.

85:45.26] But at some point, the information that I've read

85:48.16] in this letter, whether it's true or not,

85:50.16] we need to address it.

85:51.42] Thank you.

85:53.79] Okay, any further questions or discussion

85:58.31] on the item before you?

85:59.31] Seeing none, all those in favor, please say aye.

86:01.31] Any opposed?

86:02.60] Motion carries, 8-1.

86:05.40] Next item, please.

86:11.94] 13-N is an ordinance of the Council of the City of Knoxville

86:14.94] to amend Chapter 2, Article 3, Division 2,

86:16.94] Section 2-449 of the Knoxville City Code

86:20.94] to adjust the classification and compensation plans

86:23.84] to add the classification fire marshal.

86:27.15] Move to approve.

86:29.40] Motion made to approve.

86:30.40] Is there a second?

86:31.36] Second.

86:32.39] Motion seconded.

86:33.39] Any questions or discussion?

86:34.39] Vice Mayor Fugett, your lights on?

86:37.28] Yeah.

86:38.28] Okay, any further questions or discussion?

86:39.28] Seeing none, all those in favor, please say aye.

86:42.66] Any opposed?

86:44.04] Motion carries.

86:45.02] 13-0 is an ordinance to change the base funding classification

86:49.25] of property located at 6531 Vance Road

86:52.25] from RN-1 District to RN-2 District,

86:55.82] leaving all special purpose and overlay districts unchanged.

86:58.82] Jason Newcomb, applicant, third district.

87:02.84] Mr. Lloyd.

87:06.85] Yes, I'm very concerned about the density in that area.

87:11.42] That's a very rural part of my district.

87:15.93] There's actually a horse farm at both ends of the road.

87:18.93] Sometime back, my predecessor pushed through a change

87:25.06] on the lot next door, which is exactly what I see coming here,

87:31.05] turned a one-acre residential R-1 property

87:39.53] into four flag lots on a very, very narrow road

87:44.74] with no sidewalks.

87:46.74] And I'm very concerned about the density there

87:51.37] and the layout of the property.

87:55.36] And I'd like to make a motion that we turn this one down.

88:01.86] Second.

88:03.43] Okay, motion's been made to deny this rezoning

88:08.48] or the zoning classification change been made

88:11.67] and seconded.

88:12.83] Councilmember DeBartolebin.

88:16.90] Yeah, I would like to ask Mrs. Brooks

88:20.25] for a little more background

88:21.27] on why they requested this change

88:24.38] and what this change would make possible.

88:26.38] Amy Brooks, Knox Falls County Planning.

88:29.82] I cannot speak to exactly why the applicant requested this.

88:32.82] That would be a question for them,

88:34.82] but so the difference would be going from RN --

88:36.82] I'm sorry, I put my glasses back on --

88:39.39] from RN-1 to RN-2.

88:42.42] Again, the lot sizes are different,

88:43.42] so they're -- RN-1 is the minimum 10,000 square feet.

88:47.42] They can get on to 5,000 square feet in RN-2.

88:50.42] And they can -- they both allow single-family homes

88:54.45] and duplexes as they use on review.

88:56.45] So they're very similar,

88:57.45] but the lot sizes is what differentiates them.

88:59.45] Do we know this --

89:01.95] is this lot size currently over 10,000 feet?

89:03.95] I'm pretty sure it is.

89:06.51] Let me check real quick.

89:07.51] Yeah, it's 0.87 acres.

89:11.79] Okay.

89:17.80] Mr. DeBartolebin, you still have more time

89:20.80] if you want it.

89:21.80] Councilmember Thomas and then Vice Mayor Fuggett.

89:26.15] Yes, I remember some prior rezonings on that road

89:30.15] and actually drove that road.

89:32.15] It's been a while back, but it is really, really narrow.

89:35.15] And it was having trouble accommodating the traffic

89:39.50] that it did, even with the single-family residents.

89:44.30] So there's a basis for Councilperson Lloyd's concerns here.

89:49.39] And I remember, as I said, I remember driving that road.

89:54.24] It's a problem.

89:58.35] Vice Mayor Fuggett.

89:59.35] Thank you.

90:00.35] I just have a math question, Ms. Brooks.

90:02.45] I've worked in dollars, not acres.

90:04.76] So can you tell me, based on how many acres you said,

90:08.76] how many homes could fit on that if it were an R2?

90:15.23] So what was it, 0.87 and 10 square feet?

90:19.54] Yeah, it's 0.87.

90:22.65] I mean, I have to do my own math as well.

90:24.57] OK.

90:26.58] We should know.

90:27.58] Yeah, so Mr. Reynolds just pointed out,

90:33.39] it's very similar to the property next door,

90:35.39] so it will allow for additional.

90:37.37] OK, thank you.

90:38.30] That helps me.

90:41.37] Councilmember Honeycutt.

90:42.37] Yeah, this is also for planning.

90:43.37] Can you elaborate on your recommendation for approval

90:47.37] for this rezoning?

90:52.05] Yes.

90:54.20] The rationale was related to the consistency

91:00.94] with the adopted plans and some changing conditions.

91:03.94] There have been some rezonings that were approved.

91:06.94] The property, as you -- has already been mentioned

91:09.94] directly abuts another R and 2 rezoning

91:13.96] that was approved by this body.

91:16.96] It did come on an appeal to City Council fairly recently.

91:21.43] And like I said, so the uses are very similar.

91:25.67] It's just the lot sizes that differentiates the two zones.

91:28.67] Thank you.

91:32.64] So there is R2 adjacent to the property?

91:35.60] Yes, that's correct.

91:37.60] Councilmember Thomas.

91:45.86] Yes, Ms. Brooks, just a follow-up question.

91:48.86] If this was approved to R and 2,

91:50.86] how many parcels or how many buildings could be put on it,

91:55.49] how many residences?

91:57.47] Well, it looks like approximately --

91:59.06] it's similar in size to the one adjacent to it,

92:01.06] so four lots.

92:02.06] Well, that's my concern.

92:05.59] I remember there was a lot of debate on the rezoning prior,

92:09.65] as you mentioned, that was up for rezoning not that long ago.

92:13.74] And it was not with this council, but an early one.

92:16.74] And it was really heavily debated.

92:18.73] And I know that there was a real concern

92:22.30] about the amount of traffic on that road.

92:25.30] And to go up to four residences on that particular road

92:30.71] without doing a lot of improving on that infrastructure,

92:35.00] it's a problem because, as I mentioned,

92:38.31] I've driven that road, and you can barely get down it.

92:41.31] If you meet another car, it's tricky.

92:45.46] So those are my concerns, as I think it's a safety concern.

92:49.49] And normally, I wouldn't have a problem

92:51.49] with going up from RM1 to RM2,

92:55.81] especially if there was zoning in the proximity.

92:59.90] But on this particular site,

93:01.92] I think there's a safety hazard with that road.

93:04.12] So I'm going to go to deny it.

93:08.84] Any further questions or discussion?

93:13.49] Okay, so the motion on the floor is to deny the zoning change.

93:20.61] All those in favor, please say aye.

93:22.69] Aye.

93:23.84] Any opposed?

93:25.22] The motion to deny carries.

93:27.22] Next item.

93:28.57] Oh, next item is public forum.

93:31.11] Public forum, first person signed up.

93:33.11] We have a total of five people signed up to speak.

93:36.11] First is Gabrielle Lafleur.

93:38.05] Is Gabrielle Lafleur present?

93:44.80] Okay.

93:57.20] If you could start by stating your name and address

93:59.20] for the record, and you'll have up to three minutes

94:01.20] to address council.

94:02.20] Good evening.

94:07.26] My name is Gabrielle Lafleur, and I reside at 7820 Bagot Ridge Court.

94:13.32] Excuse me.

94:15.73] I might be out of breath.

94:16.73] My baby is moving right now.

94:18.73] He wants to speak too.

94:20.73] First of all, I just want to say thank you so much, everyone,

94:23.73] for giving me time to speak today.

94:25.73] I am here representing the Friends of the Longview Cemetery.

94:31.75] This is located at Western Avenue and Keith Avenue.

94:36.24] It is actually the largest African-American burial

94:39.24] here in Knoxville.

94:41.21] And right now, it does not look like a cemetery.

94:45.19] It is overgrown.

94:47.29] It looks like a forest.

94:49.88] You would not know that there were many prominent African-Americans

94:53.88] buried in this area.

94:56.99] And these are people who were authors.

94:58.99] These are people who built this city.

95:01.98] They were very notable.

95:04.72] And not just people who did that, but people who lived,

95:07.71] who were family members, who were fathers, mothers,

95:10.71] sisters, and brothers.

95:12.71] It is so overgrown, people cannot drive up

95:15.71] to visit their family members.

95:18.71] So as a collective, we have formed.

95:21.71] We are actually working with Knoxville Heritage,

95:24.71] Keith Knoxville Beautiful, to put together efforts

95:27.71] to restore the headstones, but also just maintaining this

95:33.71] so that people can actually drive in and put flowers down

95:37.74] and visit their family members.

95:40.74] I really want to take time to thank Councilman Grant

95:44.74] for being able to meet with us, to not just see us,

95:48.74] hear us, and show up.

95:51.86] You showed up. You came.

95:53.86] Like, literally, he showed up, and he was dragging out tires,

95:58.11] tires, beds, that people had put in this cemetery.

96:04.74] Right now, we thank you so much for your support,

96:07.80] being able to contribute to the maintenance with MOSE

96:13.80] and clearing out some brush.

96:16.80] And today, I'm asking, we need further support.

96:19.80] We really need you guys to come together with us

96:23.80] for a strategic plan for ongoing maintenance

96:26.80] so that we can not only get in there physically,

96:30.80] but then we can actually start putting together a plan

96:33.80] to restore headstones of people.

96:35.80] Guys, there are veterans in there as well.

96:38.80] There's veterans, too.

96:40.76] And so we can't even physically get in there,

96:42.76] so if you can help us and make some commitments

96:45.76] as far as, like, hey, we can get some, you know,

96:48.92] regular ongoing mowing, hedge, clearing brush,

96:52.88] then we can get in there. We can really work.

96:54.88] And we can also bring, you know, some representation,

96:58.90] bring this to people's attentions

97:01.90] so that we can actually do some more

97:03.90] and bring this to the light of our community.

97:05.90] Thank you so much.

97:06.90] Thank you.

97:08.63] The next person signed up to speak is Beth Desilvera.

97:14.03] You could come to the podium, please,

97:20.11] and state your name and address for the record,

97:22.11] and you'll have up to three minutes to address Council.

97:25.11] Hi, my name is Beth Desilvera.

97:28.10] I live at 513 Catapas Street.

97:30.10] I'm also speaking about the Westview Historic Cemeteries.

97:34.48] I'm here to ask for your help in restoring dignity

97:37.95] to the people laid to rest at Longview,

97:40.86] Crestview, and Southern Chang.

97:42.97] The dignity that every person deserves

97:45.20] in their final resting place has been lost under neglect

97:48.20] for years after participating in a cleanup event in March

97:52.61] to remove trash from Longview

97:55.25] and seeing a large dumpster overflowing

97:57.25] dozens of tires, a couch, and a chair

98:00.34] in somebody's final resting place.

98:02.49] I talked to a group at work

98:04.71] about trying to help clean up the cemetery.

98:06.71] Since April, we have done several cleanup days

98:09.02] and have uncovered multiple graves

98:11.02] from under brush and dirt.

98:14.59] One of the graves we uncovered is a veteran, Deloitte Sharp,

98:18.87] who was under two feet of brush and dirt.

98:22.62] Someone who served our country has been buried

98:25.18] for who knows how long.

98:27.61] Just recently, another gravestone has fallen over.

98:31.06] It is now laying on the ground at risk of breaking.

98:34.00] If it breaks, that history is gone forever.

98:37.44] That memory is gone forever.

98:39.69] That family's connection is gone forever.

98:41.63] Those are not just stones; those are people.

98:45.38] Grandparents, parents, mothers, fathers, sons, and daughters.

98:48.38] They are Knoxville's history.

98:50.63] History that could be lost forever

98:52.82] or something more is not done.

98:55.26] It's not just the families that care, the community cares.

98:58.44] People from Knox, Blount, and severe counties have helped us.

99:01.37] Two people from IMS on their own time came to help.

99:04.77] Get rid of the invasive plants.

99:07.01] Volunteers from Veterans Heritage Site Foundation

99:10.13] planned to come to our last event before it was postponed due to weather.

99:13.13] With Veterans Day approaching,

99:15.60] it would be nice to honor all veterans at Westview Historic Summit.

99:19.82] They deserve that.

99:22.30] There is a grave that places flags for veterans in Memorial Day,

99:25.30] but only for the ones they can find,

99:27.65] because there are others, like Deloitte Sharp,

99:30.84] or our country, that may be buried under all that overgrowth.

99:33.84] We have also cleared an area within Longview,

99:37.12] noticed that somebody visited the grave leaving a balloon

99:40.43] in a card for Mother's Day.

99:42.52] We are not sure if they have visited the grave before

99:44.52] or just made it easier for them.

99:46.52] And that tells us something powerful.

99:48.65] People still care, families still remember,

99:50.65] families still visit even after all these years.

99:53.80] But they can only do that if the cemetery is accessible, visible, and safe,

99:57.73] so others can visit their loved ones.

[100:00.03] I can visit my family's final resting place

[100:02.15] without navigating through trees, thorns, and brush.

[100:05.15] Families of people buried at all three cemeteries

[100:08.66] deserve to be able to visit their loved ones.

[100:11.88] We as a community will continue our efforts carefully

[100:14.94] and respectfully clearing the cemeteries, uncovering graves,

[100:19.29] cleaning gravestones, and the most important thing,

[100:21.29] saying their names,

[100:23.26] because we don't know when the last time somebody has said their name.

[100:26.38] When we restore Westview Cemeteries,

[100:29.92] we stay to every family, every descendant,

[100:33.04] and every veteran laid to rest there.

[100:34.94] You are not forgotten. Your life mattered.

[100:37.13] Your service mattered. Your story still matters.

[100:40.28] Council members, I'm asking today to help us bring dignity back

[100:44.59] to Longview, Southern Chaint, Crestview, and help us clear the brush.

[100:48.72] Thank you. Thank you very much.

[100:50.72] Next person signed up to speak is Carl Landston.

[100:55.57] If you could start by saying your name and address for the record,

[101:01.31] and you'll have up to three minutes.

[101:03.31] Good evening. Carl Landston, I reside at 1201 Clinch Avenue, District 1.

[101:09.74] I'm here this evening.

[101:12.34] It was apropos that the development on Severe Avenue came to your eye's attention.

[101:19.45] And I wanted to put something in perspective.

[101:23.12] I'm a local developer, native Knoxvillean,

[101:26.75] and currently I have the property at 2537 Chapman Highway under contract.

[101:32.36] And for a point of reference,

[101:34.36] that's the blighted shopping center between Arby's

[101:37.64] and McDonald's on Chapman Highway, opposite of Kern's Food Hall.

[101:42.59] I've had that under contract since February,

[101:45.78] and it's been quite challenging.

[101:48.62] And I'm sad to say that basically I had the largest student housing developer

[101:56.80] under contract, and they basically walked away a couple weeks ago.

[102:03.10] But I had a first district council person.

[102:07.45] I put her on the phone with the end user,

[102:11.49] and basically there were some concessions that they made.

[102:16.35] One of the concessions was basically she requested 10% non-undergrad.

[102:25.64] They said, hey, no problem, we'll do that.

[102:28.79] I said, I'll support you guys even in a joint venture

[102:32.30] where I partnered up with you on the land.

[102:34.40] They weren't aware of the Maplehurst technology part.

[102:40.32] I said, you guys will be able to get people that work there, grad students, whatever.

[102:44.32] You won't have any problem whatsoever on the 10%.

[102:47.33] And then the other request was 5,000 square foot of retail.

[102:52.20] They said, that won't be a problem as either, and unbeknownst to her,

[102:55.71] I got them to add another 2,500 square feet.

[102:59.02] But in the meantime, as you guys know,

[103:03.29] Gray Star owns a Class A development on Cumberland Avenue,

[103:07.51] and they scheduled a tour, and they never heard from it.

[103:13.12] And in addition to that, my consultant had one of his representatives meet with her,

[103:22.60] and basically this is Burr-Batum.

[103:26.40] She said she didn't trust him, didn't trust Gray Star, and didn't trust me.

[103:31.74] And so there was also a national retailer,

[103:35.93] and I was trying to get them on board for Chapman Highway,

[103:39.57] and they said, we don't do vertical developments, we did one in Murfreesboro,

[103:43.58] and ironically enough, they did one with Gray Star.

[103:47.48] And they said, it's just too hard on our customers,

[103:50.48] with parking decks and things of that nature.

[103:53.12] I said, I believe in this project.

[103:55.30] There's another site, because it's hard to find, as you guys know,

[103:58.30] with the topography, the rock, everything else,

[104:00.42] it's hard to find sites on Chapman Highway.

[104:04.21] I said, I found you another site.

[104:06.79] Thank you, Mr. Lanson, thank you.

[104:08.79] The developer from Gray Star called them up and talked to him.

[104:11.79] You're going to throw up.

[104:12.88] Thank you all for your time, I appreciate it.

[104:14.88] Thank you.

[104:16.80] In my point of order, in those situations,

[104:20.83] Council is able to motion and give someone an additional time.

[104:27.30] Maybe if we had a pause, and you asked if we wanted to make that motion,

[104:34.09] it would be more possible than trying to have to jump in

[104:37.34] while you're telling someone to walk away.

[104:40.07] But just, I really wanted to hear the end of what he had to say.

[104:47.70] Okay, you can make that motion if you wish.

[104:52.52] Next person is Yvonne Yates.

[104:55.52] Ms. Yates?

[104:56.54] Y'all are troopers, we've been here all night.

[105:10.50] I'm Yvonne Yates, I won't state my whereabouts.

[105:14.14] I'm in South Knoxville, but Alice is a domestic violence,

[105:17.10] a burn victim survivor, so we don't do that.

[105:20.10] I'm a homeless advocate, and I wanted you to know that there's 40 beds

[105:24.23] for the warming center at Church Street, United Methodist Church,

[105:28.52] for this winter.

[105:29.52] There's 27 beds for Cokesbury, United Methodist Church, at Fig Tree.

[105:34.52] There's 100 beds at Salvation Army.

[105:36.52] There's 100 beds at Palm.

[105:38.52] That's 267 beds for our unhoused for this winter.

[105:43.02] That's not nearly enough, you guys.

[105:45.01] I want you to put your heads together and think of an amount that's fair

[105:49.52] that Knoxville pays for our unhoused souls.

[105:52.52] Include ambulance rides.

[105:54.58] I think the hospital's probably right the uninsured off,

[105:57.58] but include police roundups and the bulldoze camps,

[106:01.58] the extra police spots that y'all have to break up,

[106:03.58] the domestic violence situations that detectives do,

[106:07.58] the firemen that have to go out for extra burns when it gets out of hand

[106:11.58] and all of that sort of thing.

[106:13.58] I believe churches and other organizations use their food

[106:16.58] that they give the homeless out of donations.

[106:19.61] Some use money they get from gramps.

[106:23.61] We have a lot of places that get donated blankets,

[106:26.80] sleeping bags, tents, tarps, hygiene from all over the county.

[106:30.80] I worked at Vestal United Methodist Church this past winter

[106:34.80] as a consultant there for the warming support center

[106:37.80] that helps all the warming centers.

[106:39.80] So we have all of these things going on,

[106:42.86] but we have to come up with a number.

[106:45.27] How much does it cost for one person to be here?

[106:48.27] Why?

[106:49.27] Because every homeless person that gets dumped here

[106:52.43] at Carm or Salvation Army parking lots

[106:54.43] or the Greyhound bus or at the county line,

[106:57.43] we need to start billing the counties,

[106:59.52] billing the states that put them here.

[107:02.61] You know, that's what happens.

[107:04.83] When I was at Salvation Army from 2008 to 2012,

[107:08.83] you can hear the voices change.

[107:10.83] All the northern accents come down.

[107:12.83] That's because people who are mentally ill don't know even how they got here.

[107:16.83] They don't want to be here.

[107:17.83] Somebody put them on a bus or put them in a car and they're here.

[107:21.83] The same things from the counties.

[107:23.79] I never met anybody the whole time I've been in Knoxville doing this

[107:27.79] that's from here, that's homeless.

[107:30.10] Almost everybody is from Greenback, Anderson County,

[107:33.10] Rome County, Ray County, wherever.

[107:35.10] Start charging them.

[107:36.10] Figure out whatever you all want to pay for a person.

[107:40.48] You know when they get here, the police know.

[107:42.61] They go get food stamps.

[107:44.61] Carm knows.

[107:45.61] Everybody knows.

[107:46.59] If they got dumped here, charge the people that are bringing them here.

[107:49.64] I say this because I don't want you to spend all the money for anything

[107:54.61] other than getting us a bigger place.

[107:57.61] For a warming center, get one of these warehouses, pay the rent, pay security.

[108:03.52] There's plenty of volunteers.

[108:05.56] I will get volunteers.

[108:06.61] At Salvation Army, I got from 100 volunteers a month to 3,000 just like that.

[108:11.61] You've got colleges here, you've got communities.

[108:13.61] Everybody wants to help.

[108:15.61] We've got to help each other here.

[108:17.89] Thank you for your comments.

[108:20.39] Can I say one more thing?

[108:22.61] To the other ladies that want help, I'm a veteran.

[108:25.61] I can get you help and I have flags for all those veterans and stones.

[108:28.61] I'll get you my number.

[108:29.61] I'll be glad to help you.

[108:30.61] Come on.

[108:31.96] Thank you.

[108:34.20] The last person signed up for public forum is Rick Roach.

[108:37.20] Mr. Roach, you have up to three minutes to address council.

[108:50.85] Thank you.

[108:52.17] I'll be reading a prepared statement from Community Defense of East Tennessee.

[108:56.14] Good evening, council.

[108:58.14] Before we begin, a content warning.

[109:00.14] You are about to hear portions of the final moments of Lisa Edwards and Patrick Allen.

[109:05.14] We understand these recordings may be difficult to hear.

[109:08.14] First, we want to honor their families.

[109:10.14] Lisa and Patrick were loved.

[109:12.23] Their lives mattered and they deserve dignity and care.

[109:15.23] We do not play these recordings lightly.

[109:18.23] CDET continues to advocate for an alternative response to mental health and medical crises.

[109:24.23] This is why we're doing the funding hunt because their lives matter even when you all forget.

[109:30.70] We ask that you listen with the humanity and respect these families deserve.

[109:36.24] How many more lives before you do something different?

[109:39.36] The ball is in your hands.

[110:41.92] You are in the back here.

[110:44.72] What?

[110:45.72] Back in here.

[110:46.72] Yeah.

[110:47.72] Yeah.

[110:48.81] See why you got kicked out of two hospitals now?

[110:56.15] Yeah.

[110:57.15] Yeah.

[110:58.24] Yeah.

[111:02.95] Yeah.

[111:04.87] Yeah.

[111:05.84] I'm going to house you.

[111:07.48] You're going to wear it.

[111:08.63] The hospital is sitting right here.

[111:13.01] This is where I'm going to go.

[111:15.14] Hey, just stop.

[111:16.11] All right.

[111:17.11] Thank you, everybody.

[111:18.05] Because we're out.

[111:19.23] This is your out.

[111:20.23] Hey, relax.

[111:21.23] I'm going to relax.

[111:22.23] Hey, I'm here.

[111:23.23] Hey, listen to me for a second.

[111:24.23] All right.

[111:25.23] This is going to be good, buddy.

[111:26.23] I dare you to do that, please.

[111:27.29] I dare you.

[111:28.29] I'll mess it up.

[111:29.35] Hey, buddy.

[111:30.35] Because this is rap, y'all.

[111:31.35] Hey, will you sit up for me?

[111:32.35] We don't care.

[111:33.35] Hey, sit up for me.

[111:34.35] Hey, let me talk for two seconds.

[111:35.35] Hey, I haven't talked to one of them yet, okay?

[111:36.35] I'm here to talk to you first before I hear it.

[111:41.98] Two of many.

[111:43.90] Two.

[111:44.89] Two men can do better.

[111:46.94] Please.

[111:50.64] Council, that concludes public forum.

[111:52.64] And without objection, this meeting is adjourned.