On Tuesday, August 23, staff from the Metropolitan Planning Commission (MPC) will be at Northshore Elementary School from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. to discuss, receive comments on, and answer questions regarding the updates to the Southwest County Sector Plan. Staff is encouraging interested community members, property owners, and business owners to drop by this community event.

MPC staff are encouraging all community members to attend this event to speak to them in a more casual setting than those held over the last few months. While previous meetings had a formal presentation followed by a question and answer session, this drop-in event allows for ongoing, one-on-one conversation throughout the evening. Maps and a current draft of the plan will be on display for people to look over and review as they talk to staff.

Input received at previous meetings – concerns and suggestions alike – have informed the updates up to this point. Additional sidewalks, greenways and neighborhood parks, better zoning and development standards, and a cap on additional commercial development in low-density neighborhoods have been the most widely received requests for the update. This community involvement is vital to ensuring the future vision for the area according to those who live and work in it.

Current draft recommendations include:

• Mixed use development along Kingston Pike, Parkside Drive, and S. Peters Road to accommodate the projected future growth that is likely to occur
• Development of a Planned Office Zone
• Inclusion of a landscape ordinance
• Improved off-street parking standards
• Tools to allow for clustered residential subdivisions
• Extension of Ten Mile Creek Greenway
• Making Dunn Park into a neighborhood park
• Improving sidewalks around schools
• Widening both Canton Hollow Road and Concord Road

The current draft of the Southwest County Sector Plan, additional documents, maps and an online survey are available online at http://knoxmpc.org/southwestcounty/.