Housing and Other Uses May be Added to Business-Zoned Areas in Knoxville
The General Business (CA) and Business and Manufacturing (CB) zones in Knox County may be amended after a special called meeting of the Knox County Commission. Currently, the CA zone allows retail business and services such as grocery, restaurants, offices, banks, motels, and auto sales and service. The CB zone permits retail and service businesses as well as manufacturing such as bottling, canneries, creamery, leather, optical and paper goods fabrication, wholesaling, warehousing and distribution.
The special public hearing and discussion will regard the adding clinics, medical and dental offices, and multi-family dwellings with up to 12 units per acre to the two zone categories. Applicants would undergo a special use review for multi-family homes. Most of the amendments in this proposal were recommendations of the Alcoa Highway Corridor Plan.
Changes in Zoning Definition
Another change is the definition of an upper-level dwelling in additional zones. A memo from Knoxville-Knox Planning states that upper-level dwellings (multiple unit developments, not garage apartments) are allowed in the Town Center (TC) zones and allows dwellings in upper-level buildings (i.e., apartments over commercial, for example) in a development’s peripheral and core areas as a permitted use. Commercial Neighborhood (CR and CN) zones allow residential units on the second floor and above a business as permitted use.
While upper-level dwellings as a use are already referenced in the Knox County Zoning Ordinance, they have not been defined. Adopting the changes would open up additional zones for apartments and multi-use housing in the corridors of Knox County where such housing has previously been prohibited.
Author: STAFF HERE KNOXVILLE WRITER
The KNOXVILLE STAFF WRITER represents the experienced team at HEREKnoxville.com, your go-to source for actionable local news and information in Knoxville, Knox County, and beyond. Specializing in "news you can use," we cover essential topics like product reviews for personal and business needs, local business directories, politics, real estate trends, neighborhood insights, and state news affecting the area—with deep expertise drawn from years of dedicated reporting and strong community input, including local press releases and business updates. We deliver top reporting on high-value events such as Dogwood Arts Festival, Big Ears Festival, and Knoxville Asian Festival. Our coverage extends to key organizations like the Knoxville Area Chamber Partnership and United Way of Greater Knoxville, plus leading businesses in healthcare, education, and energy that power the local economy such as Covenant Health, University of Tennessee, and Tennessee Valley Authority. As part of the broader HERE network, including HEREBristol.com, HEREChattanooga.com, HEREMemphis.com, and HERENashville.com, we provide comprehensive, credible insights into Tennessee's dynamic landscape.
