FARRAGUT, Tenn — On March 28, a proposed growth plan that would have guided development in Knox County for decades failed when it reached its final step — a vote in Farragut.
On Wednesday, Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs is expected to attend a meeting with Farragut leaders. The meeting comes after Jacobs said the county would declare an impasse with Farragut over the vote. State law requires that following the declaration of an impasse, municipalities that voted against growth plans hold a meeting where they would formally explain their reasoning on the record.
Farragut could decide to vote again on the plan and approve it. If not, the Tennessee Secretary of State's Office would become involved in coordinating a remediation process.
Both Knoxville and Knox County had already voted in favor of the growth plan. Farragut's Board of Mayor and Aldermen voted against it, 2-3. Aldermen Drew Burnette, Scott Meyer and David White voted against it, while Mayor Ron Williams and Vice Mayor Louise Povlin voted in favor.
The growth plan was the result of around three years of work, conducted through the Advance Knox initiative. In it, leaders collected input from the community through public meetings and online surveys, asking them what they wanted Knox County to look like in the future.
In the end, the plan effectively calls for building suburban residential areas across the county, mostly including single-family homes surrounded by walkable areas. In between spaces areas of suburban growth are areas for mixed-use, as well as corridors for businesses.
"I have a very hard time supporting this plan because density was not reduced or controlled in the planned growth areas," said Meyer.
As part of Advance Knox, leaders also studied which areas would remain rural and where schools, roads and existing infrastructure could support growth.
"Hopefully this will really isolate the developments around where infrastructure supports it," said Jim Snowden, head of Knox County Engineering and Public Works.
Previously, the Knoxville City Council unanimously voted to approve the growth plan, and the Knox County Commission voted to approve it 7-2.
"Most of the concerns that's come to me is from people who have not read the plan," said Mayor Williams.
