Planning commission approves ORNL Federal Credit Union branch with drive-through and lakefront plaza

The Knoxville Knox County Planning Commission voted Aug. 14 to approve a development plan and alternative compliance request for a 4,100-square-foot ORNL Federal Credit Union branch in North Shore Town Center that includes two drive-through lanes and a small lakefront plaza. The plan drew a lengthy review over whether the proposed drive-through location and surface parking layout met the pedestrian-oriented intent of TC-1 town center zoning.

Dan Sanders, speaking for ORNL Federal Credit Union, told commissioners the facility would replace an existing drive-through configuration and create a new plaza and pedestrian connections to the lake and Town Center Boulevard. Architect David Sabina said the site’s design constraints — including a sewer easement behind the front setback — limited where the building could be placed and that the position chosen reduces conflict between pedestrians and vehicles. Planning staff recommended denial, saying the town-center code requires active, building-fronting streets and that surface parking and drive aisles are intended to be behind a building’s front facade.

Commissioners weighed the town-center zoning purpose against the reality of the site’s constraints and the project’s public amenity. Commissioner Butler, who has experience with master-planning the Town Center, supported the plan, saying it creates a lakefront promenade and is the most pedestrian-friendly solution possible given the site’s utility easement. Commissioner Myers dissented, saying the proposal would erode the pedestrian intent of TC-1. On a voice vote the commission approved the development plan and alternative compliance request; the motion passed with a majority vote. The approved plan removes the existing drive-through kiosks and relocates services to the new configuration. Commissioners said the project’s lakefront pedestrian elements and the removal of the old drive-through were important factors in approving the variance from strict TC-1 building-orientation expectations.