The Knoxville Knox County Planning Commission on Thursday approved an amendment to the one‑year plan to remove duplex location criteria from chapter 2 of the development policy, and directed staff to prepare design criteria for conversion projects to be considered at a future meeting.

Supporters and opponents debated the change during public comments and a lengthy commission discussion. Drew Harper, vice president of YES Knoxville, told the commission the amendment would "allow flexibility in land use [and] give more agency to property owners," and said it would encourage infill rather than sprawl. Joyce Feld, president of Scenic Knoxville, urged the commission not to adopt the amendment without codified design standards, saying "design standards protect existing property values. They preserve architectural integrity, and they promote the aesthetics and stability of a neighborhood." Several neighborhood speakers asked for more public notice and time to weigh in; Lee Hume, president of the West Hills Community Association, asked commissioners to postpone the change so neighbors could be better informed.

Commissioners debated two questions: whether the one‑year plan's location criteria conflicted with the comprehensive plan and zoning, and whether design standards for duplex conversions should be adopted now or drafted separately. Commissioner T.J. Higgins moved to approve the staff recommendation to remove the duplex location criteria. Higgins said broadly applying design regulations for every possible conversion would be "problematic" and might unduly limit architectural flexibility. Commissioner Jesse Midas (questioning staff) and others said they were open to design guidance focused on conversions rather than a blanket code change.

Staff told the commission they are drafting design provisions. Planning staff member Jesse said the office "is considering incorporating that into the existing principal use standards for duplexes, which currently say that they only apply to new construction," and that a duplex‑oriented ordinance amendment is scheduled for April. Several commissioners — including Gill and Adams — said they supported approving the one‑year plan amendment now while expecting staff to return with conversion design criteria. Commissioner Adams said, "I too support this change but I feel that it does need to be a motion that includes that the planning staff will be making guidelines for conversions that we could... look at in April." Commissioner Gill added she did not believe duplexes themselves were at stake and called the change a clarification that would allow code and plan language to align.

The motion to approve the staff recommendation passed with voices in favor and no recorded opposition. The commission asked staff to return with proposed design standards specifically aimed at conversions — not only new duplex construction — so neighborhood concerns about context and streetscape can be addressed in the code or in a companion ordinance.

Votes at a glance
- Item 8 — One‑Year Plan amendment (remove duplex location criteria): Approved (motion by Commissioner Higgins; second by Commissioner Levinson). Staff to draft design criteria for duplex conversions and present them at a future meeting (April).
- Other final actions taken at the meeting (summary): Several rezoning and special‑use requests and subdivision concept plans were approved on the consent or individual items, and a campground special use and multiple variances and concept plans were approved after public comment. One large master plan (Item 54) was postponed 60 days to resolve earlier protective covenants tied to a 1979 rezoning. (See meeting minutes or staff report for full list of items and motions.)

What happens next
Planning staff will draft and present proposed design criteria for duplex conversions at an upcoming meeting (staff indicated April). Any new design rules would be considered separately from the one‑year plan amendment and — depending on their scope — could require ordinance action or other steps to incorporate into the development code.