Conservation Update September 29, 2024

We had our second neighborhood meeting Sunday, Sept 29. 4:30PM at the Timbercrest Pool. Neighbors from both Timbercrest and Far View Hills attended the meeting.

Show up

There are several things you can do to help the effort to ensure the new development is beneficial to our neighborhood.

Show up at the Planning Commission meeting on October 3, 2024, 1:30PM, in the Main Assembly Hall of the City-County Building. 400 Main Street, Suite 403. Wear green. Sit together to show unity. Each side of the case, “for” and “against”, will be given only 5 minutes total. Our lawyer will present our opinion. The meeting will be broadcast as well on: https://www.knoxcm.org

Make a public comment on Planning Commission case 9-SC-24-C by 3:00 pm on Oct. 2. Be brief, have a clear point, and try not to repeat other comments.

Talk with your neighbors to spread awareness about the new development and our response. Many do not have Facebook or even know about the development.

Background

Concerned residents including Timbercrest Neighborhood Association (TNA) and Timbercrest Recreation Club (TRC aka the pool) have organized and retained legal counsel to ensure the proposed development at the ends of Yosemite and Farland Drives is beneficial to the neighborhood.

Timeline, abridged:

  • August 22, 2024 - Signs posted at Yosemite and Farland Drives
  • September 4, 2024 - Site plan changed to connect Timbercrest and Far View Hills
  • September 9, 2024 - Meeting between representatives of TNA, TRC, and the developer
  • September 10, 2024 - Timbercrest neighborhood meeting established the need for organization and legal counsel, survey
  • September 11, 2024 - Legal counsel was retained
  • September 12, 2024 - Planning commission hearing, case postponed
  • September 16, 2024 - Survey posted to Facebook and email
  • September 17, 2024 - Developer revised the site plan to remove the connection between neighborhoods
  • September 22, 2024 - Meeting with Far View Hills and concerned residents
  • September 25, 2024 - Meeting with developer facilitated by lawyer
  • September 26, 2024 - Finalized list of requests transmitted to developer
  • September 27, 2024 - Response from developer
  • September 29, 2024 - Neighborhood meeting to update residents and decide next steps

Concerned Residents

We do not represent the neighborhoods. We represent donors to Timbercrest Legal Fund, which includes TNA and TRC. The group is calling themselves the Timbercrest Conservation Group. We foresee other possible impacts of development around Timbercrest.

If you are willing and able to help build up a legal defense fund, please donate at https://donorbox.org/timbercrest-neighborhood-legal-fund

We could use your help to sustain this effort. If you are able to volunteer your time and talents to Timbercrest Conservation Group, email conservation@timbercrestneighborhood.org 

No one is obligated to donate to or engage in this effort.

Requests

The Timbercrest Conservation Group presented the developer with the following prioritized list of requests. These were presented verbally in a conference video call on September 25 and in writing the next day.

  • Priority 1: Tree Management & Urban Forest Canopy Retention
  • Priority 2: Geotechnical Report & Soil Slippage Analysis
  • Priority 3: Common Area & Retention Pond
  • Priority 4: Balancing the Number of Houses
  • Priority 5: Traffic & Construction Impact Study
  • Priority 6: Lot Sizes & Housing Design
  • Priority 7: Pedestrian Paths & Emergency Access
  • Additional Request: Written Agreements & Statements of Intent

The detailed description of each request can be found on the Timbercrest Neighborhood Development concerns webpage. 

Response from Developer

The Developer had already removed the through traffic connection between neighborhoods.

The Developer responded with willingness to negotiate in some areas and a clear unwillingness to budge in others.

Priority 1: Tree Management & Urban Forest Canopy Retention - The developer agreed to tree management. 

However, they omitted the spoken agreement to mutually agree upon the arborist, allowing community oversight, and did not commit to buffer zones. We believe working together on the arborist is one of two mostly likely areas of further compromise.

Priority 2: Geotechnical Report & Soil Slippage Analysis - The developer feels this request is covered by their following of City of Knoxville regulations. 

We agree in principle but would like consultation with the community and additional commitments on soil slippage.

Priority 3: Common Area & Retention Pond - The engineer drew a 25ft buffer at the pool property line without relocating the retention pond. 

A 25ft buffer is inadequate. We believe relocation of the retention pond is one of two mostly likely areas of further compromise.

Priority 4: Balancing the Number of Houses between Timbercrest & Far View Hills - Developer appears set on the current layout and is unwilling to make modifications in order to maintain their desired total number of houses while not connecting the streets. They say topography and existing road alignments dictate the current lot layout and that they are not prioritizing one neighborhood over another.

The imbalance of lots on Far View Hills is simply not fair. The developer made no effort to contact or work with Far View Hills. The developer must address the imbalance of houses between the neighborhoods.

Priority 5: Traffic & Construction Impact Study - They have declined to perform a formal traffic study, citing that the development adds only 1 vehicle trip every 5 minutes during peak hours and will not cause delays. The city only requires traffic studies for developments greater than 75 houses.

We believe a traffic study will continue to be rejected by the developer. We believe this is a lesser priority that we are willing to drop if the balance of houses is addressed.

Priority 6: Lot Sizes & Housing Design - The developer’s lot sizes and density are compliant with the RN-1 zoning for the property. Their lot sizes range from. They reject the notion of giving your clients oversight on lot layout, home designs, or aesthetic considerations. 

We conducted our own statistical analysis which found the proposed lot sizes are within the distribution of lot sizes in Timbercrest and Far View Hills. We will not carry this request forward.

Priority 7: Pedestrian Paths & Emergency Access - The developer has included a pedestrian walkway. 

We applaud their willingness to provide connectivity without allowing through traffic.

Additional Request: Written Agreements & Statements of Intent - The developer believes these responses, coupled with compliance with existing city requirements, should suffice and has provided this as a "statement of intent" rather than formal conditions.

We believe a written agreement is required to ensure our concerns are addressed.

Next Steps

The Planning Commision Staff Recommendation is to approve the concept plan subject to a list of 10 conditions which are on the planning page.

The Timbercrest conservation group recommends attempting another round of compromise with the developer in the coming week. There are two areas of compromise that seem attainable based on the meeting with the developer and one area that is important to the community. The three remaining areas of concern are:

  1. Tree Management & Urban Forest Canopy Retention should have community oversight and agreement on the arborist.
  2. Retention Pond should be moved at least 100 ft from the pool’s property line.
  3. Balancing the Number of Houses between Timbercrest & Far View Hills should be closer to even.

We can oppose the development by doing the following:

  • Statement and presence at the planning commission. This may or may not influence the decision of the Planning Commission.
  • Appeal the Planning Commission decision. This is a reachable possibility.
  • Oppose every permit and final site plan. It will be a long process that will take resolve and people.

Decision Reached in the Meeting

At the meeting, we decided to send one more round of negotiation to developer with three requests:

  1. As per the the spoken agreement on 2024-09-25, allow Timbercrest representatives to mutually agree upon the arborist, work with the community on oversight of the tree management plan, and commit to buffer zones along established property lines.
  2. Address the imbalance of houses between the neighborhoods by putting 8 houses on the Yosemite Dr cul-de-sac thereby leaving 13 houses on the Farland Dr. cul-de-sac. It would also be agreeable to simply reduce the number of houses on the Farland Dr. cul-de-sac to 12.
  3. Increase the undisturbed buffer between the Timbercrest Recreation Club property line to 100ft. If 100ft is not possible, increase the buffer to 50ft and plant a foliage barrier such as thick evergreen trees along the edge of the detention pond.

The possible outcomes are:

  • The developer may agree to our latest round of requests and we do not voice opposition at the Planning Commission meeting. The development would proceed.
  • The Planning Commission may postpone the plan based on community disapproval to allow time for a better compromise.
  • The current developer may be dissuaded from proceeding.
  • The developer may enact their plan without support from the community.

We are willing and able to appeal the commission’s decision. Hopefully, the developer agrees to our requests. If the developer does not agree, we are fully prepared to appeal the commission’s decision.

We may ask for media engagement to highlight the inadequacy of Hillside Protection & Tree Canopy Preservation ordinances.

More resources

Mailing list

The Timbercrest Conservation list has been converted to a mailing list instead of a listserv. Replies to this email will come to the Conservation group rather than the entire list. If you have a concern you would like to share more broadly, let us know and we will disseminate that.