Historic Old North Knoxville

In response to a May 13, 2000 editorial by Knoxville News Sentinel (KNS) reporter Frank Cagle (click here to see this controversial editorial, in which historical preservationists' efforts to save the Fort Sanders neighborhood are criticized), the president of Old North Knoxville, Inc., Dave Palmer, wrote this letter to the editor which appeared in the May 19, 2000 edition of the KNS. 

"Editor, the News Sentinel:

"I am a longtime reader of Frank Cagle's columns.  While I didn't always agree with his views and opinions, I always found them to be worthwhile and informative.  No longer.

"Though I will probably continue to read Cagle's column after his column of May 13 on the Fort Sanders battle for NC-1 status, I will no longer accept the facts that he purports to be true without further verification.  

"It seems to me that Cagle was either bamboozled by his sources or he was just too lazy to check his facts.  Either situation seems to me to be unacceptable for the associate editor of a paper such as the News-Sentinel.

"Notice also, this column was printed just two days prior to the City Council meeting, so there is no time to rebut his misstatements.

"Most of what Cagle espoused in his column is the mantra of the developers who, we all know, have only the best interest of the citizens of Knoxville at heart.  The Neighborhood Conservation Overlay Zone will most emphatically not regulate any changes to the outward appearance of the structures in the designated area.  The Neighborhood Conservation Overlay is not a historic overlay.

"Portions of Mechanicsville, Parkridge, Fourth and Gill and my own Old North Knoxville have H-1 overlays, which are historic overlays.  Fort Sanders is not asking for a historic overlay.

"It is foolish to say that the Historic Zoning Commission would have final say over any changes in the exterior of existing houses or any new construction.  They don't have it for existing H-1 overlays, which are more restrictive than the proposed NC-1, so why would they have it for the NC-1?  There is a lot of misinformation out there.  The Historic Zoning Commission cannot dictate what color I paint my home.

"Mr. Cagle, please check your facts before you print them lest you become like so many of our public leaders and officials, unreliable and unbelievable.

"By the way, if you can find a house in either Fourth and Gill or my neighborhood for $10,000, please let me know.  We passed that point years ago.  Homes in our neighborhoods are in the $100,000 and up range now.

"You are correct in one statement, though: Property owners all over the city do have an interest in how it turns out, and unlike out-of-town developers, we vote."

Dave Palmer
Knoxville

Note from webmaster: The Historic Old North Knoxville Board is considering the option of pursuing an NC-1 overlay for the areas of the neighborhood not covered by the H-1 Historic overlay.  For an overview of NC-1 zoning as it is being proposed for the Fort Sanders neighborhood, click here.