Fort Sanders and the NC-1 Overlay |
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If you have been out of town for the past few years or make it a practice to avoid any contact whatsoever with any news media of any type (perhaps this is not a bad idea), then you may be unaware of the controversy raging over the proposed Neighborhood Conservation Overlay Zone (NC-1) to Fort Sanders. Whatever your opinion of this situation, do not think that it will not affect you or your home. It will!! The NC-1 overlay is one of the few tools available to help stabilize and maintain the older neighborhoods within Knoxville and Knox County. (Click here to see the "NC-1 Fact Sheet" - Webmaster) It is my personal opinion, that within a very few years almost all of our pre-1950 neighborhoods will ask for and receive either H-1 (Historic Overlay) or NC-1 status as a way to continue the benefits and life-style they chose their neighborhoods for in the first place. Fort Sanders is merely the most visible and the prototype for the NC-1 zone. Here in Old North Knoxville, the perception has always been that the H-1 overlay is the neighborhood. WRONG!! Old North Knoxville always has been and will continue to be much larger than the small H-1 area. Old North includes all of the area within the triangle formed by Broadway, Central and Woodland, as well as those portions of Grainger, Leonard Place, Luttrell & Overton that are isolated by the interstate approaches (map). If you go around these areas you will see a tremendous amount of wonderful homes on streets such as Stewart, Pearl, Bearden, Hazel, Cornell, and Alexander that deserve and need the opportunity to continue to serve as homes for Knoxvillians as they have for generations. Perhaps these homes and their owners don't want the "restrictions" that are found under the H-1 Overlay. In that case, the NC-1 Overlay offers the ability to afford some protection while still giving the homeowner control of his property. What the NC-1 Overlay will NOT do is regulate architectural details, control paint colors (for proof of this one need not look further than David Vogel's home - just kidding David), regulate interiors of structures or areas not visible to the public. What the NC-1 Overlay will do is set design guidelines that can contain requirements for the general physical design of new construction, allow reductions in required lot area, setbacks and parking if this i necessary to permit development which conforms to the size, orientation and setting of the building in the neighborhood. With the NC-1 Overlay, demolitions and new construction must be approved by the Historic Zoning Commission. However, the Historic Zoning Commission may delegate approval to the MPC staff. All of this is simply to say that the Fort Sanders Neighborhood Conservation Overlay Zone is much more important than just trying to save a few houses in Fort Sanders. It is to your benefit to study this issue and let your voice be heard. There was a Public Workshop held on June 15, which while well-attended, could have used more participation. There is another Public Workshop being held Thursday July 13, 2000 at 6:30 PM at the Laurel Theater. I look forward to seeing you there. |