Knoxville Neighborhood Advisory – Vol. 8, No. 19 – Tuesday, June 9, 2015
This newsletter may also be viewed in this PDF file:
Click to access Advisory-2015-06-09.pdf
1. City Council Approves Urban Agriculture on First Reading
2. Sons Summit to be Held Saturday
3. NAC to Ponder Street Closures, Open Streets
4. Bike Walk Knoxville to Discuss Open Streets Event, Other Issues
5. MPC Addresses Neighborhood Signage
6. KAT Proposes Expanded Hours, Route Expansion
7. North Knoxville Coffee Shop Competes for $100,000 Grant
8. Neighborhood and Government Calendar
Published by the City of Knoxville’s Office of Neighborhoods to report news important to Knoxville’s residential neighborhoods. News & calendar deadline: 5 p.m. Mondays.
1. City Council Approves Urban Agriculture on First Reading
Knoxville City Council tonight approved, on first reading, a series of changes to zoning regulations that make it easier for individuals, community groups and businesses to establish community and market gardens throughout the city.
See this PDF document for an explanation of the changes, along with various background materials:
Click to access UrbanAgriculture.pdf
2. Sons Summit to be Held Saturday
The City of Knoxville this coming weekend is hosting a gathering of minority teenage boys and young men to get to the root of the problems and challenges they face in our community.
Sons Summit — a follow-up from a “Save Our Sons” event held early this year — is designed to involve boys and young men of color, 12-18 years old. Its purpose is to create dialogue to develop strategies on how to ensure a safe, prosperous and healthy community where everyone has the opportunity to succeed. This is part of a national initiative to increase opportunities for success and reduce violence-related deaths among boys and young men of color.
The event will be held this coming Saturday, June 13, from noon to 3 p.m. at the Knoxville Civic Coliseum ballroom at 500 Howard Baker Jr. Avenue. You may park free of charge in the Knoxville Civic Auditorium and Coliseum parking garages.
Feel free to share with youth, parents, guardians and individuals whom you believe would be interested in participating in this event. Register on site or online at
http://www.eventbrite.com/e/sons-summit-tickets-17242773600?aff=eac2.
Please RSVP by 5 p.m. Friday, June 12, by contacting Jackie Clay at 865-215-2831 or jackieclay@knoxvilletn.gov.
3. NAC to Ponder Street Closures, Open Streets
The Neighborhood Advisory Council will meet tomorrow — Wednesday, June 10 — from 4:30 p.m. until 6 p.m. at the CAC building, 2247 Western Avenue.
Officials from the City of Knoxville’s Engineering and Police Departments will be on hand to discuss policies and procedures governing temporary closures of city streets for neighborhood events.
In addition, Liliana Burbano and Caroline Cooley will discuss “ciclovia” — the concept of “open streets” or temporarily closing streets to motorized vehicles for the exclusive use of pedestrians and bicyclists. Liliana is in charge of the “Safe Routes to Schools ” program for the Knox County Health Department, and Caroline is president of Bike Walk Knoxville.
Other topics may be discussed. All are welcome to attend.
4. Bike Walk Knoxville to Discuss Open Streets Event, Other Issues
Bike Walk Knoxville (BWK) will meet from 6-7 p.m. Wednesday, June 10, at the Public House, 212 W. Magnolia Avenue, to discuss an upcoming Open Streets event that BWK is planning in coordination with city staff from several city departments.
Updates will also be presented by Knoxville Alternative Transportation Coordinator Jon Livengood, TPO Bike Program Coordinator Kelley Segars, TPO Regional Greenways Coordinator Ellen Zavisca, and the Greenways Commission.
5. MPC Addresses Neighborhood Signage
The long-awaited and much-debated sign ordinance is back before the Metropolitan Planning Commission at 1:30 p.m. this coming Thursday, June 11.
City Council on April 9, 2015, approved proposed new sign regulations on first reading with the exception of three items that were referred back to MPC for further study. MPC staff is making recommendations to the commission on these questions.
One question was whether street sign banners designating a neighborhood, such as Fourth & Gill, should be exempt from regulation. In a memo attached to Thursday’s agenda, MPC staff suggests that banners used to designate a neighborhood can, in fact, be exempt from the sign regulations because the city already has a policy and permitting process for approving banners within the right-of-way.
If MPC and then City Council follow this recommendation, the current policy will remain in place. For a copy of the current banner policy and application, see http://knoxvilletn.gov/UserFiles/Servers/Server_109478/File/SpecialEvents/form_banner.pdf.
With input from the Office of Neighborhoods, the MPC staff also notes that current zoning regulations also make it difficult for neighborhoods to site and afford necessary variances for neighborhood entrance signs.
“There are several details regarding the regulation of neighborhood identification (or entrance) signs on private property that require further study and should be a priority as an amendment following the adoption of these sign regulations,” the MPC memo states. See http://agenda.knoxmpc.org/2015/jun2015/10-B-13-OA.pdf for the MPC staff memo and recommended ordinance changes.
Look for a public input process later this summer on possible changes to the sign regulations regarding neighborhood entrance signs.
6. KAT Proposes Expanded Hours, Route Expansion
Knoxville Area Transit (KAT) is proposing to expand hours and route offerings on Sundays, expand Route 41/Chapman Highway, and make other minor changes.
The Knoxville Transportation Authority (KTA) will vote on these proposed changes at their meeting on Thursday, June 25, at 3:00 p.m. in the City County Building’s Main Assembly Room. If approved, the changes would take effect on Monday, August 24.
The proposal calls for Sunday service to begin two hours earlier (8:15 a.m.) and end with a final trip at 8:15 p.m. — two hours later than the current service, which ends at 6:15 p.m. In addition, Route 12/Western Avenue and Route 20/Central Avenue would operate on Sundays. Currently, only four routes operate on Sundays: Route 11/Kingston Pike, Route 22/Broadway, Route 31/Magnolia and Route 41/Chapman Highway.
The proposal also includes an expansion of Route 41/Chapman Highway to serve Mountain Grove Shopping Center.
See http://www.katbus.com/pdf/routeproposalpacket_aug2015.pdf for details on the proposed changes and information on how to offer your comments and opinions.
7. North Knoxville Coffee Shop Competes for $100,000 Grant
K-Brew — a local coffee shop located on North Broadway between the Fourth & Gill and Old North Knoxville neighborhoods — is in the running for a national small business grant from Chase Bank.
Chase Bank is giving 20 grants of $100,000 each to small businesses across the country. Currently K-Brew is leading nationally in votes. Community members can vote online now through June 19 at www.missionmainstreetgrants.com/b/66829.
If it secures the grant, K-Brew plans to use the money on neighborhood-centric projects, including a large cookout/meet & greet event, as well as some other larger plans that build on the existing company.
K-Brew is located at 1328 North Broadway in a storefront that was renovated using funds from the City’s Façade Program.
For information on K-Brew, visit their website at knoxvillebrew.com or stop in for a cup of coffee. Questions can be directed to Pierce LaMacchia at hi@knoxvillebrew.com.
8. Neighborhood and Government Calendar
Include your neighborhood-related event or meeting in this space. Call 215-3456.
Visit http://knoxvilletn.gov/calendar for a complete list of meetings of various city boards and commissions.
If you are a person with a disability who requires an accommodation in order to attend a City of Knoxville public meeting, please contact Stephanie Brewer Cook at scook@knoxvilletn.gov or 215-2034 no less than 72 hours prior to the meeting you wish to attend.
Wednesday, June 10 — 7:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m.
City Business Breakfast
Helping local businesses “do business” with the City of Knoxville
Register online at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/2015Business-Breakfast
Knoxville Civic Coliseum, 500 Howard Baker Jr. Ave.
City of Knoxville, Purchasing Department
Wednesday, June 10 — 10 a.m.-11:30 a.m.
Food Policy Council
(Second Wednesdays but check website for confirmation)
Knox County Health Department, 140 Dameron Avenue
http://www.knoxfood.org; info@knoxfood.org
Wednesday, June 10 — 11:30 a.m.
Community Forum (Second Wednesdays)
Bearden Branch Library, 100 Golf Club Road
Sue Mauer, 690-0269
Wednesday, June 10 — 4:30 p.m.
Neighborhood Advisory Council, City of Knoxville
(Second Wednesdays except December)
CAC / L.T. Ross Building, 2247 Western Ave.
http://knoxvilletn.gov/government/city_departments_offices/neighborhoods/
David Massey, 215-3232
Thursday, June 11 — 1:30 p.m.
Metropolitan Planning Commission (Second Thursdays)
http://www.knoxmpc.org
Agenda: http://agenda.knoxmpc.org
Thursday, June 11 — 6 p.m.
Lonsdale Homes Resident Association (Second Thursdays)
Community Building, 1956 Goins Dr.
Phyllis Patrick, 323-7224
Thursday, June 11 — 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Greenwood Heights Neighborhood Watch (Second Thursdays)
Corner of Buttercup Circle and Sundrop Dr.
Alice Wershing, awershing@aol.com
Thursday, June 11 — 7-8 p.m.
Colonial Village Neighborhood Association
(Second Thursdays except December and January)
South Knoxville Church of God, 5623 Magazine Road
Terry Caruthers, 579-5702, t_caruthers@hotmail.com
Friday, June 12 — 7:45 a.m. and 8 a.m.
North Knoxville Business & Professional Association (Second Fridays)
Breakfast at 7:45 am, Meeting at 8 a.m.
Open to North Knoxville Residents, Neighborhood Groups, Business Owners
Meeting location varies. Check Website for location. http://northknoxvillebpa.org/
Becky Dodson, becky.dodson@hma.com, 545-6750.
Friday, June 12 — 6 p.m.
Beaumont Community Organization (Second Fridays)
Community Room, Solid Waste Transfer Station, 1033 Elm St.
Natasha Murphy, 936-0139
Saturday, June 13 — 11 a.m.-4 p.m.
Lonsdale Multicultural Community Market (Second Saturdays)
Pavilion, Lonsdale Park, 1317 Louisiana Avenue
Latino Task Force and Lonsdale United for Change
Emma Cosigua, 201-207-8801, or Rosie Noriega, 865-405-0931
Saturday, June 13 — Noon – 3 p.m.
Sons Summit
A gathering of minority boys and young men of color, ages 12-18, to address
problems and challenges they face in our community.
Knoxville Civic Coliseum Ballroom, Howard Baker Avenue
City of Knoxville, sponsor
To attend, RSVP by 5 p.m. June 12 to jackieclay@knoxvilletn.gov or 215-2831.
Sunday, June 14 — 2 p.m.
Historic Sutherland Heights Neighborhood Association
(Second Sundays, even-numbered months)
Marble City Baptist Church, 2740 Sutherland Avenue
John Yates, 865-588-8883, john.a.yates1950@gmail.com
Monday, June 15 — 6 p.m.
Annual Potluck Picnic
West Hills Community Association
The Gazebo, West Hills Park, 7624 Sheffield Dr.
Ashley Williams, 313-0282, ac.will@yahoo.com
Monday, June 15 — 7 p.m.
Historic Fourth & Gill Neighborhood Organization
Board Meeting (Third Mondays except January)
“Birdhouse”/Fourth & Gill Center, 800 North Fourth Avenue
Liz Upchurch, 898-1809, lizupchurch1@gmail.com
Tuesday, June 16 — 6:30 p.m.
Lonsdale United for Change (Third Tuesdays)
Lonsdale Recreation Center, Stonewall Ave.
Steve Ritter, 973-0877
Tuesday, June 16 — 7 p.m.
Edgewood Park Neighborhood Association (Third Tuesdays, except December)
Larry Cox Senior Center, 3109 Ocoee Trail
http://edgewoodpark.us/