Knoxville Neighborhood Advisory – Vol. 8, No. 15 – Tuesday, May 5, 2015
1. Old Sevier Community Starts Second Butterfly Garden
2. Free Parking and Shuttle Rides to Vestival
3. City Acquires Old South High
4. City Proposes Additions to Form Based Code
5. KAT Expands Coverage East, West and South
6. Council to Consider Demolition Delay Ordinance
7. Mayor Proposes $206 Million Budget
8. Knoxville Receives TVA Grant to Weatherize Lower-Income Homes
9. Neighborhood and Government Calendar
Published by the City of Knoxville’s Office of Neighborhoods to report news important to Knoxville’s residential neighborhoods. Deadline for news & calendar items: 5 p.m. Mondays.
1. Old Sevier Community Starts Second Butterfly Garden
Old Sevier Community Group is working hard to transform the South Knoxville neighborhood into a haven for butterflies.
On a recent Saturday, Old Sevier residents, Comcast employees and other volunteers gathered on the grounds of South Knox Elementary School, 801 Sevier Avenue, to clean a portion of the school grounds, remove brush, and plant a garden with flowering plants that attract butterflies.
In addition, Comcast employees pressure-washed concrete pads, repainted the pads for games (hopscotch?) and presented a donation to the elementary school.
This is the second butterfly garden the neighborhood group has sponsored. The first one — installed last year — is located on a bank between Sevier Avenue and Ford Place.
2. Free Parking and Shuttle Rides to Vestival
Have you ever been to Vestival but had difficulty finding a good parking spot?
Have no fear. For this year’s event — coming up this Saturday, May 9 — there are eight different locations with free parking and a shuttle to take you to and from South Knoxville’s premier festival event.
The locations are: South Knoxville Community Center, 522 Maryville Pike; Mary Vestal Park, 401 Maryville Pike; East Tennessee Technology Access Center, 116 Childress Street; South Knox Collectors Mall, 3701 Chapman Highway; UGO Lot, 4221 Chapman Highway; Vestal Methodist Church, 115 Ogle Avenue; and Immanuel Baptist Church, 4218 Immanuel Street. Sustainable Futures, 201 Ogle Avenue, is also available and free, but for vendors and volunteers only, please.
See http://bit.ly/1E4AIlU to view the park-and-ride map.
Vestival — South Knoxville’s Art and Heritage Festival sponsored by Candoro Arts & Heritage Center — is slated for this Saturday, May 9, from 11:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. on the grounds of the historic Candoro Marble Company at the corner of Maryville Pike and Candora Avenue in the Vestal community.
There will be an eclectic group of live musicians, a wide variety of craft and food vendors, activities for youth, a story teller, a free breakfast for mothers, and more. A $5.00 donation is requested at the door. See http://candoromarble.org/ for details.
3. City Acquires Old South High
The City of Knoxville last week acquired the long-blighted former South High School building at 953 East Moody Avenue and will soon begin making plans to repurpose the building.
A public meeting to gather ideas for the future of the building will be organized by the Community Development Department. A date for this meeting has not been set.
Knox County auctioned the historic building in 2008 for $117,700 to Parisa Kadhoda, who sold it in 2012 to her husband, Bahman Kasraei. They reroofed part of the deteriorating structure but never developed the property any further.
Over the ensuing years the building racked up numerous building code and overgrown lot violations issued by city codes inspectors. When Kasraei threatened to demolish the building, Knoxville City Council imposed an H-1overlay on the building.
As the building continued to deteriorate, the city’s Better Building Board invoked the “demolition by neglect ordinance,” and the city spent approximately $30,000 to stabilize and secure the structure. When Kasraei failed to pay the bill, a lien was placed against the property, adding to the property taxes that Kasraei also failed to pay.
At the request of the Community Development Department, the Better Building Board first determined and then certified the building as blighted, and City Council last February approved the purchase of the property by eminent domain if necessary. Negotiations ensued, and the purchase was finalized last week.
The purchase price was $207,900, of which $65,265.59 was used to pay back property taxes, the demolition-by-neglect lien, and overgrown lot liens.
“We look forward to working with the community and with developers to save this historic building and bring it back into productive use,” stated Becky Wade, director of Community Development.
4. City Proposes Additions to Form Based Code
The City of Knoxville will hold a public meeting at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 7, regarding updates to the General Provisions of the Form Based Code (Article 4, Section 4.0) of the City of Knoxville’s Zoning Ordinance.
The meeting — to be held in the Small Assembly Room of the City County Building — will be hosted by the City’s Office of Plans Review and Inspections, as well as the Office of Redevelopment. The meeting is open to the general public.
The existing code — which shapes urban forms of development on the South Knoxville Waterfront and in the Cumberland Avenue Corridor — addresses new construction. The proposed additions will provide a clear pathway for property owners to modify, renovate or add to their existing structures.
Property owners within the South Waterfront and Cumberland Avenue Form Based Development Code Districts are encouraged to attend.
See http://www.cityofknoxville.org/policy/formbasedcode2015.pdf for a copy of the general provisions of Form Based Code — with the proposed changes in italic.
5. KAT Expands Coverage East, West and South
KAT has rolled out extended bus coverage for several Knoxville neighborhoods.
Passengers on the 34-Burlington, 40-South Knoxville, and 45-Vestal bus routes have new 7:15 p.m. and 8:15 p.m. trips departing from Knoxville Station, Monday through Friday. The changes, in part, are the result of petitions requesting later service in South Knoxville and responses to surveys regarding access to jobs for residents of Montgomery Village.
Also, the 34-Burlington route was revised to include a new stop at the Beck Cultural Exchange Center on Dandridge Avenue.
Sequoyah Hills now has peak weekday commuter service to UT and downtown. “An outreach meeting at a local neighborhood breakfast spot gave us some great input on improving the plan for the Sequoyah Hills route,” says Dawn Distler, Director of Transit. “We are expanding our outreach focus to spend more time in the community, and I think the results are going to be a transit system that works better for everyone.”
For more information on KAT routes and schedules, visit www.katbus.com.
6. Council to Consider Demolition Delay Ordinance
Knoxville City Council next week will consider an ordinance that would mandate a 60-day delay in the demolition of certain historic structures to give members of the community time to explore ways to save structures slated for the wrecking ball.
The Metropolitan Planning Commission last month recommended language for such an ordinance. See http://agenda.knoxmpc.org/2015/apr2015/4-B-15-OA.pdf for details and background.
See http://knoxvillecitytn.iqm2.com/Citizens/Default.aspx for the full agenda for the May 12 City Council meeting. The agenda will be posted by May 8.
7. Mayor Proposes $206 Million Budget
In her State of the City Address last week, Mayor Madeline Rogero presented a proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2015-16 that includes increased funding for bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, parks and greenways, and youth development initiatives.
The budget also includes continued support for economic development, blight abatement, center city redevelopment, historic preservation, the Office of Neighborhoods, and neighborhood capacity-building initiatives.
See http://www.cityofknoxville.org/Press_Releases/Content/2015/0429.asp for video and audio recordings of the Mayor’s speech, a transcript of the speech, and the budget document itself.
8. Knoxville Receives TVA Grant to Weatherize Lower-Income Homes
TVA has selected Knoxville as one of two communities in the Tennessee Valley to receive TVA Extreme Energy Makeovers funding.
TVA will invest $7.12 million to improve the energy efficiency of lower-income homes in Knoxville. The Knoxville-Knox County Community Action Committee (CAC) led an application for this funding in partnership with the City of Knoxville and Knoxville Utilities Board (KUB). The Project Team also includes the Alliance to Save Energy, a national nonprofit that promotes energy efficiency through public policy, education and outreach.
See http://www.cityofknoxville.org/Press_Releases/Content/2015/0429b.asp for details.
9. Neighborhood and Government Calendar
Include your neighborhood-related event or meeting in this space. Call 215-3456.
Visit http://www.cityofknoxville.org/calendar/ for a complete list of meetings of various city boards and commissions. See the Community Events Calendar: http://www.cityofknoxville.org/events/events.pdf
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@cityofknoxville.org or 215-2034 no less than 72 hours prior to the meeting you wish to attend.
Tuesday, May 5 — 6 p.m.
Mechanicsville Community Association (First Tuesdays)
Fairview Recreation Center, 1628 Dora St.
Charles Wright, 637-1802
Tuesday, May 5 — 6-7 p.m.
Norwood Neighborhood Watch – 6 p.m.
Norwood Homeowners Association – 7 p.m.
Monthly on a Tuesday: May 5, Jun 2, Jul 14, Aug 11, Sep 8
New Hope Presbyterian Church, 1705 Merchants Road
Lynn Redmon, 688-3136
Wednesday, May 6 — Breakfast – 7:30 a.m. Meeting – 8 a.m.
East Towne Area Business & Professional Association (First Wednesday)
Neighborhood Residents and Leaders encouraged to attend
New Harvest Park Community Building
Chair, Justin Sterling, JSterling@simon.com
Wednesday, May 6 — 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
Thursday, May 7 — 5:30 p.m.
Public Meeting
Proposed Changes to Form-Based Code
Small Assembly Room, City County Building
City of Knoxville, Plans Review and Redevelopment departments
News Release: www.cityofknoxville.org/Press_Releases/Content/2015/0430.asp
Proposed Changes in Italic:
Click to access formbasedcode2015.pdf
Friday, May 8 — 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, May 8 — 6 p.m.
Beaumont Community Organization (Second Fridays)
Community Room, Solid Waste Transfer Station, 1033 Elm St.
Natasha Murphy, 936-0139
Saturday, May 9 — 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, May 9 — 11 a.m.-7 p.m.
Vestival – South Knoxville’s Arts and Heritage Festival
Candoro Arts and Heritage Center
4450 Candora Avenue
Trudy Monaco, 384-1273
Saturday, May 9 — 2 p.m.-4:30 p.m.
Rabies Vaccination Clinics
Selected Knox County Schools
Knox County Health Department
http://knoxcounty.org/health/rabies_clinics.php
Monday, May 11 — 1:30 p.m.
Montgomery Village Residents Association (Second Mondays)
4600 Joe Lewis Rd. #175
Ronnie Thompson, 604-6492
Monday, May 11 — 3 p.m.
Northgate Resident Association (Second Mondays)
Social Hall, 4301 Whittle Springs Rd.
David Wildsmith, 219-0417
Monday, May 11 — 5-6 p.m.
Cold Springs Neighborhood Watch (Second Mondays)
Michael Meadowview Neighborhood Watch (Second Mondays)
CAC East Neighborhood Center, 4200 Asheville Hwy.
Michael Meadowview: Marian Bailey, 525-5625
Cold Springs: Terrell Patrick, 525-4833
Monday, May 11
Fountain City Town Hall (Second Mondays)
Board Meetings: 6 p.m. Monthly
General Membership Meetings: 7 p.m., April, September, November
Church of the Good Shepherd, 5337 Jacksboro Pike
Daniel Dunn, 387-6390, daniel.dunn06@yahoo.com
Monday, May 11 — 6 p.m.
Lyons View Community Club (Second Mondays)
Lyons View Community Center, 114 Sprankle Ave.
Mary Brewster, 454-2390
Monday, May 11 — 6 p.m.
Vestal Community Organization (Second Mondays)
South Knoxville Community Center, 522 Old Maryville Pike
Monday, May 11 — 6:30 p.m.
Community Potluck
Historic Fourth & Gill Neighborhood Organization (Second Mondays)
Central United Methodist Church, 210 Third Ave.
Liz Upchurch, 898-1809, lizupchurch1@gmail.com
Monday, May 11 — 6:30 p.m.
Historic Old North Knoxville (Second Mondays)
St. James Episcopal Church, Parish Hall, 1101 N. Broadway
Andie Ray, 548-5221
Monday, May 11 — 7 p.m.
Belle Morris Community Action Group (Second Mondays)
City View Baptist Church, 2311 Fine Ave.
http://www.neighborhoodlink.com/Belle_Morris
Rick Wilen, 524-5008
Monday, May 11 — 7 p.m.
Town Hall East
(Second Mondays in November, January, March and May)
Fellowship Hall, Eastminster Presbyterian Church, 409 Asheville Highway
Eston Williams, 406-5412
Tuesday, May 12 — 11:45 a.m.
Agenda Review, Metropolitan Planning Commission
(Tuesday before MPC’s monthly meeting)
Small Assembly Room, City County Building