Knoxville Neighborhood Advisory – Vol
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Knoxville Neighborhood Advisory – Vol. 8, No. 42 – Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2015 1. Community Meeting Tomorrow to Address Youth Concerns 2. Parkridge Votes to Request Expansion of Historic Overlay 3. City Seeks Nominations for Neighborhood Achievement Awards 4. Participants Sought for City’s 225th Anniversary Celebration 5. BZA Decisions Can Impact Your Neighborhood 6. KKB Revamps Orchid Categories, Seeks Nominations 7. 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. Community Meeting Tomorrow to Address Youth Concerns Three Knoxville citizens are asking residents and friends of East Knoxville, Mechanicsville, Lonsdale, Beaumont and Western Heights to attend a “Saving Our Community” meeting tomorrow night, Wednesday, Dec. 9, to address concerns about young people in the community. The meeting will run from 7-9 p.m. at Vine Middle Magnet School, 1807 Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue. The three organizers are Rev. Sanford Miller, pastor of New Salem Baptist Church; Maurice Clark, a coach of community youth sports teams; and Rick Staples, chair of the mentorship committee of One Hundred Black Men of Knoxville. Clark is also founder of One Nation by Conviction, a social justice organization that advocates against the disparity in drug sentencing laws. Miller, Clark and Staples are seeking ideas and inspiration for working more effectively with young people who, despite efforts by community members, are still turning to violence and crime. Recent suicides and attempted suicides by young people have prompted this meeting, Staples said. “This burdens my heart,” Staples said. “Where is the disconnect? We need to figure out what’s going on among young people and how to reach them. This is a concern for the community as a whole.” 2. Parkridge Votes to Request Expansion of Historic Overlay At its regular monthly meeting on Dec. 7, the Parkridge Community Organization (PCO) decided to move forward with the proposed expansion of the H1 overlay district in the neighborhood. PCO members voted 17-7 to request, via letter, that Sixth District City Councilman and former Mayor Dan Brown “sponsor with the City Council the PCO’s effort to proceed with the public process for the H1 overlay extension in the Parkridge area.” PCO is seeking the normal protocol for general rezonings. This starts with a resolution from City Council asking the Metropolitan Planning Commission to study and make recommendation on the proposed rezoning. A favorable recommendation from MPC would go back to City Council in the form of an ordinance requiring two readings and votes. For historic overlay requests, the Historic Zoning Commission also is asked to review the proposal and make a recommendation to City Council. As proposed by PCO, the new H1 area would be bounded by Glenwood Avenue from Winona Street to Olive Street, Washington Avenue to Chestnut Street, Jefferson Avenue to Cherry Street, and Woodbine Avenue to Cherry Street. This would be the first major expansion of an H1 Overlay District since such districts were established in Old Mechanicsville (1991), Old North Knoxville (1992), Parkridge (Edgewood-Park City, 1997), Fourth & Gill (1999) and Market Square (2001). See https://parkridgecommunity.wordpress.com/preservation/planning/ for more detail on the Parkridge proposal, which has been debated in earnest for over the past year. To view the current H1 zone in Parkridge, visit http://www.kgis.org/kgismaps/map.htm , zoom in on Parkridge, and select “Maps” and “zoning” in the left hand navigation column. 3. City Seeks Nominations for Neighborhood Achievement Awards The City of Knoxville’s Office of Neighborhoods is now accepting applications for Neighborhood Achievement Awards. These awards will be presented at the Neighborhood Awards & Networking Luncheon to be held at the Knoxville Convention Center on Saturday, March 5, 2016. Neighborhood groups are encouraged to apply, and it is also possible for an individual or another organization to nominate a neighborhood group. The deadline for submitting an application/nomination is Monday, January 11, 2016. Download the application/nomination form. Or call Debbie Sharp at 215-4382 to have a hard copy mailed to you. Any resident-led, resident-controlled city neighborhood group recognized by the Office of Neighborhoods is eligible to apply or be nominated for this award. This includes neighborhood associations, homeowners associations, neighborhood watch groups and tenant/renter associations. Whether your group is large or small, well established or brand new, your group is encouraged to apply. The awards will showcase accomplishments by neighborhood groups during calendar year 2014 and 2015. Example accomplishments include: --- Beautification and place-making projects, green spaces and community gardens, and other physical improvements to the neighborhood; --- Projects, events and activities that focus on connecting neighbors with one another, such as street fairs, potlucks, home tours, holiday celebrations, and neighbors helping neighbors; --- New or ongoing communication efforts such as newsletters, social media and phone tree networks; and --- Activities involved in launching, reviving, or strengthening a neighborhood group. Working with the Office of Neighborhoods, an awards committee will select winners from the pool of applications and nominations. The number and category of awards will be determined by the awards committee based on the applications. The winners will be announced at the March 5, 2016 Neighborhood Awards & Networking Luncheon. 4. Participants Sought for City’s 225th Anniversary Celebration The City of Knoxville was founded on October 3, 1791, and preparations have begun for a 225th Anniversary Celebration next year. Visit Knoxville, the convention and visitors bureau for Knoxville and Knox County, is seeking participants (including neighborhood organizations) to join the celebration. Since the idea is to celebrate the city throughout its history, neighborhood organizations who wish to participate are limited only by their creativity in how they relate to the 225 theme. Ideas might range from a neighborhood history project (youth interviewing older residents) to the dedication of a time capsule to a special event to a service project. Any neighborhood or neighborhood group can participate, not just “historic” neighborhoods. Interested groups have time to plan an activity that can become part of the celebration during the year and that can be added to a special 225 website at any point. To explore ideas, contact Calvin Chappelle, heritage tourism coordinator for Visit Knoxville at [email protected] or 865-951-6614. Among the elements now in the planning: --- There will be a 225 kick-off event on February 6, which is the 220th anniversary of the day that the Tennessee Constitution was signed. --- All local art and cultural organizations will be encouraged to highlight their activities under the 225th anniversary lens. The Arts and Culture Alliance and the East Tennessee Historical Society will also be major partners in programming. --- Jack Neely and the Knoxville History Project / Knoxville Mercury newspaper will create a “Top 25” most interesting and compelling historical facts about the city. --- Preexisting festivals such as Dogwood Arts will feature some aspect of 225. --- June 1 is Tennessee Statehood Day, and the Historic Homes of Knoxville and the East Tennessee Historical Society will be offering programming. --- The grand finale will occur on the weekend leading up to Oct. 3, 2016, which is the actual 225th anniversary date. The Historic Homes of Knoxville will have their annual Founders Day Luncheon on that day. 5. BZA Decisions Can Impact Your Neighborhood Ten properties are on the agenda for next week’s meeting of the Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA). Established by city ordinance, BZA hears appeals of denials of building permits by the city's Building Inspections Department. The board, consisting of five citizens appointed by the Mayor, meets at 4 p.m. on the third Thursday of each month in the Small Assembly Room of the City County Building. BZA meets next Thursday, Dec. 17. Addresses on the agenda include 1421 Southgate Road in Sequoyah Hills, 6909 Quail Drive in Deane Hill, 2701 Spence Place (Island Home Airport), 226 N. Peters Road in West Knoxville, 5760 Grove Drive next to Fountain City Elementary School, 3447 Reagan Avenue in Marble City, 9956 Dutchtown Road in West Knoxville, 515 Wellsley Park Road and 7310-7350 Antoinette Way off Deane Hill Drive, 1995 Henley Street next to Henley Bridge south of the river, and 9546 S. Northshore Drive in West Knoxville. Keep up with how the BZA might impact your neighborhood. Watch for the black and white signs indicating that there is a pending decision on a particular piece of property. Most signs are for Metropolitan Planning Commission issues --- which are also important --- but signs with the word “variance” are BZA items. The BZA agenda is posted on the city website. Browse to www.knoxvilletn.gov/boards and click on Board of Zoning Appeals. The agenda is posted no later than the Monday prior to the BZA meeting each month. A neighborhood group that keeps track of BZA will call the Plans Review & Inspections Department at 215-3669 to request and study the paperwork on a particular appeal, decide whether to take a position on the appeal, and then attend the BZA meeting to voice the group’s support or objections. A group can also request a postponement to allow time to meet with the applicant. Decisions of the BZA can be appealed within 15 days of the BZA decision to Knoxville City Council. Appeals of a City Council decision are made to Chancery Court within 60 days of a City Council decision related to BZA. 6. KKB Revamps Orchid Categories, Seeks Nominations Keep Knoxville Beautiful (KKB) is now accepting nominations from the public for its beautification awards, the Orchids, that recognize exceptional work on buildings and outdoor spaces that beautify the local landscape in both the city and county.