A few more than two dozen citizens gathered to discuss the opposition of commercial development at the Northeastern corner of Westland Drive and Pellissippi Parkway last night.
The property currently houses a building which is home to Shoreline Church. However, the property is owned by First Baptist Church, Concord.
The church is currently being required to have a traffic study conducted. The citizens are seeking $5-7,000 to have a traffic engineer examine and respond to the traffic study when it is completed about mid September.
The next hearing is October 8, 2015 and then because the property is within the City of Knoxville, City Council will have to vote of the rezoning.
The most interesting thing to come from the meeting is that a lawsuit has been setting in Knox County Chancery Court for many years challenging the finger annexation by Former Knoxville Mayor Victor Ashe.
If that suit could be decided favorably for the citizens that it was an illegal annexation. It could force the rezoning away from City Council and into the hands of County Commission. It was announced that a local Attorney has been engaged to attempt to rescitste that litigation.
An update was given to those in attendance about the apartments and marina along West Emory Church Road. The area citizens have appealed the lawsuit regarding the apartments and the other side (the developers) have appealed the decision on a proposed marina. It could be another 8-12 months with the appeals court.
WATE was present before the meeting interviewing community organizer Jack Woodall and took some video of those in attendance.
A writer with a local weekly publication is expected to raise the question in the Thursday publication, why would First Baotist Concord own property 6 miles from it’s Farragut campus. Probably for the same reason that the Knoxville News Sentinel has office property for the weekly news publication 14 miles from it’s News Sentinel Drive operation and 3 miles from it’s Scripps Networks Sherill Blvd. facility, but I digress.
