The following first appears in today's MDT under legals.

notice of workshop:
planning commissioners from the municipal planning commissions and the county planning commission in blount county have been invited to a workshop on green infrastructure planning at 6:00 pm january 26 in the gary hensley meeting room of the maryville municipal building. the workshop will not be a meeting of any of the planning commissions involved, and no formal actions will be taken.
january 26, 2009

The words no formal actions are bothersome. The purpose of this meeting can be found at the Blount County site and the following comes from the Staff Memo, Long Range Items, Dec 23.

Daily Times

The Blount County Planning Commission wants to keep a scaled-down variant of the controversial Southern Loop proposal on the drawing board.

During a special called meeting on Tuesday, planning commissioners indicated that they wanted to keep the proposal for a two-lane bypass around the cities of Alcoa and Maryville in the text of the county Policies Plan.

Planners let it slip in a recent TDOT public hearing on the Pellissippi Parkway Extension that local traffic congestion improvements would only be realized if the southern loop is completed.

Citizens Against the Pellissippi Parkway Extension explain the problem:

According to TDOT’s traffic studies, the PPE will produce marginal and short-lived improvements to traffic conditions on a few roads, and within 20 years even these limited improvements will have disappeared.

Becky White, whose firm did the traffic analysis for TDOT, said that this projection assumes the Southern Loop and other proposed new roads will be built.

[..]

Tell TDOT that they need to do credible traffic studies of the impact of the PPE on our existing road system – the road system that will be in place when the PPE is in use. Until this is done there is no objective data supporting the assertion that the PPE will alleviate traffic congestion anywhere in the cities or the county.

In other words, if the southern loop (for which other more desirable alternatives have been identified) is phased out of regional transportation plans, the PPE cannot be justified on the basis of relieving traffic congestion.

Just received this email from the secretary of the GMAC.

"The GMAC members are planning to have a public meeting at the Library on March 3rd at 6:30pm to present our findings to the public and would like to encourage each of you to attend for information prior to our reporting to you at your work session in March. We will cover things in much more detail at the Library because we will have more time." -J.C. Franklin, Secretary

Put on your calendars!

I have ran across a resolution that was passed in 2004 that has some of the same verbage as the resolution that is to be considered on tomorrow night's commission agenda, review it if you have a opportunity and give some feed back.

I would like to hear what everyones take on the new buffer resolution that will be before the Blount County Commission next week.

I know what property owners in my district are saying, in short "another government regulation that is not only placing more restrictions on property that I own, but also requiring financial expenditures by me and then taxing me for the improvements"

What's your take...?

Buffer Resolution Draft

Thanks!

Sorry!

Boy, Commissioner/Planning Commissioner Scott Helton doesn't miss a trick when it comes to helping out the Mayor's biggest contributors: (Link...)

This is like a big ole Christmas present to people who already received ill-advised RAC status. Note the key words "AND existing commercial development." (Emphasis mine.) There's a big difference between clustering commercial only at key intersections on 411S and at existing ad-hoc industrial parks/metal dumps all along the "scenic" highway.

The Planning Commission seemed to reach a consensus on language suggested by the Hunter Interests Growth Study to recommend clustering of commercial sites on U.S. 411 by zoning at key intersections and existing areas of commercial development.

County Commissioner Scott Helton didn’t want the language to just include key intersections.

“I just didn’t want us to be handcuffed down there,” Helton said.

The proposal had generated discussion about what direction was wanted for the development of U.S. 411 South.

“We have a desire not to have a strip mall all the way down the road to the county line,” Planning Commissioner Rick Brownlie said.

Yes, Heaven forbid we should limit ourselves to the recommendations we paid so much for.

No truer words were ever spoken, than by Bob Kidd re: the win of Jerry Cunningham in the primary for Mayor: (Link...)

"Tonight was a vote for pro-growth," said Kidd, who did not seek re-election. "Put that in your paper."

Planning Commissioner Rick Brownlie, a really terrific guy and one of the bright spots on our planning commission, has initiated a very neat search utilizing the Daily Times: Link...

They want to base their study on one conducted recently from Sevier County (shudder): Link...

“To begin protecting these important resources, one must first identify specific publicly accessible places from which the views of these hillside and ridges are enjoyed. Such places normally include scenic highways, walking trails, scenic lookouts, parks, historic sites and buildings, and canoe and kayak routes.”

So, what views are important to you? Take a few moments and e-mail your thoughts to editor@thedailytimes.com or mail them to Scenic Views, The Daily Times, P.O. Box 9740, Maryville, TN 37803. The suggestions will be provided to the Planning Commission for informational purposes. A top 10 list of most suggested views will be also be published in The Daily Times.

I guess they include these instructions to save "Overlook at Montvale" the ole Ruby Tuesday treatment:

If you have strong feelings about any individual developments in Blount County, feel free to write a letter to the editor.

Just reading the words "Sevier County" in the context of "conservation" makes my blood pressure shoot up:

A guiding principle of the Sevier County study, which can be found online at Link..., was that hillside development should not be completely prohibited. One of the most important recommendations is the principle that all development should be secondary to the surroundings.

I support what they are trying to accomplish. Let's have our own "contest" in parallel. Who wants to start?

In preparation for the summit, five town hall forums are being held in the region to discuss tourism issues impacting the Smokies and its gateway communities

Link...

Tomorrow morning at the library from 10:00 until noon we have a unique opportunity to voice our concerns and listen and learn what it means to be a gateway community.

The Tennessee Department of Tourist Development has long been a great resource to those who understand that in order for tourist to get to the Smokies they must pass through our communities and what they see in route is just as important was what they see when they get to the Park.

The Planning Commission will hold a called meeting to begin revision of the Policies Plan and other plans of the County on October 30 at 5:30 P.M. in Room 430 of the Courthouse.

You may have missed the announcement of this very important meeting since it is not listed under the Meetings listing on the county website. It is rather hidden under the Plans listing.

Why are we changing the Blount County Policies Plan? Have the residents of this county changed their opinions as to what they want for Blount County? Do we no longer love the rural beauty or have we made the choice to become the bedroom for Knoxville and Oak Ridge?

Could it be....... 411 South as strip mall city or Pollywood West?

Could it be....... because SBUD is now in the sewer bid'ness?

Could it be....... to offer even more protection to Townsend and The Privileged Side of the Smokies?

Read the documents then come to the meeting.
Link...