The Farragut Municipal Planning Commission will vote on a proposed change to the Boring Road corridor area on the Future Land Use Map (FLUM) at its Oct. 20 meeting. The public is invited to provide feedback before the vote.
The FLUM is a planning document meant to guide development toward what the community wants. In recent years, a steering committee made up of elected officials, staff members and the community has solicited feedback about developing areas along Watt Road, Outlet Drive and McFee Road. Each of those studies resulted in changes to the FLUM.
The map now needs to be updated to reflect current development patterns in the Boring Road corridor area, says Community Development Director Mark Shipley.
Three public workshops specific to the Boring Road corridor area were well attended and feedback from these workshops was reviewed with the steering committee on May 23. Planning Commission held a workshop on the proposed changes during its Aug. 18 meeting.
When the land use plan was updated in 2012, the former Ingles building was in poor condition and the area was considered a good location for a mixed-use neighborhood if the building was demolished. It has since been renovated and remains a commercial property. Also, other higher density residential housing was approved in Farragut, reducing the need for such development. Tracts that front on Boring Road have recently been purchased for estate lots, even though the current FLUM shows low and medium density residential, rather than very low density residential.
“If circumstances have changed, we need to update our land use plan,” says Shipley. “It’s not a static document, but a dynamic one. We need to recognize the changes that are happening in the larger community.”
Wendy Smith is PR and marketing coordinator for the town of Farragut.