Advance Knox solution could be quick

But what happens if Knox County, Farragut can’t agree?

A plan for mediation to resolve the dispute between Knox County and the town of Farragut over a new growth plan could end up being a relatively quick process.

If the county and town can’t work with a state-appointed mediator to find common ground on the massive Advance Knox growth planning overhaul and three Farragut aldermen’s objections, it will go to a state panel for a final decision.

On the line is Knox County’s road map for how to make business development less lopsided to the west, and how to condense development in certain areas to preserve farmland. Without an updated plan, the county will continue to grow as it is, with urban sprawl eating land and housing and business developments causing clogged roads.

The plan, which took more than two years and $1.2 million to make, would have taken effect in May.

The county will send a letter to the Tennessee secretary of state to declare an impasse after Farragut blocked Advance Knox, and to ask for the mediation process to start, Knox County Deputy Law Director Mike Moyers said. County leaders plan to

Traffic jams on Northshore Drive are a daily occurrence, and the Advance Knox plan was designed to mitigate problem spots.

The fallout from Farragut’s derailment of Knox County’s massive planning overhaul is coming into focus just days after the March 28 vote, and residents could feel the effects everywhere from streets to schools.

Public officials didn’t disguise their disgust after three aldermen torpedoed the first of two parts of the Advance Knox plan that has been in the works for two years and cost $1.2 million to complete.

Advance Knox would overhaul Knox County’s road map for how to make business development less lopsided to the west, and how to condense development in certain areas to preserve farmland

Now, some elected

“If we cannot get to where we’d like to be, we’ll see Hardin Valley (growth), probably, in east Knox County, which is what we’re trying to avoid.”

officials are

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