08/13/2026
Read below...but also contact your Co Commissioner to nix this UDO proposal and revert to Proposal #1
Knox County and Knoxville-Knox County Planning recently released the Draft 2 Zoning Map for the UDO and are seeking input. The first draft map was released earlier this year, and after feedback related to the agricultural zones and potential loss of property rights, edits were made to create the second draft. Though the location of the proposed zones changed, farming and agricultural uses continue to be allowed on all properties currently zoned Agricultural (A).
On Knox County’s current zoning map, there is one Agricultural (A) zone that is applied broadly throughout the county as a one-size-fits-all zone in areas that are rural and agricultural. The Agricultural (A) zone includes properties that are used for farming, as well as those that have solely residential uses. Of those properties, a little more than 27,000 or 78 percent are 5 acres or less, and nearly 10,000 are less than one acre.
Through the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO), three new zones have been proposed to take the place of the one existing Agricultural (A) zone to better reflect the unique character of Knox County's rural areas:
Rural Residential (RR) zone: 1-acre minimum lot size, or as determined by the Growth Policy Plan
Rural Preservation (RP) zone: 2.5-acre minimum lot size
Agricultural Rural (AR) zone: 5-acre minimum lot size
The proposed Rural Residential (RR), Rural Preservation (RP), and Agricultural Rural (AR) zones will provide options to differentiate between a range of rural and agricultural types of places and uses moving forward.
For the initial rollout of Draft Map 2, the Rural Residential (RR) zone was applied to all properties that are currently zoned Agricultural (A) because it is the closest equivalent to the current Agricultural (A) zone. The intent of this was to offer property owners the ability to choose for themselves which of the three zones best reflects their property's use and the level of preservation they desire. This ensures that no property rights that exist today are lost through the process, while giving property owners the ability to decide for themselves if they want to remain in the Rural Residential (RR) zone or apply the Rural Preservation (RP) or Agricultural Rural (AR) zone instead. Choosing the RP or AR zone would apply larger minimum lot sizes but would likely require a rezoning in the future if the owner wished to subdivide the property.
Owners are encouraged to request the RP or AR zones if they wish by going to the map tab at advanceknox.org/udo/feedback and filling out the Rural/Agricultural District Opt-In Form. The current map is not final, and the original deadline of August 31 to submit the opt-in request form has been removed. Revisions to the map will be shared, showing all properties that requested the Rural Preservation (RP) and Agricultural Rural (AR) zones.
It should be noted that all three zones allow farming and agriculture. Through Tennessee's Right to Farm Act, the county cannot restrict or prohibit farming and agricultural uses. The application of these zones also will not impact Greenbelt designations or property taxes because both are determined by use and not zoning.
For more information about the UDO process, please visit AdvanceKnox.org/UDO or contact the project team at [email protected].
We’ve been getting a lot of questions about agriculture and how it’s affected by the new zoning proposed in the UDO. Here's what you need to know...
