Article 5
| In 1971, Loudon County officials adopted planning and
zoning regulations for the county, outside any city limits. No doubt
this was probably a very controversial move at the time. 53 years later,
the county is still operating under basically the same regulations.
There are 7 articles in the zoning codes. Article 5 is the most
impactful.
In just the past few years, as residential growth has exploded throughout our area, the county zoning policies have come under more and more scrutiny, several small changes here and there have been made but there were still a lot of areas that desperately needed updated to protect Loudon County from mass over development. For the last eight months, all parties involved have been working on a major rewrite of Article 5. The changes will go a long way to preserve the rural nature of the county and better reflect the changing demographics in the county. Currently in Article 5, there are 10 separate zoning districts. Any changes in zoning districts require rezoning approval.
Under the updated Article 5, there will be 13 zoning districts with changes to minimum lot size. Any changes in zoning districts require rezoning approval.
The biggest changes between the current Article 5 and the updated Article 5 are the addition of a new Agricultural Zone, R-3 and the changes in minimum lot sizes. The addition of the R-2 multi-family zone for duplexes, multi-family and cluster developments. The change of the T-1, cell tower overlay to a zoning district and the addition of the CFD, Community Facilities District which will be a catch all for any uses not included in any other zones. Just like the current Article 5, the updated Article 5 will require rezone approval for any zoning district changes. The biggest advantages to the updated Article 5, is to better preserve the rural areas from mass over development and protect communities from the urban sprawl happening in so many areas around Loudon County. The Loudon County Planning Commission will be reviewing the new Article 5, Tuesday at 4:30, prior to their monthly meeting. The Loudon County commission will also be reviewing it at their next workshop. I'm confident the realtors and developers won't like the changes, however the rewrite of Article 5 is a direct result of county residents plea to county commission to take actions to protect their communities. We heard you and we are taking action. Below is a link to the draft Article 5. This is only a draft and there have already been a few minor changes and will likely be others. |
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4/8/24