KNOX COUNTY, Tennessee — For years, Knox County has grown to become unaffordable for most households. According to Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs, around a third of all residents can afford a median-priced home and average rental prices have risen to around $1,500 per month.
In a video posted to social media, Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs urged leaders to consider "modernizing land use policies" as a way to keep the county affordable.
"These high costs affect everyone, but they're especially burdensome on folks just starting out. We want our young people, our kids and grandkids, to stay here and build their lives here. If current trends continue, they'll be forced to move away simply because our cost of living has gotten too high. As a result, our community will stagnate, taxes will go up, and our quality of life will go down," he said.
Recently, Knoxville leaders considered changing zoning rules to allow developers to build more Missing Middle Housing across the city.
This kind of housing includes duplexes, triplexes and townhouses. It features low-rising buildings that can hold several homes for families, effectively acting as a middle ground between high-rise apartments and single-family homes. Developers previously said building more could quickly add more supply to the area's housing market.
"We can avoid these disastrous outcomes by modernizing our land-use policies which will provide more housing units and different housing options, keeping the American dream of homeownership alive and thriving in Knox County," Jacobs said in the video posted to social media.
However, city and community leaders previously noted that adding more homes would not necessarily guarantee a drop in prices, since developers and companies would not be obligated to make them affordable for most families.
Knox County also prepared the final draft plan of Advance Knox, an initiative meant to guide decisions on how land could be used in Knox County in the coming decades. The plan emphasized using most land in Knox County for suburban residential development, with some areas designed for commercial and mixed-use purposes.
The Growth Policy Coordinating Committee, which effectively leads the Advance Knox initiative, is set to meet on Jan. 10 in the City County Building.
A recent report by the East Tennessee Realtors Group said only around 10.7% of homes in the Knoxville area are affordable for median-income families. It also said the median home sales price in the area was $346,000 in November 2023.
