You may have seen ads or social media posts from one of my opponents claiming that the 2024 Knox County Growth Plan amendment “opened up more than 9,000 acres of rural land to planned growth” and that she was the only candidate who voted against it. Before that claim shapes your vote, you should know the facts and whole story.

The map her campaign has been circulating isn’t even the right map. It shows the first draft of the amendment, which was 2,048 acres larger than the final version she actually voted on. On top of that, it shows the entire existing Planned Growth Area, not just what was added. The amendment added just 12% to the existing Planned Growth Area from 2002. We’ve posted the accurate map so you can see the difference. In the job of mayor, details matter every single day.

During two years of public Advance Knox meetings, she submitted no public comments. When she had a seat on the Growth Plan Coordinating Committee, she never once raised a concern about schools, which was her responsibility as the appointee of the school board. At the fourth and final voting meeting, she spoke publicly about Knox County’s land use future for the first and only time. Here’s what she said:

“I just wanted to thank everybody who came to speak this evening and to all the meetings… I would be willing to delay this vote and this plan another week, month… it’s clear to me that we don’t have a lot of community buy-in.”

No policy proposals. No amendments. No substantive concerns. Just thanks, a suggestion to wait a little longer, and then a ‘no’ vote. She’s been running on it ever since.

Kim Frazier was deeply engaged throughout the entire two year Advance Knox process, starting with the community meetings in spring 2022. In spring 2023, she helped community advocates provide substantial input directly to the county’s planning team after the first future land use map draft was released. This helped refine and shape the plan’s direction before it ever reached a vote. Once the first draft Growth Plan Amendment was released, she worked behind the scenes to reduce the expanded Planned Growth Area by 2,048 acres before the final vote. 

Much of the land designated for the expanded Planned Growth Area was already under construction, already rezoned, or already completed. The map reflects reality on the ground, not a green light for sprawl. It does include some new rural land for expansion, which is needed with the county expected to add over 100,000 new people in the next 20 years.

The final Growth Plan also placed real conditions on development in rural areas, capping density at  2 units per acre and requiring available water and sewer and a collector road with at least 18 feet of pavement width. Here’s what else she secured by the time of the County Commission Growth Plan vote:

• A new Comprehensive Plan Rural Agricultural Placetype to identify our Century Farms and most valuable agricultural land
• The Hillside and Ridgetop Protection Plan included in the Comprehensive Plan
• Choto and other rural communities redesignated as Rural Living, reducing allowed density
• No new business parks or industrial zoning in the Rural Area
• Rural placetypes and zones now permitted within Planned Growth Areas, protecting flexibility for farmers
• Regular, ongoing review of both the Comprehensive Plan and the Growth Plan

When the Growth Plan moved to the County Commission, Kim voted for it because she had already spent months making sure it was as good as she could make it. 

Is the Growth Plan and the map perfect? No. Can the county mayor propose amendments to the Growth Plan and map? Yes. In fact, Kim believes the county should regularly reconvene the Growth Plan committee and plans to do that during her four year term. We have learned a lot since the 2024 map was adopted and need to fine tune the Growth Plan.

The Growth Plan also had to pass before Knox County could introduce the Comprehensive Land Use Plan, where the real protections for rural Knox County live. She had no seat, no vote, and no involvement in that plan. Kim Frazier did. When the Comprehensive Land Use Plan came before the County Commission, Kim arrived with over 15 pages of proposed amendments. (work session video). Commissioners voted on them one by one. Not every amendment passed, but that’s how the process works. What it showed was a commissioner who had read every word, understood every detail, and came prepared to fight for Knox County’s rural communities. 

My opponent cast a protest vote and called it a record. Kim Frazier’s record is the adopted Comprehensive Land Use Plan with real policy statements and actions for protecting rural areas and community character. These action items that are now being worked on.

For more information, refer to the county’s Advance Knox website or this summary from the community-led Advocates for Balanced Growth.