Farragut Shopper-News 041917

Page 1

Real Andy Holt ➤

VOL. 11 NO. 16

FIRST WORDS Homey stay or animal house next door? By Nick Della Volpe The hot zoning topic these days is about the potential benefits and problems of Short Term Rentals (STR), more commonly referred to as AirBNBs. These include stays at a residence for a Della Volpe short weekend up to a 30-day rental. To judge by comments at the city’s April 4 neighborhood meeting to discuss the draft regulations, this is all the rage among new homesteaders interested in owning and rehabbing older neighborhood homes for such business. They argue that short-term rentals can help raise funds needed for the rehab, or to support a more leisurely lifestyle in semi-retirement. Tough questions need to be explored before Knoxville will have answers and a workable set of STR regulations. First among them is: What will this do to established single-family neighborhoods? Will this introduce a business element into bedroom communities, where residents count on quiet streets and the welcome nosiness of neighbors to keep tabs on strangers in the area and the potential for criminal activity brewing down the block? Does such commercial conduct portend the gradual breakdown of traditional zoning that separates business activity from residential – sort of mixed-use activity gone riot? Administration officials conducting the meeting also expressed concern that STR conversions may exacerbate the shortage of affordable longterm rental housing. The issues are more than theoretical. According to Deputy Mayor Bill Lyons and Codes Director Peter Ahrens, there are already over 200 AirBNBs operating in Knoxville ... an illegal use in single-family residential districts. Like Uber in the taxi/ride-share world, this idea is spreading. The administration is proposing a permit system to add a modicum of control to the present laissez-faire situation. The proposal currently requires homeowners to live in the home they are attempting to rent on a short-term basis (Type 1 permit). They would apply for a permit, pay a modest $70 fee, collect hotel and sales taxes, and be responsible to have someone on call within To page A-3

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Read Betty Bean on page A-10

April 19, 2017

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Batter up!

Cheering on the Spirits team are mascot Sandy, Meredith Giles and Anna Weitzer.

By Margie Hagen Coed softball kicked off the spring season last week as eight teams vied for standing at Mayor Bob Leonard Park. Town organized leagues have been playing in the park since the late 1980s. The league follows Amateur Softball Association rules for D league coed softball, and that levels the playing field between men and women. The one home run limit per team per game rule is followed; according to parks and leisure services director Sue Stuhl, “We don’t want to just have a home run derby going on, but actually play a great fun game for everyone.” After one home run, the next homer is called as an out. A coin toss starts the game. Teams provide their own equipment, with bats and balls approved by the ASA. Alternating batting order between men and women, rules also call for teams to play an equal number of men and women in the infield and outfield. Veteran umpires like Daron Douglas keep things running on schedule and “legal.”

To page A-3

BOMA encourages mixed-use development By Margie Hagen Mixed-use development is increasingly being seen as a way to bring urban-style living to the suburbs, and Farragut is getting on board. Mixed-use zoning incorporates retail, office and housing together to form an “activity hub,” essentially a destination where people can live and walk to nearby services. A planned commercial development (PCD) district is a subset of sorts of mixed use. The PCD district was created in 2006 when Kroger Marketplace on Brooklawn Street was developed. At the time, town planners

foresaw commercial retail and office applications, but without the residential component. Now that Kingston Pike Properties, LLC, has submitted plans to build a large complex on the corner of Kingston Pike and South Watt Road, a text amendment to accommodate housing is being considered. The project has been before the planning commission twice and is viewed favorably, according to community development director Mark Shipley. The amendment was approved on first reading, but Alderman Louise Povlin would like to see a team of profession-

als including a land designer, engineer and architect required for projects like this. “It’s not required now, but it would be an asset to development,” says Shipley. The idea of combining commercial and residential areas harkens back to an era when town centers had local shops and businesses with apartments above – think Concord in the early days. Suburban flight began as automobiles provided the means for people to raise their families away from city centers, but that trend is reversing now. To page A-3

Family’s loss becomes a cause

By Betsy Pickle

Elizabeth Psar’s daughter, Julia, has been gone almost a year, but her short life is still an inspiration. “I have derived strength from her,” says Psar, a child-advocacy lawyer whose career and personal life are primarily focused on helping children. Psar and her husband, Rado, had a “perfect” life until December 2015, when their 2½ -year-old daughter, Julia Barbara, suddenly started having balance problems. “I thought she had an inner-ear infection,” says the attorney. “It never occurred to me that she had a brain tumor.” Psar was at Juvenile Court when her husband took their daughter to the pediatrician. She remembers thinking that Julia would have to have tubes put in her ears. “That was going to be the worst thing that we were going to have to do,” she says. “That was that Monday morning, and by the evening

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they’re saying she has a brainstem tumor. And then the next day they’re saying she’s going to die.” The Psars learned that their little girl had DIPG – Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma – a brainstem tumor that is inoperable and incurable. The tumor usually strikes between the ages of 5 and 7, but it can be found in younger children and teenagers. The Psar family, including son Vasil William, now 5, went to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital just before Christmas 2015 to have a port put in for the medications she would have to have. They returned home for the holiday because the doctor said that it would probably be Julia’s last Christmas. The four returned to St. Jude in January 2016. Julia had to endure a grueling regimen of radiation, chemotherapy and experimental drugs. Steroids were part of her treatment and, Psar says, had a horrific effect. Julia bore it all

bravely, but: “She just never smiled anymore, and she was a child who smiled all the time. The steroids just altered her so dramatically.” There were times when Julia seemed slightly better. But during a Make-a-Wish trip to Slovakia to visit Rado’s family, she started experiencing nausea again. Julia died in her sleep on May 17, 2016, exactly one month short of her third birthday. A few months later, Elizabeth and Rado started the Julia Barbara Foundation to raise awareness of DIPG and raise funds for research. Last month, state Sen. Doug Overbey of Maryville and state Rep. Jason Zachary of Knoxville sponsored a resolution to make May 17 DIPG Awareness Day in Tennessee. The Julia Barbara Foundation is hosting a Gala Celebrating DIPG Children at 7 p.m. Saturday, May 20, at the Women’s Basketball

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Hall of Fame, 700 Hall of Fame Drive. Tickets, $60, are available on eventbrite.com. The Chillbillies, whose lineup includes Juvenile Court Judge Tim Irwin, will perform. Psar says the entire Juvenile Court team has been very supportive of her family and the foundation. It’s appropriate that the event is taking place at the Hall of Fame. One of the most high-profile DIPG victims is the late college basketball player Lauren Hill, who was inducted into the hall. Hill passed away in April 2015, but her foundation has raised millions for DIPG research and awareness. Psar says the incidence of DIPG is low – about 400 children are living with the diagnosis right now – but “that doesn’t include the children that die from it that nobody catches. It’s a very invasive tumor. It’s like a weed in your garden – it grows so quickly.” To page A-3

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