KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — The Knoxville-Knox County Planning Commission on Friday voted in favor of rezoning Pickens Gap Road from agricultural use to a residential area.

Darin Maroni was one of many residents who came to today’s meeting in opposition of rezoning land off Pickens Gap Road.

“The reality is, is that we are trying to protect a rural space,” he said.

He, like many of the people who have spoken out against the development plan that has been proposed in the area, said he doesn’t want to lose the rural feel they fell in love with.

“That rural space has a quality that can’t be named, and the problem with it is, is when it is taken away and you have a subdivision where you have 170 units dropped in less than 40 acres, you lose that.”

This vote comes after Heartland Development’s Storm Shular proposed a plan to build 170 homes in the area. However he was disappointed by the outcome.  

“I wish that they would have approved what we requested, the two per acre, so that we could have moved forward with a single-family dwelling community,” said Shular.

Instead, the planning committee only approved one unit per acre and left a portion of the area he was hoping to develop on untouched.

“What we were asking to do was actually to spread that density out over a larger area and not concentrated so much in the front like it currently zoned,” said Shular.

He said those opposing his proposal may not have understood that part of the area was already zoned for general residential development.

However, nearly 600 people have already signed a petition against this development, and many made their voices heard in the meeting.  

“Just make some noise,” said Maroni. “Talk to the neighbors. Ask them, ‘would you like to have a high density subdivision thrown in your backyard? And would you be willing to do something about it if you had the chance?’”

Shular still plans to move forward on the development, citing the need for more housing in the area.

“We just have to move forward with the decision that was made and accept it,” he said.

Now that the rezoning has been approved by the Knoxville-Knox County Planning Commission, the Knox County Commission will need to approve it on May 20.