Downtown parking improvements head to JC planning commission

Johnson City planning commissioners will hear plans Tuesday for a downtown road improvement project that will add new parking to the downtown area. The city originally announced construction dates to narrow West State of Franklin Road as part of the improvement project in April but delayed the plans because city administration realized they had not put forth the project for planning commission approval. If it secures the planning commission's approval, the State of Franklin improvement project will be broken up into two phases, according to the planning commission agenda. The narrowing of West State of Franklin Road for the addition of new on-street parking spaces will be part of the project's first phase. The second phase will include improvements to the Downtown Square parking lot. The narrowing of State of Franklin Road would start this summer with board approval. The city provided a cost estimate of $460,000 for the entire improvement project — $232,000 for the State of Franklin roadway improvements and $228,000 for the Downtown Square improvements. There are 189 parking spaces included in the city's concept plan, according to the agenda, but it's unclear whether this is the number of spaces the project will add to the area or if it includes preexisting parking spaces. Other items on the agenda The planning commission will also consider amendments to the city's zoning code surrounding how data centers are regulated at its meeting Tuesday as well as several other items. The amendments to how data centers are regulated follow months of city staff and community collaboration on the issue. Public hearings will be held for a concept plan amendment for 621 Lake Harbor Dr., a request to rezone 1012 Knob Creek Rd. from a medium density residential district to a neighborhood business district and amendments to parking regulations for the West Walnut and Supporting Central Business districts. A request for a sidewalk extension in the Strawberry Fields neighborhood is also up for the planning commission's approval. The board will meet Tuesday at 6 p.m. in the commission chambers at City Hall, 601 E. Main St.