Kingsport Puts a 94-Unit Kendrick Creek Apartment Rezoning on Final Reading

The Kingsport Board of Mayor and Aldermen held a public hearing and first reading Tuesday night, Aug. 4, 2026, on rezoning more than 8 acres off Kendrick Creek Road near I-81 from R-1C Residential to R-3 Low Density Apartment District. The concept plan is 94 multifamily units. The case is AF-135-2026. The parcel is Tax Map 105, Parcel 193.00.

As of Thursday, Aug. 20, the city has not posted minutes, a roll-call count, or a second-reading result. The Aug. 18 BMA page is live on Municode with no agenda, packet, or minutes. WJHL’s Belle Johnson story posted at 3:39 p.m. and updated at 6:19 p.m. on Aug. 4 — before the 7:00 p.m. meeting — so it does not report how first reading went. This is not a final map change.

If you own or are shopping off Kendrick Creek Road or at the I-81 ramps, hear this first: Planning Commission sent a positive recommendation in July. The board started the ordinance on Aug. 4. The ordinance is not finished. This is a new apartment file, not the Martin Marietta quarry rezoning the same board finished 6–1 on Aug. 4.

What is on the table at Kendrick Creek Road?

The July 16, 2026, Regional Planning Commission staff report identifies vacant land on Kendrick Creek Road: Tax Map 105, Parcel 193.00, Civil District 14, Gateway overlay, Suburban Living placetype. The site is 8.01 acres +/-. Existing zoning is R-1C. Proposed zoning is R-3 for multi-family. Applicant: Horse Creek Farms GP, 1423 Summerville Road, Kingsport. Staff notes: 94 new units, water and sewer available, and a traffic-impact study “will be needed for 750+ trips when plans are submitted.” The development review team is “supportive.” Planner Jessica McMurray dated the report June 23. The same item is AF-135-2026 on the Aug. 4 BMA agenda.

WJHL located it off Kendrick Creek Road near I-81. Staff mapped the neighbors: north, R-1C vacant (rezoned July 2024); east, R-1B single-family; southeast, MX commercial; southwest, TA/C vacant; west and northwest, B-4P commercial. A vacant pad between homes, commercial zoning, and the interstate.

What did Kingsport Planning Commission and staff actually recommend?

Staff asked for a positive recommendation. WJHL reported the commission discussed and approved the project at its meeting last month — July 16, 5:30 p.m. at City Hall. The packet does not print a roll-call. We are not going to invent one.

Three staff bullets do the work. R-3 is “compatible with the surrounding context and supportable despite the Land Use Placetype recommendation.” Multifamily next to the interstate “can serve as an effective buffer” through design, landscaping, and other buffering. Direct adjacency to I-81 is a “unique circumstance” that makes multifamily “more appropriate and better suited to interstate conditions.”

That “despite” is the listing issue. Suburban Living prefers single-family detached homes. Staff said the interstate edge is why to leave the placetype. On the five standards of review, staff said R-3 can buffer the interstate, commercial uses, and nearby homes; neighbors should not be hurt “with appropriate buffering, landscaping, and site design”; the land can still develop under R-1C, but R-3 is “better suited”; and interstate adjacency supports approval. Conclusion: send a positive recommendation “based on its role as an appropriate transition and buffer between the interstate and single-family homes.” A rezoning is not a permit or a site plan.

Did the Board of Mayor and Aldermen finish the rezoning?

No. Not on any document we can open this morning.

The Aug. 4 agenda, 7:00 p.m. in the Montgomery-Watterson Boardroom at 415 Broad Street, listed one first-reading zoning item: the Kendrick Creek ordinance, AF-135-2026, Jessica McMurray. Mayor Paul W. Montgomery is listed as presiding, with Vice Mayor Darrell Duncan and Aldermen Colette George, Morris Baker, Gary Mayes, Betsy Cooper, and James Phillips. The city’s video index shows the item at 00:41:07. Final-adoption items begin at 00:44:28. That is a three-minute window, not a published aye/nay sheet. The Aug. 4 page still has no minutes with a count.

The next regular BMA date was Tuesday, Aug. 18, at 7:00 p.m. As of Aug. 20 that page (meeting-76) has empty Agenda and Packet slots and no video. The portal already points to Sept. 1 at 7:00 p.m. WJHL has not published a second-reading count. Times News has not, in anything we can read that names Kendrick Creek. We will not guess a 6–1, a 7–0, or a deferral.

What did Ken Weems say about housing, traffic, and stormwater?

Planning Manager Ken Weems told WJHL the project could help with housing:

“I think their current concept plan has 94 units on it as far as multifamily out there. So, it would certainly, you know, help to at least put a dent in it for sure.”

That is a dent, not a citywide inventory fix. No rents, bedroom mix, or construction calendar.

Residents raised traffic at the planning commission. Staff then met the developers:

“We have actually dug pretty deep into the traffic issue. After the planning commission, we met with the developers just to, you know, give them the details about what our traffic study entails and just to confirm for them that they would be doing one for this project. And of course, they were more than accepting of that. They’re pretty used to that.”

The packet already says a study is needed for 750-plus trips when plans are submitted. A rezoning vote does not publish turning lanes.

Neighbors also flagged flooding from a nearby creek. Weems pointed to city engineers, not a finished drainage plan:

“We have a professional stormwater management team here with the city and they take their jobs very seriously. That will be watched by many professional engineers to ensure that the city’s standard is upheld.”

Watched is not “already built.” Put the creek and that sentence in the file.

What are nearby Tri-Cities homes doing right now?

A 94-unit concept on 8 acres does not reset Kingsport list prices. It does change the questions a buyer asks on Kendrick Creek Road.

The honest local numbers on a live Kings of Real Estate page are still the August 2026 Jonesborough figures and the Gray homepage teaser. Our live Jonesborough seller guide shows median list prices around $429,000 — down about 7% year over year — with price per square foot near $204 and a median listing of 73 days on market. That 73-day clock is a Jonesborough listing median, not a stamp for every Kingsport ranch off I-81. Homes priced for 2026 still move. Homes that wait for a zoning story to “blow over” pick up days, then price cuts.

The live homepage teaser for Gray / Washington County still states it this way: Tri-Cities new-home prices rose and new-home sales fell 17.6%. The 30-year fixed rate sat at 6.67% in the Aug. 13 Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey, down from 6.69%.

What this means if you own or buy near Kendrick Creek and I-81

• Kendrick Creek and Gateway-overlay owners: Keep AF-135-2026, Parcel 193.00, 8.01 acres, and the 94-unit concept in the file. Disclose a live rezoning. Do not advertise 94 apartments as built.
• Sellers next to the tract: Staff says buffering and site design are what keep R-3 from hurting neighbors. Those drawings are not in the packet. Price the house you have.
• Buyers: Write the contract to today’s R-1C map until the city posts a finished ordinance. Ask Planning, in writing, whether first reading passed and when the 750-plus-trip study is due.
• Land holders: R-3 next to I-81 is a different option value than R-1C. It is not a permit. Do not underwrite 94 doors until the ordinance is adopted and civil plans exist.
• Move-up sellers: The risk is timing two closings while an ordinance is still open. A guaranteed-sale plan sets your sale date first* so the next house is not a bet.

What should Kingsport owners and buyers do this week?

1. Pull Tax Map 105, Parcel 193.00 — or your lot line against it — and get the current zoning letter in writing.
2. If you are listing, put the Aug. 4 first-reading item, the July RPC recommendation, the 94-unit concept, and Weems’s traffic and stormwater quotes in the packet. Price for 2026.
3. If you are under contract, have your agent ask Planning whether AF-135-2026 advanced and when the traffic study is due.
4. If you need a number before you list, start with a free valuation. If you need a date you can honor, ask about a written sale guarantee* or a cash-offer path. Our listing desk fee is $250 a month.

Call or text Your Home Sold Guaranteed Realty at 865-365-2280. The Johnson City office is at 2244 N Roan St #107. We use our proven system — data-driven pricing, direct promotion to 45,000+ VIP buyers, and a written guarantee*. Get a free home valuation or see whether a cash offer fits the timeline you actually have.

What’s happening in the Tri-Cities this week

• Kingsport Regional Planning Commission — Thu., Aug. 20, 5:30 p.m. · City Hall, 415 Broad Street. Still listed; agenda and packet were not posted when we opened the page. Kingsport RPC Aug. 20.
• Johnson City Commission, Ordinance 4952-26 — Thu., Aug. 20, 6:00 p.m. · Municipal and Safety Building, 601 East Main. Public hearing on additional local, state, and federal appropriations. Hearing notice.
• Lawnstock — Sat., Aug. 22, 1–8 p.m. · Founders Park. Free, all-ages, rain-or-shine. Downtown Johnson City.
• 100th Appalachian Fair — Aug. 22–29 · Gray. Appalachian Fair.

Kingsport, Johnson City, and Jonesborough are three different price points inside the same hour of driving.

Sources: WJHL, Belle Johnson, Aug. 4, 2026 (pre-meeting); Kingsport BMA agenda AF-135-2026; RPC packet REZONE26-0166, July 16, 2026; Municode BMA meeting-75 video index and meeting-76 (checked Aug. 20); live KORE Jonesborough guide; live KORE homepage Gray teaser; Freddie Mac PMMS, Aug. 13, 2026.

Get your home valuation → · See your cash-offer options →

*Tracy and seller must agree on price and possession date. Kings of Real Estate, LLC DBA “Your Home Sold Guaranteed Realty”

Frequently asked questions

What is on the Kendrick Creek rezoning file?

REZONE26-0166 / AF-135-2026 is Tax Map 105, Parcel 193.00 on Kendrick Creek Road: 8.01 acres ±, vacant R-1C, proposed R-3 (Low Density Apartment District) for multifamily. Applicant Horse Creek Farms GP, 1423 Summerville Road, Kingsport. Staff (Jessica McMurray, June 23, 2026) noted 94 new units, water and sewer a vailable, and a traffic impact study at 750+ trips when plans are submitted. The Regional Planning Commission met July 16, 2026.

What happened Aug. 4, and did the board take a later vote?

The Board of Mayor and Aldermen held a public hearing and first reading on AF-135-2026 at 7:00 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, at City Hall, 415 Broad Street. WJHL’s story posted before that meeting. The city video index timestamps the item at 00:41:07. The same ordinance was listed for final adoption on the Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026, 7:00 p.m. agenda. As of Thursday, Aug. 20, published minutes and a roll-call for that second reading were not posted. Treat the file as not final.

What did neighbors and staff say about traffic and flooding?

Planning Manager Ken Weems told WJHL that residents raised traffic and flooding from a nearby creek. He said staff met the developers after planning commission on the required traffic study, and that the city’s stormwater team and professional engineers would hold the city’s standard. Staff notes say a traffic impact study is needed at 750+ trips when plans are submitted.

What would R-3 actually allow on 8.01 acres?

R-3 is Kingsport’s Low Density Apartment District. City code § 114-186 (Zoneomics reprint) caps density at 15 units per acre. The applicant’s concept is 94 units on 8.01 acres. A rezoning is not a building permit, a utility-capacity letter, or a construction start.

What are nearby Tri-Cities homes doing right now?

Do not blend the numbers. Live KORE Jonesborough existing-home list: about $429,000, about $204 per square foot, 73 days on market. NETAR July new homes (live KORE Gray desk): 56 sales vs 68 a year earlier (−17.6%), median $365,588, average $403,651, $207.38 per finished square foot; Kingsport had seven new-home closings in that city table. 30-year fixed 6.67% (Freddie Mac, Aug. 13).

What should Kendrick Creek and Kingsport owners do this week?

Disclose AF-135-2026 as a pending process, not a finished complex. Price to 2026 comps. Buyers should write contracts to today’s zoning letter and ask planning staff in writing whether Aug. 18 final adoption was taken. Call Your Home Sold Guaranteed Realty at 865-365-2280; Johnson City office 2244 N Roan St #107. Listing desk fee is $250 a month. Start with a free home valuation or a cash-offer path.

What’s happening in the Tri-Cities this week

Thu., Aug. 20, 6 p.m.: Johnson City Commission, 601 E. Main St., public hearing on Ordinance 4952-26. Fri., Aug. 21, 8 p.m.: Appalachian Fair QuackTrack 2.62-mile walk/run, Gray. Sat., Aug. 22, 1–8 p.m.: Lawnstock, Founders Park Great Lawn, Johnson City (free). Sat., Aug. 22–Sat., Aug. 29: 100th Appalachian Fair, 100 Lakeview St., Gray.