Kingsport Approves Quarry Expansion 6-1 — What’s Next for Homes Near Holston Elementary

On Tuesday night, Aug. 4, 2026, the Kingsport Board of Mayor and Aldermen approved on second reading a rezoning that lets Martin Marietta expand its quarry off Airport Parkway, about 200 yards from Holston Elementary School and near Tri-Cities Airport. The vote was 6–1. Mayor Paul Montgomery cast the lone no.

If you own or are shopping a house on that corridor, that is the city's final zoning step. Next: operations, buffers, and how buyers price proximity.

What did Kingsport approve on Aug. 4?

The quarry is owned by Martin Marietta and already operates off Airport Parkway. The request covers about 49 acres. WJHL reported on first reading that the land would shift from an MX mixed-use district to M2 general manufacturing so the company can expand an existing rock quarry.

The board first advanced the request on July 21 in a 6–1 vote, with Mayor Montgomery again the lone no. WJHL's Slater Teague reported then that second reading was set for Aug. 4. SuperTalk 92.9 carried the same 6–1 result on Aug. 5.

City of Kingsport Planning Director Ken Weems told WJHL the application came in April. "They have an MX zone right now and so, they've applied to have that into general manufacturing zone," Weems said. "They are leaving some of it not rezoned as a natural buffer to their quarry operations."

A rezoning is not a blasting schedule. It is the land-use label that lets the operator expand on that 49 acres under manufacturing rules. Neighbors who hoped the map would stay mixed-use now have a different neighbor on paper — the document a buyer's agent, inspector, and appraiser will ask to see.

Why did school leaders and neighbors object?

Holston Elementary sits about 200 yards from the quarry. Sullivan County Director of Schools Chuck Carter told WJHL the school board put those concerns in a letter while the request was still in front of the planning commission.

"The impact of the blasting, is that going to have an impact on the air quality around the school when those events happen?" Carter said. "Is the potential for any kind of foundational or structural damage to the buildings long term? Is that out there? What's been done to evaluate that? Is that going to have more of a potential negative impact on the school? So those things and then just the noise. Is that going to be a disruption during the course of the school day?"

Residents raised a parallel list: damage to homes, more dust, more traffic, and impacts on Holston Elementary. WJHL's July 21 and Aug. 4 stories both put school leaders and some neighbors on the record with those worries. None of that flipped the 6–1 count.

That is the listing issue. Buyers will ask. Appraisers will look at the industrial neighbor. Carter already named blasting, air quality, foundations, and classroom noise.

What buffer did Martin Marietta put on the table?

Martin Marietta said there would be a 100-foot buffer between the rezoned property and adjacent property owners. Weems told WJHL the company left that strip against neighboring owners as a natural buffer: "They've left a 100ft buffer around that parcel up against all of their neighboring property owners."

On first reading, the company also said the zoning change would not impact traffic. That is the operator's statement, reported by WJHL and SuperTalk — not a published traffic study, and not a quote that truck counts stay frozen for the life of the quarry.

A 100-foot buffer, 200 yards to Holston Elementary, and 49 acres of M2 belong in the listing file with the zoning letter — not in a comment thread after a showing falls through.

What are Tri-Cities homes doing right now?

The quarry vote does not reset list prices across Kingsport. It does change the questions a buyer asks on Airport Parkway, in a market already more price-sensitive than last year's.

In Kingsport itself, Realtor.com put the August 2026 median list price near $325,000, about $175 per square foot, with 609 active listings and a median 59 days on market. For a wider Tri-Cities read, as of August 2026 the live Kings of Real Estate Jonesborough market update showed median list prices around $429,000, or about $204 per square foot, with a median listing spending 73 days on market. That 73-day median is a Washington County listing number, not a sentence for every Kingsport house — but it is the honest local clock. Homes priced for 2026 still move. Homes that wait for a neighbor's industrial file to "blow over" pick up days, then price cuts.

On the new-construction side, the live Kings of Real Estate Gray / Washington County update on news.kingsofrealestate.com reported that Tri-Cities new-home prices rose and new-home sales fell 17.6%. More supply, fewer new-home contracts — the backdrop for selling an existing house next to expanded industrial use.

The 30-year fixed mortgage rate sat at 6.67% in the Aug. 13 Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey, down from 6.69% the week before. A two-basis-point dip does not erase a quarry as a showing objection.

What this means if you own or buy here

• Airport Parkway owners: the rezoning is done. Get the 100-foot buffer, the 49-acre map, and the distance to Holston Elementary in writing. Disclose the industrial neighbor; do not let a buyer's inspector discover it on day two of the option period.
• Holston Elementary-area sellers: Carter's questions — blasting, air quality, foundations, school-day noise — are the questions your buyer will ask. Answer them with documents, not with "the city already voted." Price to 2026.
• Buyers: write the contract to today's zoning — M2 on the expanded parcel, 100-foot buffer as mapped. Ask planning staff for the ordinance and any traffic or blasting conditions. Do not rely on a listing remark.
• Move-up sellers: you cannot make an offer you can honor until your current home is settled. A guaranteed-sale plan sets the sale date first* so the next purchase is not a bet on two closings lining up.
• Investors: proximity to an expanding quarry is a rent and resale variable. Underwrite the house, the buffer, and the school next door.

What should Airport Parkway owners and buyers do this week?

1. Pull the parcel on the city's zoning map and confirm the 49-acre M2 change and the 100-foot buffer against your lot line.
2. If you are listing, put the industrial neighbor and the school distance in the file before the first showing — and price the house you have.
3. If you are under contract, have your agent request the rezoning documents from Kingsport planning staff in writing.
4. If you need to buy before this one closes, ask about a written sale guarantee* so you are not carrying two mortgages.

Call the Kings of Real Estate team at 865-365-2280. The Johnson City office is at 2244 N Roan St #107. If you want a straight read on list price next to the quarry — and a plan to sell on a date you can live with — call before the next showing.

What's happening in the Tri-Cities this week

• Hitchcock Fest 2026: Mr. and Mrs. Smith (1941) — Aug. 19, 7 p.m. · The Jackson Theatre, 121 W. Main St., Jonesborough
• Storytelling Live: Hannah Harvey — Aug. 20, 2–4 p.m. · International Storytelling Center, 100 W. Main St., Jonesborough
• 100th Annual Appalachian Fair — Aug. 22–29 · Appalachian Fairgrounds, 100 Lakeview St., Gray

New to the Tri-Cities? Kingsport, Johnson City, and Jonesborough are three different price points in the same hour of driving.

Sources: WJHL, Slater Teague, Aug. 4 and July 21, 2026; WJHL, Sullivan County Schools quarry concerns; SuperTalk 92.9, Aug. 5, 2026; live KORE Jonesborough post, Aug. 2026; live KORE Gray/Washington County post on news.kingsofrealestate.com; Freddie Mac PMMS, Aug. 13, 2026; Visit Johnson City event listings.

Sources

• Kingsport BMA approves rezoning for quarry expansion (WJHL, Aug. 4)
• Kingsport BMA advances quarry rezoning (WJHL, July 21)
• Sullivan County Schools quarry concerns (WJHL)
• Kingsport BMA approves quarry rezoning (SuperTalk 92.9, Aug. 5)
• Live KORE Jonesborough ($429,000 / $204 sf / 73 DOM)
• Freddie Mac PMMS Aug. 13, 2026

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