Rural King zoning request approval propels Kingsport project forward

KINGSPORT — Rural King is one step closer to opening after the Kingsport Board of Zoning Appeals approved a special exception for the business at Thursday's meeting.The board listened to a request for a special exception involving the store's outdoor display area, which would take up space in the parking lot. Since the property is in the B-4P, Planned Business District, open air businesses are only permitted with approval for the board of zoning appeals.20 parking stalls would be lost in the process, bringing the lot's total to 642 stalls."This is in a B-4P zone, and so the Planning Commission also has to approve this, and they did so at their November meeting, the outdoor display area," said Ken Weems, planning manager for Kingsport. "They already approved it, but they have to approve all facets of B4-P development."RK Holdings LLP, or Rural King, applied for the special exception. The application lists approval for "outdoor display, storage, bullpen areas, propane station & uses as state and set forth in the attachments."William Sumner, chairman of the board, asked if there will be fencing or enclosure for the displays. Rural King representative William Gregory shared the specifications for the project."Certain areas will be fenced in," Gregory said. "For example, like the areas where we have the tractors and the trailers, we won't have those fenced in. We have cables that we run to tie those down. But like the nursery areas and those types of things are fenced in."Example images from other stores were shared with the board in the agenda packet.Rural King's outdoor seasonal display area for the Kingsport store would be over 25,000 square feet, according to architectural plans attached in the agenda packet. No single area would be more than 6,000 square feet, according to the plans.Some of the outdoor display includes for a nursery area, tractors, trailers and feeders. The two nurseries, planned to take up 4,554 square feet, would encompass the largest portion of the display."The store is making improvements to the existing building, but the overall construction of the building and shopping center will remain the same," the application states. "The outdoor uses and displays will be maintained within the current parking areas of the store."The documents accompanying the application state Rural King will operate daily from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. and see an estimated 600 to 900 customers per day.The board unanimously voted to approve the special exception, with one member abstaining after missing the presentation at the beginning of the meeting.About Rural KingRural King operates over 130 stores in 13 states: Alabama, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, Michigan, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Florida, North Carolina, West Virginia and Virginia.In Tennessee, there are locations in Knoxville, Maryville, Morristown, Sweetwater, Crossville and Clarksville. The Clarksville location celebrated the most recent opening back in 2019. Across state lines, a Rural King opened in Bristol, Virginia in Aug. 2020.John Mulherin, vice president of government relations for Hull Property Group, said at the December Kingsport Economic Development Board meeting that Rural King is working on interior construction and buildout with a first quarter spring opening.He said Rural King owns their own parcel, meaning Hull Property Group does not control the company's timing for opening. Mulherin said his team has been in communication with them during the project.