Boat sales, service, storage operation seeks rezoning for Norris facility
A LaFollette boat sales, service and storage company, Big Creek Marine, plans to open a new, larger facility along Andersonville Highway in Norris, and move most of its business from Campbell County.
James and Jessica Broyles of Jacksboro opened Big Creek Marine in 2019, but now want to expand their operations and relocate to a more-visible location with easier access at the Andersonville Highway location, situated between Exit 122 Outdoor Power Equipment and Meadowview Senior Living.
The key to the move, however, is a pair of zoning changes requested through the city of Norris that would rezone two parcels of land — a 2.65-acre lot fronting on Andersonville Highway at Acuff lane to C-2 Commercial from its current P-1 (Professional and Civic) status, and a 5.5-acre lot behind it to I-1 (Light Industrial) from its current P-1.
The Norris City Council gave preliminary approval to the zoning changes on Monday night.
James Broyles said the front lot would be the site of the company’s boat sales and service operation, while the back lot would be used for covered, secure year-round boat storage.
The rezoning request — made by the current property owner, Clayton Holding Company – was also given support by the Norris Planning Commission on Feb. 6, but still needs final approval by the City Council.
Broyles said that if the rezoning is approved, he plans to pay Clayton HC $800,000 for the property, then spend about $3 million to build the structures for the boat sales, service and storage operations.
“We would employ five to six people to start, and we would hope to be open before the end of the [coming] season,” he said.
A representative from Clayton, the Knoxville-based mobile home builder that has a manufacturing plant nearby, told the Planning Commission that the company has been “trying to sell this property for years.”
“Most of the property around it is commercial,” he said. “It is a commercial corridor. It could potentially generate a lot of revenue for the city of Norris.”
The two different zoning designations are necessary, however, because Norris doesn’t allow this type of storage facility in a C-2 zone, but is in the process of changing the I-1 zone to permit such storage units.
With the change to C-2, the front piece of property would be allowed to have the boat sales and service operations, but not storage.
But Mayor Chris Mitchell said during the Planning Commission meeting that he was “struggling” with rezoning the rear tract to I-1 because it could open it up to manufacturing later on if the boat business moves out.
“It’s not about the business,” said Mitchell, who represents the City Council on the Planning Commission. “I’m moving toward [voting] ‘no.’ I’m more open to C-2 tan I-1.”
The Clayton representative said his company would like to see both pieces of property zoned C-2 if the city chooses to deny the I-1 zoning for the back tract, but Broyles said that would not help his business, which needs the storage facility to make it work.
“We’re wanting to come down there, we want to be part of that community,” James Broyles told The Courier News. “We’re not a huge company; we’re family owned and operated. We’ve already invested a lot of time and money to get where we are right now [with the move], and we’re ready to go. We’re funded.
“We just need to get the zoning changes, then submit our site plan to the city,” he said. “What we’re planning on doing is a full-blown dealership. We sell Veranda luxury pontoons and SeaPro boats and we’re a Suzuki and Yamaha dealer. We’ve been looking at 70 to 80 covered spaces for storage, and it would be all secured with gated entry.
“Once the project is done, we want people to think of us as an asset. We’re not going to be an eyesore. We sell high-end boats.”
Big Creek Marine is now at 153 Shanghai Road in LaFollette.
