Bart Hose has played a part in Farragut’s planning programs before, and now he has returned. Hose has been hired as the assistant community development director, working under Mark Shipley.
Hose spent 23 years with the state’s Local Planning Assistance Office, and during that time he worked on Farragut’s 2001 Land Use Plan, the Community Facilities Plan and the Development Manual. After his agency was eliminated six years ago, he transferred to the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency.
“But I always had in the back of my mind that I wanted to get back to community planning and city planning at some point,” says Hose. “The stars seem to align, so to speak. It was just a good fit.”
Hose’s first official day with the town was June 26, and he’s still in newbie mode.
“I’m learning a lot. Trying to get caught up to all the specifics of Farragut’s planning program and regulatory program. They have a wide array of development codes, zoning and subdivision regulations, and various other municipal codes that I have to come to grips with and try to learn. I’ve been focused on that.”
Farragut has “an excellent and very comprehensive development review and control program,” he says. “It’s interesting.”
Hose grew up on Long Island, N.Y., and did his undergraduate studies at the State University of New York at Plattsburgh. He earned his bachelor’s in environmental science, concentrating in environmental planning.
In fall 1985, he entered graduate school at the University of Tennessee, where he earned his master’s degree in geography. That took him into land-use planning for the state.
Hose, who lives in Knoxville, hopes to get to know Farragut’s parks and trails during his lunch breaks, but for now he’s all work.
“There’s been a lot of growth out here,” he says. “It’s consistently one of the faster-growing areas in the county. They do have a lot of development pressure.”
He likes Farragut’s approach to development.
“I think in terms of maintaining quality development, they’ve been able to achieve that here,” he says. “There’s a pretty high standard of development occurring in the area.”
He’s excited about seeing the town center plan come to fruition.
“That’ll be a big project and will take a lot of patience, I think, and a lot of foresight.”
Hose hopes not only to provide his skill set but also to learn new things on the job.
“I really look forward to being able to work on some of the things they want to try to work on in the town,” he says. “I’m interested in what they want to do with their new land-use plan.
“I like some of the aesthetic work they’re doing. That’s fairly new for me. It’s an opportunity to be exposed to something that I haven’t worked much with in the past.”
