Tennessee
Buying Land in Blount County, Tennessee
County seat Maryville. Blount County runs from suburban growth near Maryville and Alcoa to Townsend's mountain-tourism corridor at the western, quieter gateway to Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Cades Cove. The county adopted countywide zoning in 2000, with its own vacation-rental-cabin provisions built directly into the rural districts -- and Townsend has recently tightened its own short-term-rental rules amid a genuine local surge in applications. Here's the framework before you buy.
Townsend: the 'peaceful side of the Smokies' and its tourism-driven land market
Blount County's most distinctive land-use story is Townsend, a small community that markets itself as "the Peaceful Side of the Smokies" and serves as the western gateway into Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Cades Cove -- a genuinely different visitor experience from the denser, more commercial Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge corridor on the Sevier County side of the park. A growing share of the park's total visitors now enter through Townsend, and the area's economy has built up around that identity, with attractions like the Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center, the Little River Railroad & Lumber Company Museum, and Tuckaleechee Caverns supporting a steady tourist draw independent of the park itself.
That tourism identity translates directly into land value near Townsend, where cabin and vacation-rental development has become a significant driver of demand distinct from the rest of Blount County's more conventional residential and agricultural market. It's worth treating Townsend-area land as its own category when comparing prices or evaluating a purchase -- proximity to the park boundary, to Little River, and to Cades Cove access all carry a premium that inland Blount County acreage generally doesn't.
Countywide zoning since 2000, with vacation-rental-cabin rules built in
Blount County adopted its countywide Zoning Resolution effective June 15, 2000, governing unincorporated land outside Maryville, Alcoa, Townsend, and the county's other incorporated towns (each of which administers its own separate municipal zoning). What's unusual for a Tennessee county zoning resolution of that vintage is that it addresses vacation rental cabins directly, rather than leaving the use unaddressed: the resolution states its intent to allow vacation rental cabins as a supporting activity to the county's tourist industry, then sets real density limits by district -- no denser than standard single-family density in the R-1 Rural District, capped at roughly 0.5 units per acre (one cabin per two acres) on average across a tract in the R-2 Rural District, and a ceiling of 10 vacation rental cabins on a gravel-surfaced road or drive before the development must meet full multifamily-grade internal road and infrastructure standards.
That level of specificity matters if you're evaluating unincorporated land near Townsend or elsewhere in the county specifically for cabin development -- the density cap and the 10-cabin gravel-road threshold can determine whether a tract supports the rental-cabin cluster you're picturing or requires paved-road-grade infrastructure investment first. See our dedicated Blount County cabin-rentals page for the fuller picture, including how these county rules interact with Townsend's own zone rules and its new Short-Term Rental Unit Permit process.
Septic permitting and the rest of the state framework
Blount County's Department of Environmental Health, at 301 McGhee Street in Maryville -- (865) 681-9301 -- administers septic site evaluations and permits under the statewide TDEC Rule 0400-48-01 standard; the county is identified in state materials as a "contract county," meaning county staff carry out this state program locally rather than TDEC regional staff doing so directly. A separate Development/Permits office at 1221 McArthur Road handles building and zoning permit applications, so expect to interact with two different offices over the course of a build -- confirm the current sequence and any required inspections directly rather than assuming one department handles everything.
Riparian water rights, state-level manufactured-home regulation, Right to Farm Act protection, and Agritourism Promotion Act liability limits all apply in Blount County exactly as described on our Tennessee state page. Given the county's mountain terrain near Townsend and the park boundary, well yield and buildable-slope questions are worth raising early with a local contractor -- steep, rocky sites common in that part of the county can add real cost to both well drilling and septic system design compared with the flatter land near Maryville.
Who to Call Before Buying Land in Blount County
Direct WebFetch to blounttn.gov was not attempted beyond search-indexed snippets in this research pass -- confirm current zoning-resolution text, fees, and especially Townsend's short-term-rental moratorium status directly before relying on this page.
Planning & Zoning
Blount County Planning Office
Zoning district lookups, the county's 2000 Zoning Resolution, and vacation-rental-cabin density provisions in R-1/R-2 districts.
Planning & Zoning
Town of Townsend
Tourist-residence/short-term-rental permits and current status of the 2026 moratorium and Ordinance 360-26-1C for parcels inside town limits.
Septic / Onsite Wastewater
Blount County Department of Environmental Health
Septic site evaluations and installation permits.
Building & Permitting
Blount County Development/Permits Office
Building and zoning compliance permits.
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Get local guidanceTopics Specific to Blount County
Sources
- Zoning Regulations of Blount County, Tennessee, Adopted June 15, 2000 — Blount County, Tennessee (accessed 2026-09)
- Environmental Health — Blount County, Tennessee (accessed 2026-09)
- First Time on the Peaceful Side? Start Here — Blount Partnership / Smoky Mountains Tourism (accessed 2026-09)
- 'Peaceful side' of the Smokies drives growth of Blount County tourism — WATE-6 (accessed 2026-09)
- Townsend Planners Push Six-Month Freeze On Surging Short-Term Rentals — Hoodline (accessed 2026-09)
- Townsend planning commission recommends moratorium on new short-term rentals — WBIR-10 (accessed 2026-09)
- Townsend Planning Commission asks for six month moratorium on short-term rentals — The Daily Times (Maryville) (accessed 2026-09)
- Townsend takes first bite of short-term rental solution — The Daily Times (Maryville) (accessed 2026-09)
- Summary of the Short-Term Rental Unit Act — MTAS (University of Tennessee) (accessed 2026-09)
Last reviewed 2026-09