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Adding public art in Franklin is just one of many ideas presented during public comment into the town’s Comprehensive Land Use Plan. Donated photo
Franklin unveils land use plan Magazines - Newspapers 428 HAZELWOOD Ave.
Smoky Mountain News
March 11-17, 2020
Waynesville • 456-6000
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Public comment will be accepted before adoption BY J ESSI STONE N EWS E DITOR he town of Franklin is working toward creating a vision for the community that will guide growth and investment for years to come. For more than a year, a 10-member community steering committee has been working toward drafting the town’s first Comprehensive Land Use Plan. The draft was unveiled to the community March 4 during a presentation that also included plenty of feedback from community members. Even though it’s the town’s first comprehensive land use plan, Town Planner Justin Setser said the plan builds on prior efforts, including the town’s Principles of Growth outlined in the Unified Development Ordinance as well as the Downtown Franklin Master Plan from 2008 and BikeWalk Franklin completed in 2017. The plan isn’t just about future land usage and zoning though — it also encompasses ideas to improve downtown and other areas of Franklin, economic development, infrastructure and transportation needs and how to better incorporate the town’s many natural and cultural resources. After five steering committee meetings, eight community meetings and 420 survey responses, Steven Baker with Stewart Consulting said it was fairly clear the things residents and businesses love about Franklin. People love the small-town character, they love the natural beauty and access to nature, the sense of community and hospitality, low traffic and festival and events. “With Franklin, it’s all about town character — the mountains and access to nature and the people — the people coming into
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the community and the people who’ve been here,” he said. When asked what they would like to see improve in Franklin, survey respondents said they wanted to have better internet service, availability of good jobs, improved community aesthetics, more retailers and restaurants, stronger downtown, more sidewalks, bike lanes and greenways, solutions to the drug problem, attractions for families, connections to the river and medical services. The town of Franklin encompasses a wide variety of land uses from downtown to wooded hillsides, rural homesteads to multi-family dwellings and industrial and commercial centers. The comprehensive plan process examined the development patterns in the community that will shape growth in the future and how the town can better facilitate that growth in a purposeful way. When looking at the future of residential development, 59 percent of those surveyed said they wanted to see homes with smaller yards within walking distance to downtown, shared open spaces and parks, while 51 percent said they’d like to see more low-maintenance homes or townhouses. While respondents named affordable and workforce housing as a top need in Franklin, the majority said they’d prefer to see more small single-family homes as opposed to high-density townhomes or multi-level apartment buildings. As for commercial development, Baker said people in the community enjoyed the feel of downtown Franklin with active storefronts, pedestrian walkways and on-street parking. “They don’t like the shopping center looks. Even though Franklin has some of those too, it’s not something y’all want to see more of,” he said. Residents are proud of their downtown, but they also see opportunities for improve-
ments. They want to see all storefronts filled, outdoor dining, the upper levels of the buildings renovated and used for apartments or office space, more public art and facade standards to give downtown a cohesive look. “Currently, there are many challenges and opportunities for Franklin’s downtown. While many of the ground floors are in use along Main Street, the buildings’ upper stories are vacant providing both challenges in upfitting due to their repair costs but also serve as unused supply for potential apartment, condo, or office uses,” the draft plan reads. Setzer said he’s gone to look at some of the upper level properties on Main Street to see what might be possible in the future, but ultimately it comes down to the private owners to push for more usage. “Downtown is in an ‘Opportunity Zone’ so there’s a lot of potential for an investor in those areas to get some tax credits, especially if it’s creating jobs for residents,” he said. “But it’s going to take coordination from property owners as well.” Baker said people acknowledged that there are other areas of town that need improvements. “Main Street isn’t the only important street — there are also important side streets and alleys that need to get some attention,” he said. Restriping parking on Palmer Street and adding mini pocket parks or streetscaping would help improve these secondary streets and draw more foot traffic to those backstreet businesses downtown. Before making recommendations, the steering committee, with the help of Stewart Consulting, had to assess what the town has to work with — population demographics, how much land is vacant, what can be built on it, environmental restraints, existing industries and
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