by KENYA SMITH / INTERN
kenya.smith@tidewaternews.com

FRANKLIN
During its Monday meeting, Franklin’s City Council discussed and unanimously approved seven zoning amendments, which the Planning Commission had previously proposed and recommended. The first three amendments are definitions of the following:

1. Temporary Family Health Care Structure – “a transportable residential structure, providing an environment facilitating a caregiver’s provision of care for a mentally or physically impaired person” that:

• is primarily assembled at a location other than its site of installation

• is limited to one occupant who shall be the mentally or physically impaired person, or in the case of a married couple, two occupants, one of whom is a mentally or physically impaired person, and other requires assistance with one or more activities of daily living

• has no more than 300 gross square feet

• complies with applicable provisions of the Industrialized Building Safety Law and the Uniform  Statewide Building Code

2. Accessory Dwelling Unit – “living quarters within a detached accessory building located on the same premises with the main building.” In adherence to the following guidelines, ADUs:

• shall be located in the rear yard only

• shall be limited to a minimum of 300 and a maximum of 900 square feet of living space and shall be smaller in area than the main structure

• no more than one ADU shall be allowed per lot

• must meet the minimum side yard setback as the main structure

3. Mixed Use-Development – an improvement over traditional segregated-use zoning, and its purpose is to spur community revitalization, increase affordable housing opportunities, promote pedestrian and bicycle travel, and to reduce auto dependency, roadway congestion and air pollution by co-locating multiple destinations, promote a sense of community and promote efficient use of land and infrastructure.

The other ordinance amendments included replacing the term “Foster Homes” with “Temporary Family Health Care” in certain parts of the zoning ordinance; allowing accessory dwelling units in all residential zoning districts; the removal of the requirement for a public hearing for a group home; and creating a new zoning district designation B-3A for mixed-use development.

Mary Alice Beale, a Franklin resident, expressed her gratitude for the zoning ordinance amendments. “The city has struggled with this, and I want to applaud the Planning Commission and the City Council for providing more options and more residential places in Franklin,” she said.

•••

In other council business:

• Franklin City Manager Randy Martin discussed the 2017-2018 school budget amendment. As requested by the Franklin City School Board, the City Council approved to make changes in the appropriations between expenditures in the Education Fund. Under the education fund, it was requested that the city make a transfer of $432,804 from instruction expenditures and distribute the total to other expenditures in the Education Fund. Portions of the transfer went to the following expenditures:

• $19,337 to admin, health and attendance

• $260,427 to pupil transportation

• $153,000 to operations and maintenance

The Franklin City School Board also requested to increase the Cafeteria budget by $100,000, which the city council also approved.

• As requested from Franklin Summit LLC, the city council also approved the deletion of the proffer that states, “Homeowner’s covenants and restrictions will prohibit the purchasing of units for rental purposes except that military and temporary transfers may be considered for rental on a case-by-case basis.”

• The City Council also approved the 2018-2019 budget for Smart Beginnings. The city will appropriate $140,000 for both Smart Beginning’s revenue and expenses.