Planning commissioners recommend annexation, rezoning and revised plan for Coletta Park; residents raise traffic, school and water concerns

Franklin Municipal Planning Commission members voted unanimously to recommend that the Board of Mayor and Aldermen approve annexation (Resolution 2025-11), a city-drafted plan of services (Resolution 2025-12), a rezoning (Ordinance 2025-03) and a revised development plan for Coletta Park PUD (Resolution 2025-13) that would add a 5.86-acre parcel at 4356 South Carruthers Road and increase the approved unit total to 259 homes.

The revisions would expand Coletta Park from roughly 199 acres and 199 single-family lots to about 204.89 acres with 232 single-family lots and 27 townhome units, and add the parcel as a second required point of access to Carruthers Road, staff said. The draft plan of services identifies the property as in the Goose Creek Basin service area and says water will be provided through Milcrofton prior to annexation.

The plan matters because it alters access and density for a longstanding PUD and adds units that will use the city’s and adjacent county infrastructure. Staff told the commission the parcel lies within the city’s urban growth boundary and that the proposed townhome area is consistent with the Envision Franklin mixed-residential design concept while the rest of the project remains single-family residential.

During a brief applicant presentation, Matt Huff of Gamble Design Collaborative described plan elements retained from the original approval: an 80-foot minimum tree buffer along the western edge, lot-width patterns matching Cross Creek Drive, and a special condition from the Williamson County Highway Commission that limited Coletta Park’s northern connection to Stanford Drive to emergency access only while requiring a second access before additional platting beyond a 138-lot cap. Huff said the added 5-acre parcel supplies that second access.

Residents who spoke at the public-comment portion urged caution. Janet Curtis said she was “tired of my taxes going up” and raised school-capacity concerns, saying Creekside and Trinity elementaries were at about 91 percent capacity and Page Middle at about 94 percent. Susan Kaplan, who lives on Beacon Hill Drive at the north end of the development, asked for clearer timelines for construction and said recent activity had advanced faster than neighbors expected. Rick Combs, from Cross Creek, said traffic and water availability were his chief concerns.

Commissioners questioned traffic impacts on the broader corridor. City staff said a traffic-modeling exercise with the Tennessee Department of Transportation supports a restriping plan that would provide three eastbound through lanes and four westbound lanes through part of the corridor. Staff said the PM peak travel time could fall from about 1,800 seconds to roughly 600 seconds after restriping, and that the city plans to implement the median and restriping later this year. Staff also said the developer will participate in improvements to Carruthers Road as a condition of approval.

On infrastructure and environmental controls, staff told the commission that sanitation and environmental services will need additional personnel and equipment to serve the area as growth continues; the draft plan of services says no additional police or fire personnel or equipment are immediately necessary. The applicant’s development plan reportedly exceeds required open-space and tree-save calculations.

Commissioners noted the project’s prior approvals and vesting history: the Coletta Park PUD was originally approved Dec. 12, 2017; vesting exemptions were granted in 2021 and 2023. Staff said the current development plan does not seek new vesting but to retain existing vesting for the entire development, including the added parcel.

The commission’s motions to recommend approval were handled item-by-item and passed on roll call votes. Commissioners who made and seconded the motions included Commissioner Franks, Commissioner Harrison, Commissioner Harrison (for other items), Commissioner McLemore and Commissioner Orr, depending on the agenda item. All four items (Resolutions 2025-11, 2025-12, 2025-13 and Ordinance 2025-03) were recommended to the Board of Mayor and Aldermen for approval.

The commission’s action sends the annexation, plan of services, rezoning and revised development plan to the Board of Mayor and Aldermen for final action. Staff indicated additional design and roadwork approvals will be required before construction begins; timelines for subdivision platting and vertical construction were not specified.

Votes at a glance: - Resolution 2025-12 (Plan of Services for annexation of 4356 South Carruthers Road): recommended to BOMA — motion passed on roll call. - Resolution 2025-11 (Annexation of 5.86-acre parcel at 4356 South Carruthers Road): recommended to BOMA — motion passed on roll call. - Ordinance 2025-03 (Rezoning Coletta Park PUD to PD 1.26 with revised unit mix): recommended to BOMA — motion passed on roll call. - Resolution 2025-13 (Revised development plan for Coletta Park PUD): recommended to BOMA with staff conditions — motion passed on roll call.

The Board of Mayor and Aldermen will consider the annexation, rezoning and development plan in a future meeting; no final BOMA dates were announced during the planning commission meeting.