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Board of Zoning Appeals OKs Franklin Apostolic Church special exception and lot‑size variance
Summary
The Board of Zoning Appeals approved a special exception to allow a place of worship and a development‑standards variance to permit lot sizes larger than the MXN one‑acre limit for a proposed Franklin Apostolic Church site at State Road 144, with conditions on parking, seating and lot size.
At its May 2025 meeting, the Board of Zoning Appeals for Franklin City approved a special exception and a development‑standards variance to allow Franklin Apostolic Church to build a 300‑seat place of worship at 1058 East State Road 144, subject to conditions set by staff.
The board voted to grant the special exception to allow a church in the MXN (Mixed Use, Neighborhood Center) zoning district and to allow two lots to exceed the district—s one‑acre maximum, with limits and conditions intended to ensure adequate parking and site size.
The request covers a conceptual, two‑lot subdivision of an existing parcel between Westview Drive and State Road 144, with a third lot reserved for a detention pond. The petitioners propose the church on the northeastern portion of the property; that lot is described in the staff materials as about 2.4 acres and the second lot about 1.6 acres. The petitioner committed that no single lot would exceed three acres.
City planning staff noted the proposal is at a conceptual stage and that no subdivision plat or site development plan has been submitted. "At this point, the project is entirely conceptual. There hasn't been any subdivision planning completed at this point or site development plan submitted," staff said in presenting the item. Petitioner materials describe an initial building of roughly 7,500 square feet with a future expansion of about 5,750 square feet, seating for up to 300 people at full build‑out, two full‑time employees and up to three business vehicles stored on site.
Staff recommended approval of the special exception with conditions a through g in the staff report, including limiting the church use to a maximum of three acres on the property, requiring a minimum of 100 off‑street parking spaces, a 300‑seat maximum for the auditorium, and compliance with federal, state and local building, fire and health codes. Staff also recommended approval of the development standards variance with two conditions: the plat must include at least two lots plus the common drainage area and no single lot may exceed three acres. Donna Smithers of Northpointe Engineering and Surveying, representing the petitioner, told the board the petitioner agreed with the staff recommendations and would proceed to surveying and design if approved.
Motion to approve the special exception was made by Joe Nalley and seconded by John Kemski; the board recorded affirmative votes from Kemski, Nalley, Jason Acton and the chair and the motion carried. The variance motion, moved by Nalley and seconded by Acton, passed by the same recorded vote.
The board noted the site's development history and prior unsuccessful proposals; staff and the petitioner said the next steps are surveying, preparation of a subdivision plat and submittal of a site development plan for technical review. No federal or outside approvals were claimed as required at the board hearing. No members of the public spoke for or against the petition during the meeting.
The approvals are conditional on the site meeting the required parking and building code standards at later review stages, and the petitioner will return to the city through the normal platting and site‑development review processes.
