The Franklin City Board of Zoning Appeals on May 1 approved two variances that allow outdoor sales associated with a commercial tenant to be located behind the building and on the roof of Building 1 at 230 Franklin Road (the Factory at Franklin), and to waive the ordinance limit that outdoor sales be restricted to no more than half the length of the front building facade.

Staff told the board the site is in a PD Plan District and within both the Historic Preservation Overlay and the Central Franklin Overlay; Building 1 is a two‑story structure dating to 1929 that historically hosted restaurants and a covered front patio. Staff’s analysis found the existing front patio could accommodate outdoor sales without impeding pedestrian circulation and therefore concluded criteria for variances were not met for locating outdoor sales behind the building or for waiving the half‑facade limit; staff recommended disapproval of both requests. "Staff recommends that the Board of Zoning Appeals move to disapprove of variance request to allow outdoor sales areas associated with a commercial use to be located behind the building and on the roof and disapprove a variance request to allow outdoor sales areas to not be limited to 1 half of the length of the front building facade for the property located at 230 Franklin Road because the criteria for granting a variance have not all been met," staff said.

The applicant, Greg Gamble representing Holiday Properties, submitted photographs and explained that parts of the front elevation include a non‑original 1990s metal awning that the applicant plans to remove, that a pedestrian connection will replace parts of the front concrete pad, that a wooden deck adjacent to the building shows deterioration related to stormwater and will be removed and regraded, and that the rear courtyard and an uncovered roof area were historically used for restaurant seating and are not visible from Franklin Road. Gamble said the applicant intends to convert the building from restaurant to retail and that the retail tenant sells outdoor furniture and landscape products that suit courtyard and rooftop sales.

Board members who supported the variances described the Factory site as unique, with multiple buildings on a large lot and existing patios and circulation areas that make rear and roof sales contextually appropriate. The motions to approve the variances (including sales behind the building, on the roof, and beyond the half‑facade limit) passed unanimously (Board member Beams: yes; Board member Scales: yes; Board member Langley: yes; Board member Flushauer: yes; Board member Smith: yes). The applicant will still need to obtain Historic Zoning Commission approvals for changes to the front elevation and any other permits required for the retail conversion.