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Franklin residents urge denial of proposed fire-access route through private Charlton Green alley
Summary
Three Charlton Green residents told the Board of Mayor and Aldermen they oppose a developer’s plan to designate their privately owned alley as a fire access path connecting to a new subdivision at 806 Murfreesboro Road, citing lack of notice, floodplain risk, turning-radius and privacy concerns.
Three residents of the Charlton Green subdivision urged the Board of Mayor and Aldermen during public comment to oppose a proposal that would designate their privately owned alley as a fire access route for a new development at 806 Murfreesboro Road.
John Thompson, who said he lives at 109 Wren Court, told the board that surveyors recently appeared at his property and that neither the homeowners nor the subdivision had been notified before surveyors started work. “Our alleys are privately owned… No one had notified us or asked any permission from anyone. They just started surveying,” Thompson said. He said the alley serves eight homes and that residents maintain and pave it themselves. “Please don’t build the fire access path,” he added.
Harris Pierce, 103 Woodview Court, said the planning commission would be asked Thursday to recommend the private driveway be accepted as an emergency lane for use if primary roads to the development are inaccessible. “This driveway is on private property that is owned by these 8 families. It is maintained by us and not the city of Franklin,” Pierce said. He also said the proposed path would lie in the floodplain and asked the board to deny its use as an emergency lane.
Mary Pierce, also of 103 Woodview Court, said the alley was created when Charlton Green was approved and emphasized that homeowners have an “alley fund” and have paid to maintain the lane. She said designation of the alley as a paved emergency route would remove screening between their backyards and the adjoining Green Farm (referred to in testimony as Magnolia Green) and expressed concern about lot depths and neighborhood character.
The residents identified the developer as Toll Brothers and said the proposed fire-access alignment would link the new subdivision’s access roads (referred to as Rawston Extension and Watercrest) with the alley behind their homes. They asked the board to seek a cooperative solution with the developer that preserves the homeowners’ existing alley and privacy. The speakers did not reference any formal action by the board during this meeting to change the alley’s status; the planning commission decision was described as the next procedural step.
Planning staff or the developer did not make a presentation during these public comments and no board motion on the matter was recorded at this meeting.
