Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Parking Variance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Franklin BZA unanimously approves parking variance for 117 Third Avenue North
Summary
The Board of Zoning Appeals approved a request to reduce the minimum parking requirement from 16 spaces to 0 for 117 Third Avenue North, despite staff recommending denial because the request did not meet all variance criteria in the zoning ordinance.
The Board of Zoning Appeals of Franklin City on Feb. 6, 2025, voted unanimously to approve a variance to reduce the minimum parking requirement from 16 spaces to 0 for the property at 117 Third Avenue North.
Staff told the board the property is in the DD (downtown district), within the historic preservation overlay and the Central Franklin overlay, and that staff has no record that a commercial use on the accessory structure was ever legally established with the city. Under the zoning ordinance staff cited, a restaurant use with indoor and outdoor seating would require a minimum of 16 parking spaces based on the ordinance formula (7.5 spaces per 1,000 sq. ft. of gross floor area including outdoor seating, plus 0.75 spaces per employee on the largest shift). Staff therefore recommended denial, saying the variance did not meet all three statutory criteria and that granting it would impair the ordinance’s intent to ensure sufficient parking for new uses.
Brandon Priddy of 906 Studio Architects, the applicant’s representative, was present and told the board he was “happy to answer any questions.” The applicant had previously submitted a certificate of appropriateness for renovations to an accessory structure for a beer garden and outdoor seating; staff noted the COA had been approved with the condition that all city requirements be met before a building permit could be issued. The applicant provided a diagram of parking options within 1,000 feet, a parking study showing nearby occupancy at peak times, and documentation it had tried and failed to secure shared or deferred parking agreements.
Board members discussed the adjacent parking supply and the limitations of the historic building’s lot for on-site parking. Board Member Smith moved to approve the variance; Board Member Beams seconded. In the roll-call vote, Beams, Scales, Langley and Smith each voted yes; the motion carried unanimously.
The board noted a city-led downtown parking study is planned in fiscal year 2026 and that broader changes to downtown parking policy may be considered with that study, but members also said the existing nearby parking supply and the site’s constraints supported the variance in this instance.
