Board initiates study of possible annexation in Mayes Creek Basin; staff warns major sewer, road investments needed

The Franklin Board of Mayor and Aldermen opened the door to further study of a large annexation in the city’s eastern urban growth boundary on Jan. 14, when staff presented a draft plan of services for about 493.87 acres near Murfreesboro Road and North Chapel Road.

The matter matters because the properties sit inside the city’s urban growth boundary but are non-contiguous to Franklin’s current limits; annexation would require major public investments—especially sewer, roads and emergency services—before full urban-level service could be provided.

Chelsea (staff member) presented the draft plan of services and noted the city’s two-stage annexation process: an initial feasibility study and plan of services followed by any formal annexation request. She told the board the properties total 493.87 acres, of which about 332 acres are designated as rural reserve in the Envision Franklin plan and roughly 133 acres lie in the 100-year floodplain or are otherwise constrained. “This property is in Mayes Creek Drainage Basin, which is identified as a mid term priority growth area per the annexation capability study,” she said, adding that the area lacks sewer infrastructure and would require significant public investment should development and annexation proceed.

Staff’s draft estimates include extending city sewer infrastructure by approximately 20,050 linear feet of force main, 6,727 feet of 18-inch gravity interceptor and 5,649 feet of 24-inch gravity interceptor—work staff approximated at $45,000,000, depending on final layout and phasing. The draft plan also recommends the applicant and city identify and dedicate an appropriate fire station site (at least three acres) before issuance of certificates of occupancy and calls for residential sprinklers where response time would average more than five minutes. Staff further noted that roadway failures around the Highway 96/I-65 interchange currently constrain traffic flow in the area and said it cannot support additional development at the site until major interchange and roadway improvements are advanced.

Applicant representatives confirmed they are studying a Village Green design concept — a plan district that would emphasize conservation of open space and a mixed-use village character — and said recent Tennessee legislation (the Tennessee Residential Infrastructure Development Act of 2024) provides a possible funding tool for infrastructure in residential developments that are otherwise costly to serve. Jeff Hynes of Catalyst Design Group, representing the landowner, said the family-owned property’s concept would preserve large open areas and pursue public–private funding options for infrastructure. “We believe that a transition of intensity from Highway 96 and the neighborhood commercial policy at North Chapel and Highway 96 is what's appropriate,” Hynes said, and said the applicant is working on a special-assessment-style financing study to present at the Feb. 11 public hearing.

The board’s discussion was extensive. County commissioners and many residents urged caution: speakers raised traffic backups at the Highway 96/I-65 interchange, school capacity implications for Trinity Elementary, floodplain and watershed concerns, limitations in existing water flow and fire-flow capacities, and long-term fiscal impacts if the city must fund major infrastructure. Williamson County Commissioner Greg Lawrence flagged school-seat projections tied to nearby developments and noted county-level interest in a greenway along East 96 that could intersect the parcel. Several speakers recommended preserving the site’s rural character or pursuing different, lower-density development approaches.

City staff emphasized this action initiates a study, not annexation. Eric Stuckey, city manager, told the board the review will be iterative and may include components that run in parallel (land-use plan amendments, sewer financing analysis, traffic studies and emergency service planning). Alderman questions focused on timing and whether a study now would help or hinder long-term sewer plant planning. Stuckey said the first phase of the new south plant would be needed regardless of this parcel’s annexation, and that decisions about this property would be a growth-policy choice rather than a technical necessity to build the plant.

Board members asked for substantial, staged information and timeline expectations. Staff said an Envision Franklin plan amendment (if the applicant requests one) could reach the June planning commission meeting if the board initiates study at the February public hearing; a final plan of services would follow months later and would require more detailed development proposals to finalize service and fiscal impacts. The draft plan specifically calls for a traffic-impact study, a fire-flow analysis, confirmation of water availability with the Millcroft Utility District and detailed sewer construction cost estimates tied to development phasing.

At the work session the board directed staff to proceed with the study process (staff will present a public hearing on Feb. 11 and return with additional analysis later). No final annexation or land-use decision was made on Jan. 14.