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Board approves Ovation and REM rezonings after extended traffic debate
Summary
After public comment and expert testimony about projected congestion, the Franklin Board approved rezoning for the Ovation and REM projects; the Ovation rezoning passed 7-1 and the REM rezoning passed unanimously.
The Board of Mayor and Aldermen voted Thursday to approve two development rezonings in the Cool Springs area after an extended public discussion focused on traffic impacts.
Ordinance 2025-20 (Ovation) to rezone roughly 103.93 acres passed 7-1. Ordinance 2025-22 (REM) to rezone about 27.19 acres passed unanimously. Both items had been pulled from the consent agenda for discussion and drew multiple public speakers and technical testimony on traffic studies.
Residents and an independent traffic engineer urged the board to reject or scale back the Ovation plan, saying multiple nearby intersections would operate at failing levels once the projects were built. Clive Grama, a retired traffic engineer who said he reviewed the materials, told the board "your own study shows 5 level of service intersections that are F" and warned of a "domino effect" that could divert traffic into neighborhoods. Grama said he believed the project's trip-generation estimates were understated, citing figures he summarized in his remarks.
Developers said they had updated plans and submitted traffic studies to staff, and staff and a third-party city reviewer also examined the materials. Kennedy Adams of Kimley-Horn, the traffic engineer for the development, told the board she had worked with staff to "refine the analysis" and said some of the more alarming results referenced by speakers appeared in earlier or appendix tables of broader regional studies. Paul Holzen, a city staff member, explained the city's regional Cool Springs transportation study and said developers (including REM and Ovation) are providing off-site roadway improvements and other mitigation measures identified through staff review.
Greg Gamble, land planner for Orium and Ovation, said previous off-site improvements were already made in anticipation of the project and that required additional lanes and signal work had been identified by staff and incorporated into the development plan. Ovation applicant Glenn McGee and other project representatives were present and said they would answer questions.
During public comment, residents warned of longer delays at intersections and potential impacts on emergency response times to Williamson Medical Center if intersections reach extreme delay conditions. City staff characterized Level of Service "F" as a failure condition; staff said more extreme failures equate to very long delays (staff cited roughly 160 seconds as the threshold where drivers may wait through multiple signal cycles). Staff and developers said the most extreme delays would be concentrated in specific peak-hour locations rather than uniformly across the study area. Alderman John Caesar (commenting) also urged confidence in the multi-review process and noted that three separate professionals had reviewed the traffic work: the developer's consultant, city staff, and the city's third-party reviewer.
Votes - Ovation rezoning (approx. 103.93 acres): motion to approve passed 7-1 (Alderman Baggett recorded as No). - REM rezoning (approx. 27.19 acres): motion to approve passed unanimously.
Both approvals include the traffic-mitigation commitments shown in the developer-submitted materials and staff appendices; staff said required off-site improvements had been added to the plans following review.
