Franklin panel approves annual zoning updates, retains 5-year floodplain cumulative standard after amendment

The Franklin Municipal Planning Commission on Aug. 28 voted to approve Ordinance 2025-25, the city’s annual zoning ordinance update, after amending the draft to retain a five-year cumulative timeframe for measuring substantial improvement and substantial damage in the floodplain.

Planning staff presented a package of text amendments and several rezonings. Proposed changes included allowing halo (soft backlit) and canopy signs and irregular-shaped projecting signs; a temporary flag exemption in residential districts (up to 90 days per calendar year for flags up to 40 square feet with a new 10-foot setback for ground-mounted flagpoles and a 5-by-8-foot maximum for wall-mounted flagpoles); adding a wrecker-service use to the Light Industrial District; permitting performance bonds in addition to letters of credit and cashier’s checks as surety for development improvements; and aligning preferred streetlight fixtures with options in the Middle Tennessee Electric (MTE) manual to reduce light pollution.

The ordinance also proposed process changes: allowing staff to make an initial interpretation of…