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Franklin City Council reviews proposed 2026–2030 park impact fee plan; public hearing set for Jan. 21
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Summary
Director of Parks and Recreation Chip Horner presented an introductory 2026–2030 park impact fee plan that would raise the single-family per-unit fee from $11.42 to $24.90 and project roughly $4.6 million in revenue over 10 years; council set a public hearing for Jan. 21 to consider the ordinance.
Franklin City’s Parks and Recreation director, Chip Horner, presented the introduction of a proposed 2026–2030 park impact fee plan at the Jan. 5 council meeting, saying the city’s current single‑family impact fee of $11.42 would increase under the proposal to $24.90 per new housing unit and that reduced rates for apartments and duplexes would be $16.90. Horner said the study projects roughly $4,600,000 in revenue over the next 10 years and that the park impact fee account currently holds about $601,000.
Horner told the council the impact fee is charged when a building permit for new residential construction is issued and is intended for capital projects only — not for staffing or routine maintenance. He cited recent uses of the fund including property purchases near Blue Heron Park, a park shelter that cost about $80,000, and small land acquisitions. Horner listed candidate capital projects for fee funding: Scott Park (underway), Kingsbridge Park (trail, playground, second dog park and possible pickleball courts), trail connections up to Winterfield to join the Greenway Trail, and a long-term renovation or replacement of the aging aquatic center (built in 1985), noting that some elements of those projects may or may not be eligible under impact‑fee rules.
Horner said the fee study and draft ordinance were reviewed by Peter’s Financial Consultants and by a committee the plan requires — 40% of which must represent builders/real‑estate interests. He named members who participated in that committee and said the committee spent about two hours in a meeting generating feedback on whether the fee would be reasonable for developers. Horner and staff also said nearby communities have recently revised or adopted comparable fees and that Franklin’s proposed amount is in line with similar-sized jurisdictions.
The ordinance was introduced; staff said a redline version and a corrected draft will be published for the council’s next meeting and that the public hearing and final vote are scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 21. Horner emphasized the ordinance will be a one‑time fee for new development and that state law limits formal adoption or amendments of an impact‑fee ordinance to once every five years.
At the end of the meeting Horner corrected a reported figure, saying a newspaper article had stated the fee as $24.90 but that, in his words to the council, "it's $2,490," a discrepant figure recorded in the transcript. The council will consider the exact ordinance text and fee schedule at the Jan. 21 public hearing before any adoption.
The council’s next steps: staff will present a revised ordinance (including typo corrections noted by staff), publish the redline version in the packet, hold the Jan. 21 public hearing, and then the council may vote to adopt or amend the ordinance.
