Franklin Park Commission will stop routine NRSE form review once NRPP guidance is finalized

The Franklin City Park & Environmental Commission voted Feb. 9 to stop routine review of Natural Resource Special Exception (NRSE) application forms once the commission completes and finalizes a Natural Resource Protection Plan (NRPP) guidance document and forwards that guidance to the Planning and Zoning Commission.

Mary (staff) presented an updated NRPP guidance and an NRSE application form, saying the guidance incorporates UDO criteria and a table summarizing proposed temporary and permanent impacts. Commissioners debated whether NRSE review belongs in the commission’s ongoing scope or should be handled by staff and Planning and Zoning. Supporters of the change said staff review would streamline the process and reduce duplicative delays; opponents said the commission adds environmental expertise and public perspective that planning staff or the planning commission might miss.

A motion to dissolve the commission’s requirement to review NRSE application forms "upon final review of the NRPP guidance document" passed by voice vote. The motion directs the commission to finalize the NRPP guidance and then send the guidance to planning and zoning, after which NRSE application-form review would be removed from the commission’s scope.

Commissioners emphasized that statutory and UDO requirements still apply and that certain public-notice and hearing steps associated with NRSE requests would remain in place. Mary said the NRSE process includes published notice and mailed postcards to properties within a 500-foot radius and that staff would continue to prepare materials for public hearings.

The commission did not set a specific calendar date for the change; commissioners asked staff to circulate a finalized draft of the NRPP guidance for review and to bring the item back for final approval before any change to the commission’s scope takes effect.