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Franklin board advances rezoning to revise Hillside-Hillcrest overlay, sets May 12 public hearing
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Summary
The Board of Mayor and Aldermen voted to advance Ordinance 2025-54, which revises Hillside-Hillcrest overlay boundaries for a 202.6-acre site at 354 Franklin Road, and set a public hearing for May 12, 2026. An amendment to remove one revision line failed 4–2; the ordinance advanced on a 5–1 vote.
The Board of Mayor and Aldermen of Franklin voted April 14 to move forward with Ordinance 2025-54, a rezoning measure that revises Hillside-Hillcrest overlay (HHO) boundaries for a 202.6-acre property south of Mack Hatcher Memorial Parkway and east of Franklin Road at 354 Franklin Road, and established a public hearing for May 12, 2026. The board advanced the ordinance by a 5–1 vote.
The ordinance package includes two proposed revisions to the HHO boundary. Alderman Potts offered an amendment to remove “HHO revision line number 2” from the item, saying he was concerned the change could open the parcel to new structures near Roper’s Knob. “My concern is that if we move the line now that we can open up ourselves to something that we don't want there,” Potts said during the meeting.
The amendment failed 4–2. The applicant’s representative told the board that shifting the HHO line is intended as a site-level correction and does not override other protections in the zoning ordinance, including a 150-foot scenic corridor overlay adjacent to Mack Hatcher. “Moving this HHO line does not mean that we can get anything,” the applicant representative said, adding the request reflected on-site analysis and recommendations from planning and historic commissions.
City staff described the change as a mapping refinement based on field visits and application of the ordinance’s three-part HHO test; staff recommended the revision. Eric (city staff) and Paul Hols (staff engineer/transportation staff) said planning staff will be present at the next meeting to provide a more detailed explanation of corridor limits and access restrictions before the May public hearing.
Procedural details: a motion to advance the ordinance and set a public hearing on May 12, 2026, carried on a 5–1 recorded vote (Alderman Barnhill: yes; Alderman Caesar: yes; Alderman Peterson: yes; Alderman Brown: yes; Alderman Potts: no; Vice Mayor Baggett: yes). Earlier, the amendment to remove HHO revision line 2 failed on a 4–2 vote (Potts and Vice Mayor Baggett voted yes on the amendment; Barnhill, Caesar, Peterson and Brown voted no).
What happens next: The ordinance will return for a public hearing on May 12 and a final reading in the second meeting in May. Staff said they will bring planning personnel to the next meeting to clarify the interaction between the HHO changes and the scenic corridor overlay, access limitations and likely development scenarios for the parcel.
Because the request amends an overlay boundary rather than base zoning, board members repeatedly noted that future development proposals would require additional reviews and approvals before any building could occur. The applicant representative emphasized that the parcel would remain subject to the code’s overlay restrictions and that moving the HHO line was not a guarantee of specific development outcomes.
The board adjourned after the vote.
