DATE: December 17, 2015
TO: Franklin Municipal Planning Commission
FROM: Andrew Orr, Principal Planner
Emily Hunter, Long Range Planning Supervisor
Bob Martin, Interim Director of Planning and Sustainability
Subject
title
Land Use Plan Amendment request, to add Attached Residential as a recommended land use in the McEwen Character Area, Special Area 5, located along South Royal Oaks Drive between Mack Hatcher Parkway and I-65 and in the vicinity of the Murfreesboro Road/Carothers Parkway intersection.
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Project Information
COF Project Number: 5992
Applicant: Adam Crunk, Crunk Engineering LLC
Owner: E. Warner Bass
Background from the Franklin Land Use Plan (LUP)
McEwen Character Area, Special Area 5 (MECO-5), is mostly made up of commercial and office uses and extends from the Mack Hatcher/South Royal Oaks intersection on the west to Rolling Hills Hospital on the east. Some of the existing businesses include car dealerships, big box retail, restaurants, hotels, and institutional uses. The Southwinds Apartments, Forrest Crossing Subdivision, and Creekstone Subdivision include residential uses located on the west side of MECO-5.
The applicant desires to amend the Land Use Plan in order to allow attached residential uses in MECO-5, specifically in regards to the parcel directly behind Home Depot (Parcel 101.19) and the parcel directly south of Oak Meadow Drive (Parcel 88.00). Both parcels are currently vacant and total 31.93 acres. The Land Use Plan designates both parcels in the Activity Center Design Concept and calls for commercial or office uses on both of these parcels, which are also zoned General Commercial (GC). Attached residential uses on the upper floors of mixed use buildings could be supported, but standalone multi-family housing is not supported by the Land Use Plan in MECO-5.
Planning and Sustainability Department Comments
The City of Franklin total land area is approximately 26,600 acres. The McEwen Character Area encompasses approximately 6,680 acres and serves as the City’s regional commercial corridor and economic engine. Currently, 2,115 acres are zoned GC, which is about 10% of the total land area in the City. GC zoning allows a wide range of commercial, office, and institutional uses and is the predominant zoning found in the McEwen Character Area. Of the parcels zoned GC, only about 10% remain vacant. As the McEwen area continues to build out, especially along the commercial areas of Carothers Parkway, the amount of vacant land zoned GC is greatly diminishing. Staff advises against supporting new multi-family development in MECO-5 because of the need to preserve commercially-zoned land in this area. Moreover, parcel 101.19 is located between Home Depot and I-65 and may be best suited for a nonresidential use due to nuisances related to loading activities and noise from I-65. The high visibility of the property from I-65 also reinforces the importance of commercial or office development on this parcel.
Multi-family apartments make up 21% of the existing housing stock. In the last six years, Franklin has experienced a strong demand for new multi-family development, and approvals for new multi-family apartments have risen sharply. Many of the new apartment complexes are located in the McEwen Character Area. Resource Center finished construction last year (252 units), and Artessa (250 units) and Franklin Park (350 units) are nearing completion. Nichol Mill Lofts (363 units) and Ovation (950 mixed residential units) have both been recently approved. In 2014, 1,469 dwelling units were approved and 1,122 of those were apartments (76%). The City has facilitated significant growth in multi-family development, but efforts also should be made to retain property classified and zoned for commercial and office uses. There should be a balance between commercial and residential development in the McEwen Character Area and residential uses should continue to be an ancillary and secondary use that supports the commercial base.
Recommendation
recommendation
Disapproval of the Land Use Plan amendment request.
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