Protecting Community Character THEME SUMMARY OF CHALLENGES Protecting community character means preserving the qualities that make Franklin a desirable place to live, work, and visit. This includes preserving historic resources, maintaining authenticity of place, safeguarding older homes as attainable housing, reinforcing neighborhood fabric, promoting context sensitive infill, and preserving the character of streetscapes and natural landscapes. Rising land values and strong demand near the historic core create pressure to replace modest older homes with larger new construction, gradually altering neighborhood scale and eroding established character. These market forces also affect the visual continuity of streetscapes, where elements such as street trees, setbacks, paving patterns, and signage help define connections between neighborhoods and destinations. Franklin’s natural landscape—its hillsides, ridgelines, farmland, river corridors, and key viewsheds—also plays a defining role in how residents and visitors experience the city. As Franklin continues to grow, the responsibility to balance reinvestment with preservation increases, requiring thoughtful tools, innovative planning approaches, public private partnerships, and strategic regulations that help maintain the qualities that shape the community’s identity. High land values and rising property taxes make it difficult to preserve attainable housing and contribute to the loss of cultural and built heritage in historically Black neighborhoods. Vulnerable communities need stronger preservation tools and incentives, while older homes outside the HPO face demolition and replacement with larger homes with differing character than the neighborhood. New development and ongoing growth pressures threaten the character of Franklin’s streetscapes, gateways, natural landscapes, and viewsheds. 1 2 3 116 FRANKLIN, TN | PRESERVATION PLAN
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