2 CITY OF FRANKLIN, TENNESSEE Balancing Preservation and Development Savvy communities have realized that the question is not preservation vs. development. Rather, the issue is achieving a balance: retaining those elements deemed by the community as important to identity and character, while managing the pace, scale and impact of new development in ways that are sensitive to context. Achieving balance is difficult to accomplish without conscious planning and public policies that support preservation goals. Having a plan is essential. The purpose of a preservation plan is to clearly articulate the community’s preservation goals and to develop a set of strategies that will help the community to achieve those goals. Why does Franklin need a Preservation Plan? Franklin and Williamson County residents voice strong concern for maintaining the community’s heritage. During the last decade especially, a healthy economy and growing population has led to significant growth and suburban development. The rapid pace of change is heightening the risk of losing important historic buildings and landscapes. Respondents to the City’s annual opinion survey have strongly (better than 90%) indicated preservation of historic character as a top concern. And, in the recent Franklin Tomorrow public forums, ‘preservation of our small town character’ was among the top priorities. In response, the Board of Mayor and Aldermen called for a plan for preservation. Timing is appropriate, for within the year, the City of Franklin will be engaged in a major update of its long-range plan and land use policies. The preservation plan is envisioned as informing the long range plan; the strategies of this plan enable historic resource preservation efforts to be undertaken in a more coordinated fashion. Having a cogent preservation policy and plan will help the City balance decisions to accommodate both preservation and development. Planning Process To assist with the plan’s development, the City retained Mary Means & Associates, a community planning and heritage development firm from Alexandria, Virginia. During a six-month period, the consultants worked with an ad-hoc committee of residents appointed by the Mayor to develop this plan. Bob Martin, City Planning Director, and Jay Johnson, City Administrator, were active participants. A public workshop held mid-way through the planning process provided valuable community insight into the draft goals and strategies, and helped to shape the plan recommendations. Plan Timeline June-July 2001 ASSESS FRANKLIN’S HISTORIC RESOURCES & PRESERVATION ISSUES August 2001 DEVELOP & TEST GOALS & STRATEGIES September 2001 DRAFT THE PLAN October 2001 FINAL PLAN
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