A Downtown Neighborhood Association News Release

DNA: The Building Blocks of Life

For further information: David Morris, DNA President, (615) 599-2031, dmorris@churchstreetadvisors.net

For Immediate Release

Downtown Neighborhood Association Calls for Small Area Plan

Detailed planning needed for future land use in central historic areas, says DNA

The Downtown Neighborhood Association (DNA) has unanimously adopted a resolution requesting the Franklin Board of Mayor and Aldermen and the Franklin Municipal Planning Commission to undertake a detailed small area plan for Franklin ’s downtown historic districts and the adjacent and connecting streets.

“Our historic core city area is under continual development pressure and has several large tracts potentially subject to development or redevelopment,” said DNA President David Morris.  “The Central Franklin Area Plan adopted in 2004 lays out broad development principles for this area, but we need detailed planning that addresses the special issues and pressures in the heart of downtown Franklin .  Maintaining the character of downtown Franklin is crucial to the identity of our whole city.”

DNA called for broad-based participation in the process of developing the Small Area Plan, including property owners, developers, preservationists, and downtown residents.

“If we work together on this project, we can come up with a plan for the future of our downtown neighborhoods that benefits all of the parties concerned, from government organizations needing expanded office space to residents who want to maintaining the livability of our downtown,” said Morris.  “We want to be pro-active, rather waiting for individual proposals for the haphazard development and redevelopment of our neighborhood.”

The Small Area Plan would encompass the Downtown, Hincheyville, and Lewisburg-Adams historic districts, plus the streets and areas that connect them, including the Columbia Avenue area where the city has planned to build the police station.

The purpose of the DNA, which is now celebrating its tenth anniversary year, is to help residents of Franklin’s original 15-block downtown area exercise greater control over the economic, political, environmental and social forces that influence our way  of life; to promote understanding among property owners, residents, government and business interests; to foster neighborhood identity and a sense of community; to cooperate and affiliate in appropriate ways with other local, state and national organizations having compatible goals.

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