Franklin, Tennessee, has a rich, evolving history marked by significant growth over the past 40 years. This has been a transformational time for the community, leading to a recent vision statement by Franklin’s Board of Mayor and Aldermen:

America’s finest hometown, driven by excellence, balancing preservation, and progress.

This vision reflects Franklin's identity and aspirations, made possible by decades of intentional community building, including community engagement, the insights of experts in community development, and a focus overall community health and vitality. The City has consistently developed guidelines and funding mechanisms designed to align land use and infrastructure with its strategic vision. Franklin's growth is anchored in three key themes:

• Planning
• Preservation
• Fiscal Responsibility

Today’s Franklin is the result of deliberate, smart growth aimed at making it America’s finest hometown. However, there are concerns about the pace of this growth. The following information seeks to help citizens understand Franklin’s approach to balancing progress and preservation.

If you look at the chart below from the U.S. Census, you can see the number of people coming to our City has grown at a consistent level since the mid-1980’s – a rate of approximately 20,000 people per decade. In

 fact, the highest decade for population growth was  the 1990-2000 decade.  (LINK AVAILABLE)  In relative terms, Franklin’s growth rate has consistently declined since the “high water mark” of the 2000 Census at over 100% for the decade or more than 10% per year compared to the most recent Census (2020) at 33.6% for the decade or just over 3% per year.

Franklin works hard to plan for growth and make developments pay their fair share for updated infrastructure needs in the form of impact fees.

The city utilizes impact fees to help finance the infrastructure needs that come along with growth. Impact fees are charged on new developments, so that the costs of expanding infrastructure are more equitably distributed. The City was one of the first municipalities in Tennessee to implement an impact fee program on new development in the 1980s. Today, there are a total of four main impact fees – roads, water, sewer, and parks.

The intentionality behind implementing impact fees has allowed Franklin to address infrastructure needs that accommodate continued growth. As new developments are permitted, impact fees are charged based on the infrastructure capacity the new development will utilize. In the last decade, new development has contributed roughly $152 million in impact fees to expand infrastructure in Franklin (Figure N).

Figure N.

There has also been diligent work to update impact fees to keep up with rising construction costs. In the last year, the City has increased the water and sewer impact fees to complete the Claude Yates Water Reclamation Facility expansion/upgrade and help fund future water and sewer capacity. The City is also working to update the road impact fees which will help fund the City’s 10-year Capital Investment Program. Updates to the parkland impact fee will come forward later this year.

Recently the City worked with the Williamson County and the other cities within the county to update the county-wide growth plan including each City’s urban growth boundaries.  In the update, the City of Franklin reduced our boundary by 361 acres and put priority on areas we could better serve with planned infrastructure and land use.  See image below.

Franklin’s Approach: Responsible Fiscal Management and Focus on: Road Impact Fees

The primary purpose of road impact fees is to ensure that the burden of infrastructure costs is equitably distributed. As new developments, whether residential, commercial, or industrial, place additional demands on existing road networks, it becomes necessary to expand or improve these networks to accommodate increased traffic. Without road impact fees, the cost of such improvements would fall on the public or existing property owners, leading to potential inequities.

Road impact fees serve several key functions:

1. Equity: They ensure that those who create the need for new infrastructure pay for it.
2. Efficiency: They provide a mechanism for local governments to fund road improvements in a timely manner.
3. Revenue Generation: They generate significant revenue, which can be used to improve road infrastructure.
4. Growth Management: They help manage urban growth by directing development towards areas where infrastructure can support it.

In 1987, the City of Franklin obtained authority from the Tennessee legislature to enact road impact fees. These fees have been periodically updated to account for inflation. Implementing infrastructure projects across the entire city would not be feasible without such a mechanism. Road impact fees allow the City to require developers to dedicate right-of-way and build the necessary infrastructure to accommodate growth and development. As construction costs continue to rise, it is essential to regularly update our road impact fees to maintain effective partnerships with developers. These partnerships will ensure the delivery of needed projects to our citizens and business owners. Without these fees, the alternative would be to subsidize infrastructure costs from other funding sources.

Figure O and Figure P are a 10-year list of completed and ongoing projects funded by road impact fees and executed through partnerships with private developers.  The City of Franklin has a longstanding history of requiring development to build required infrastructure to ensure we maintain the quality of life our citizens expect.  As the City continues to grow and evolve, road impact fees will play a crucial role in shaping our infrastructure and development patterns.

Figure O.

Figure P.

Concern: Development in Franklin is running rampant. Why are new developments approved?

When you look at the Development Plan approvals since 2014, fewer developments have been approved in the last two years, with smaller acreage.

The City asked and residents answered in the last update of our Envision Franklin Update.  Our land use plan, Envision Franklin, is an important guiding document by our Planning Commission and Board of Mayor and Alderman to plan for the future of Franklin.  Conservation of natural resources and open space, easy access to parks and open spaces, and protecting Franklin’s natural beauty all ranked high within this Plan. Areas of emphasis for the plan update included reevaluating the Conservation Subdivision design concept to better preserve scenic viewsheds and large tracts of open space, planning specifically for future growth areas along Franklin Road and in the Mayes Creek and West basins, and originating a new design concept around the Factory at Franklin to encourage preservation of existing historic resources while also creating exceptional places for people.

Three new design concepts were created to replace the Conservation Subdivision design concept: Rural Reserve, Neighborhood Green, and Village Green.  All three design concepts aim to preserve a minimum of 50% open space in large, contiguous tracts (Figure K). These design concepts were mapped after thoughtful conversation with stakeholders and can be found along Franklin Road inside of Mack Hatcher Parkway (Rural Reserve), in the West Harpeth area (Neighborhood Green, Rural Reserve, and Village Green), along Lewisburg Pike in the southern reaches of the UGB (Neighborhood Green), and in the Mayes Creek basin along Murfreesboro Road (Rural Reserve).

Recently, the City acquired 44.53 acres property on the east side of Franklin Road, south of Mack Hatcher, referred to as the Creekside Property.  Later in 2024, the City will acquire 13 acres for access to Ropers Knob and 2.2 acres to expand Carter’s Hill Park.  Figure L below is a table of over 600 acres of property within the Mack Hatcher loop being preserved.

Figure L.

Figure M presents the preserved properties within the Mack Hatcher Loop.
Figure M.

Historic Downtown Franklin is the cherished center of the city and will continue to be protected using historic preservation tools and enhanced through traditional development and contextual architecture. The preservation of historic resources is of paramount importance to protecting Franklin’s heritage and community character. As such, the City continues to invest in planning for historic and battlefield preservation.

Sales and Property Taxes

Growth in the community over the last several generations has fueled significant increases in all tax collections. This is not surprising – as the population grows, additional investment is made in the community, more goods and services are provided, and both the sales and property values grow. Unique to Franklin’s deliberate and balanced approach to the development of commercial and office cores and distinct residential areas has been a sizeable increase in sales tax collections. Since the opening of the Cool Springs Galleria Mall in the early 1990’s, sales tax revenues have steadily increased and outpaced property tax revenues (Figure Q shows the last 10 years of total Local Sales Tax collections vs. Property Tax collections).

Figure Q.

As a result of strong, consistent growth in sales tax collections, City of Franklin services are financed far more by sales tax than property tax – unusual for most cities in Tennessee and in America who primarily rely on local property taxes to fund operations and capital investments. Figure R shows overall financing of General Fund Operations in FY 2025. 76% comes from consumption taxes (local sales, state shared sales, alcohol taxes), while only 12% of the budget comes from taxes of wealth & assets (property taxes).

Figure R.

 A byproduct of the sustained growth in sales tax has been the stability, or steady reduction, of the property tax rate. Under Tennessee law, at the time of reappraisal (every four to six years), if property values increase since the last re-appraisal (which they have in Franklin every time in the last 40 years), local governments must reduce the tax rate to ensure that the City does not collect more in taxes than the year prior. (The Board of Mayor and Alderman must set the tax rate annually, and can elect to set a higher rate, but first must acknowledge the property tax rate reduction.) In Franklin, the property tax rate has steadily decreased over the last 40 years. Effective FY 2025, the certified tax rate is 32.61 cents per $100 of assessed value (the lowest rate for Tennessee municipalities with a population of 50,000 or greater). 

Figure S.

Franklin’s future is full of promise, driven by our thoughtful approach to growth and preservation. As we continue to expand and evolve, we remain dedicated to creating a city that celebrates its heritage while embracing new opportunities. 

Thank you for being a vital part of our community. Together, we’re building a bright and beautiful future for Franklin!