Rausch & Roy provide updates to Town Council; Council approves accessory dwelling unit (ADU) bylaw changes (video)

The Town Council met as scheduled on Wednesday, July 19, 2023 for an almost 3 hour session. All nine councilors were present in Chambers for this session.

Approx. 90 minutes of the meeting was in the update from the Franklin legislative delegation: State Senator Becca Rausch and State Representative Jeff Roy. Just before the updates and follow up questions, Senator Rausch provided Kaye Kelly with a certification to recognize her selection as a "Heroine of the Commonwealth" as announced during June.

The Access Dwelling Unit (ADU) zoning bylaw changes were approved unanimously. This is a significant accomplishment for the Town to have approved inclusionary zoning AND the ADU changes. As was mentioned during the discussions, other communities stopped work unable to achieve the compromise necessary to reach an agreement. Franklin was able to compromise to take this significant step forward. As was also mentioned, this may not be all we need but it is a step in the right direction.

Other legislation:

• Several appointments were approved to board and committees. This complete the bulk of the renewals that occur annually. Aside from the Town Council and School Committee, all the other board and committee, elected or appointed have staggered terms of office to enable some continuity for the work that each group has underway. 
• The new parking regulations were tweaked to modify the overnight parking on Sunday through Thursday and separately on Friday-Saturday. The new kiosks are functional for the additional 70+ parking spots in the former commuter restricted parking at Ferrara's and on Depot St.
• Authorization of a Intermunicipal agreement with Norfolk County for them to provide weights & measures services to Franklin (and initially 3 other communities) was approved.
• Authorization for the Town Administrator to complete the paperwork required to complete the conservation restrictions on the two parcels of land that the Town kept when the Brookview condominiums were created along Pond St. The land provides access to the trail network along Mine Brook.
• Acceptance of donations to Veterans Service and Police department was approved 

The full agenda and documents released for this meeting can be found ->    https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif10036/f/agendas/july_19_2023_tc_agenda.pdf

My notes captured via Twitter can be found in one PDF file ->  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nt4hKCkbmVavbV-XCPyr9d1lJTpsF3pK/view?usp=drive_link

The Franklin TV video link ->  https://youtu.be/O8_1FbZyKJI

L-R: Kaye Kelly, Senator Becca Rausch