Voices of Franklin: Petition Drive This Friday (8/15/25) at Farmers Market

Residents Rally Against 444 East Central Street Project: Petition Drive This Friday at Farmers Market

The proposed development at 444 East Central Street has become a flashpoint in Franklin, sparking widespread concern among residents who feel their voices have been sidelined. Despite strong public opposition, the project remains under review by the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) — and the version currently before them is not the same project the Town Council originally approved.

What Changed?
- The original plan, which many residents urged the Council to reject, has since ballooned in scope.
- The number of requested waivers/variances has tripled, jumping from 18 to 30.
- The building height has increased from three stories to four, directly contradicting town guidelines and threatening the character of the surrounding neighborhood.
- Although the town had the opportunity to invoke Safe Harbor protections, it chose not to—leaving Franklin vulnerable to overdevelopment.

A Call to Action
This Friday at 1:00 PM, concerned residents Gene Grella and Jane Callaway-Tripp among others will be at the Franklin Farmers Market with a grassroots petition. This is a chance for every resident who cares about Franklin's future to make their voice heard.

> "If you're truly all set with the direction the town is building in, then please come to the Farmers Market and help us with your signature—your voice. There is power in numbers, and we all need to stand together."

Why Sign the Petition?
- To urge the ZBA to end this project—it no longer reflects the original proposal and disregards community concerns
- To reject the precedent of approving 30 waivers/ variances for a single development
- To preserve Franklin's identity and prevent it from becoming another overbuilt suburb

Franklin's Future Is in Our Hands
This is not just about one building—it's about the kind of town we want Franklin to be. Do we want to protect our small-town charm, or watch it erode under unchecked development?

"This is our town, and it's time we stand up for what we want our town to be."

Join us Friday. Sign the petition. Speak up. Because Franklin belongs to all of us.

Jane Callaway-Tripp  

Franklin resident and candidate for Town Council

If you have something to say, you can find the guidelines here
https://www.franklinmatters.org/2011/03/introducing-voices-of-franklin.html

Voices of Franklin: Petition Drive This Friday  (8/15/25) at Farmers Market

Town Council responds to budget adjustment by adding back 3rd ambulance, (video)

The Franklin, MA Town Council met at 6 PM on Wednesday, August 13, 2025 as scheduled. All 9 Councilors participated in Council Chambers. The public meeting ran just over 3 hours. The Council entered Executive Session to review another 5 topics. Once into Executive Session they did not return to open meeting.

Franklin TV video is available for replay -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-E1pOkLizKc

Agenda doc can be found -> 

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_08132025-1852

My full set of notes in one PDF -> 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UPwTkHaZv3OVhfIpt5HqxFs-k7-sfa5S/view?usp=drive_link

Quick recap:

• In the first of 2 long updates, discussions, the Council ultimately approved the restoration of the 3rd ambulance by adjusting the expense budget by $114K, authorizing the hiring of 2 firefighter/paramedics, and including half of the anticipated ambulance revenue in the budget to balance for the $231,152 shortfall in State funding that came after the State finalized their budget in July
• In the 2nd, key decision, the Council voted 7-2 to NOT accept a private donation to provide funding for the health & wellness nurse at the Senior Center. There are 2 actions out of this: one for the Town Administrator to find another  way to fund and restore the position, and 2 - to draft a policy for the Town on donations and acceptable uses. As noted during the discussion, the School District has such a policy, the Town does not
• Per legal advice, the Town Council can not rescind the 40b approval vote for the 444 East Central development. Residents are encouraged to continue to participate in both the Zoning Board of Appeals and Conservation Commission meeting as the project moves through the process. There is no short cut to this long process.
• Franklin Ridge project is likely to put shovel in the ground before year end (a delay from what was announced earlier this year). In another year, the operator will begin outreach and info session for the resident application process. Federal income guidelines will be followed but 70% of the units to be prioritized for Franklin residents

Additional items will be added to the recap with the publication of the meeting audio and also covered in the Town Council Quarterbacking session when shared in a couple of days.

ZBA listens, Town Administrator attempts to clarify points, on the 444 East Central project (video)

The Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) met as scheduled Thursday night, May 8, 2025. The 444 East Central portion of the meeting begins at 19 minutes into the recording and such is set for the replay here. (You can easily go to the beginning of the video and view the earlier portion if you choose.)

Franklin TV video for replay -> https://www.youtube.com/live/82a99atYf0s?&t=1149

The ZBA page for this 444 East Central project is here -> https://www.franklinma.gov/815/2025-Current-Recent-ZBA-Hearings

The application as submitted on the Town page is here -> https://www.franklinma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/4594/444-East-Central-ZBA-application-comp-permit

Meeting items of note

• Halligan recused himself
• project overview briefly recapped (slides captured below)
• a clerical problem with notice resulted in an agreement between the applicant attorney and the committee, committee not to invoke safe harbor, appplicant not to invoke a constructive grant. The constructive grant would have allowed the applicant to bypass most of the ZBA process
• The application will continue and take some number of months to do so. The next meeting is targeted for June 5, the next after that is July 17
• Due to this negotiation, the peer review process did not start. Traffic will be first up at the next meeting
• Town Administrator Jamie Hellen participating this time, and he explains why, he is participating to explain details around the process and clarify, everybody can hear the record as one
• One sore point (lack of communication from the ZBA Chair and other members after multiple email queries), it was revealed that responding to individual emails is a non-no during the time that the subject is before the Board. It could potentially violate open meeting law. All discussions, responses to questions, need to be in the open meeting.

Slides of the presentation ->  https://photos.app.goo.gl/x5N6EvhwDRUtcRps5

The waivers requested by the project are outlined in Section 8 and contained in this PDF (separated from the full project doc) -> https://drive.google.com/file/d/11lkqa0Hz1VCO_J3utf-5NynwlnPeVPQj/view?usp=drive_link

To support Town Administrator Hellen's statements on water supply, information on the water conservation page should explain ->    https://www.franklinma.gov/628/Water-Conservation 

There is a 3-part podcast series covering the water supply and operations for Franklin from well to our faucets -> https://www.franklinmatters.org/2024/09/town-of-franklin-all-about-water-system.html

There is also a 3-part series on the sewer from our flushes to the Charles River Treatment -> https://www.franklinmatters.org/2024/09/town-of-franklin-all-about-sewer-system.html

444 East Central project