Note: FY 2021 is last year (July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021). The report was prepared to cover the business for the FY 2021 period. This year’s report FY 2022 (July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022) is in preparation now and is normally available for distribution at the polls for the November election.
The Department of Planning and Community Development (DPCD) maintains a professional staff that provides the Town of Franklin with a wide array of planning services. DPCD’s mission is to plan and implement comprehensive policies and initiatives that work to fulfill the land use-related goals of the people of Franklin. We make every effort to maintain the character of the community while enhancing its economic, cultural and social vitality.
The DPCD’s staffing reflects the diverse skills needed to complete the many activities and roles the Department participates. DPCD’s activities and services include, but are not limited to comprehensive planning, economic development, subdivision plan, site plan and conservation plan review, open space and wetlands preservation, historic preservation, zoning by-law and subdivision regulation development, downtown revitalization, brownfields redevelopment, affordable housing, public transportation, transit oriented development, natural hazard mitigation and municipal vulnerability planning, and sustainable development including use of smart growth and low impact development concepts. The Department regularly identifies and sources funding for various community development projects and activities. DPCD balances its approach to these initiatives through long-term planning and public participation. For the last two fiscal years DPCD staff has also had responsibility of operating the Town’s Passport office.
Support of Town Boards and Committees DPCD personnel provide staff support to several boards, commissions and committees, including the Planning Board, Conservation Commission, Design Review Commission, Technical Review Committee, the Municipal Affordable Housing Trust, and the Cultural District Committee. Approximately 60 to 65 percent of the Department’s total staff hours are utilized on Planning Board and Conservation Commission related issues. Since the start of the COVID-19 Pandemic DPCD staff has needed to spend much more of available staff time on running public meetings; in efforts to ensure citizen engagement and comply with open meeting law regulations, meetings have been conducted remotely using the Zoom platform. In addition, DPCD staff provides professional technical assistance to other public entities on an as needed basis, including Town Council, Zoning Board of Appeals, Town Council’s Economic Development Sub-committee, and various ad hoc committees.
Site Permitting and Guidance
DPCD is not a permit granting authority; its function during the permitting process is to integrate laws, regulations and plans with the Town’s goals to ensure that the best interests of the Town and its residents are served. DPCD personnel organize and attend meetings, provide technical assistance, offer professional opinions, and guide developers, businesses and residents through the Town’s various permitting processes.
Conservation and Resource Protection
DPCD provides support to the Conservation Commission, as provided by MGL Chapter 131, Section 40. Conservation Staff, specifically the Town’s Conservation Agent, is responsible for speaking for the Conservation Commission when they are not present (see separate Conservation Commission Report). Although not a permit authority, the Conservation Agent does have limited police powers to regulate activities previously approved by the Conservation Commission, stop unauthorized activities, and promote and protect Franklin’s natural resources, including its wetlands, streams, brooks, ponds, lakes and watersheds. In addition, Conservation staff provides administrative support and reviews applications being presented to the Conservation Commission, as well as provides professional support to other Town Boards and Departments.
During FY21 DPCD Conservation staff worked on various conservation and land use related projects, including continued implementation of the DelCarte Conservation Property Master Plan; this year work included coordination of the fifth year of pond treatment. Another project overseen by the Conservation Agent because of wetlands protection issues is the Southern New England Trunkline Trail (SNETT) tunnel at Prospect Street; the tunnel project was completed in FY21.
Comprehensive Planning and Zoning DPCD is responsible for traditional land-use related activities including updating the Town’s plans, and amending and creating zoning bylaws. A description of zoning and land use issues worked on by DPCD during the 2021 fiscal year is summarized below.
Zoning Bylaw Amendments. DPCD worked on several amendments to Franklin’s Zoning Bylaw during the 2021 fiscal year. Starting in FY18 DPCD began a project to better define the Town's zoning districts by following parcel lines. Where parcels are within two or more zoning districts DPCD developed zoning map amendments to move the Zoning District line so each parcel is only in one zoning district, in most cases based on the current land use. During FY21 DPCD developed and Town Council approved three Zoning Map Amendments related to this project: 20-858, 20-861and 20-862.
DPCD developed Zoning Bylaw Amendment 21-872, which if approved would make it easier for a farmers series brewery, distillery, or winery tasting room to be approved, by eliminating the specific percentage restriction on the tasting room’s size. The tasting room would still be an accessory use to the primary brewery, distillery, or winery use. The zoning bylaw amendment is expected to be approved by Town Council early in FY22.
Franklin Center Project, Rezoning for Economic Growth & Diverse Housing Opportunities. DPCD is working on a planning/zoning study with the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC). The Franklin Center Project includes an extensive audit of the Town’s Zoning Bylaw as it relates to land uses and dimensional regulations in the Downtown area and adjacent neighborhoods. As part of the Project MAPC will perform substantial community outreach and engagement, which is expected to begin during the first half of FY22.
Hazard Mitigation and Climate Change Vulnerability Planning
The Federal Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 requires communities to develop, adopt, and regularly update a Hazard Mitigation Plan to be eligible for FEMA hazard mitigation grants. Franklin’s first HMP was prepared in 2010; an update was needed. During FY20 and FY21 the Town worked to update its HMP. Led by the DPCD Director, the Town’s Hazard Mitigation Working Group worked with its contractor, the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, to assess and update data within the Town’s outdated 2010 HMP, including infrastructure and risk assessments, potential hazards, and Franklin’s current and potential mitigation strategies. During the first quarter of FY21 a public input process was completed, including a public hearing on July 28, 2020. The Draft HMP was then updated representing public comments received, and the Draft HMP was submitted to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for review. FEMA completed a review of the Town’s 2020 HMP and found it met all Federal requirements, pending Town adoption. On January 6, 2021 Franklin Town Council formally adopted Franklin’s Hazard Mitigation Plan 2020 Update with passage of Resolution 21-01. Soon after the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) approved the Town of Franklin Hazard Mitigation Plan 2020 Update effective January 22, 2021, allowing the Town to apply for FEMA mitigation grant funding through January 21, 2026. The goals and strategies within the updated HMP will be implemented over a five year period, and will be integrated into other Town plans and policies.
Housing Production Plan Update
Over the last two years DPCD has utilized substantial staff resources to develop an update to the Town’s Chapter 40B Housing Production Plan (HPP). The HPP is a proactive strategy for planning and developing affordable housing, and includes strategies that a community uses to enable it to meet its affordable housing needs in a manner consistent with MGL Chapter 40B and related Massachusetts Department of Housing & Community Development regulations. A HPP provides a Comprehensive Housing Needs Assessment, a summary of Affordable Housing Goals, and a description of Implementation Strategies the Town will utilize to meet its goals.
During FY21 a Draft HPP was developed by DPCD with input and assistance from the Town Council Economic Development Committee, Municipal Affordable Housing Trust, Franklin Housing Authority, the Town’s Administration and staff, and the Town of Franklin’s residents. Public input on the Draft HPP, and housing issues in general, were accepted from anyone interested in providing comments during a formal Public Comment Period, which ran from May 12, 2021 to June 25, 2021. During that time DPCD attended various public meetings to present the highlights of the Draft HPP, and provide time for residents and officials to ask questions and provide input. One of the meetings, a Formal Public Hearing on the Draft HPP, was held during a Franklin Municipal Affordable Housing Trust meeting on June 2, 2021.
DPCD will use the input received to create a Final version of the Plan, and expect the Final HPP update will be adopted by the Franklin Planning Board and Town Council in the first quarter of FY22. Once adopted by the Town the HPP will be submitted to Massachusetts Department of Housing & Community Development for approval.
Planning and Implementation of Community Development and Economic Development Projects Each year the DPCD works on many community and economic development initiatives. The Department develops strategies, proposes policies, bylaw changes and Town Council resolutions, manages projects, and seeks grants in efforts to balance Franklin’s community livability and its economic viability.
DPCD encourages responsible community development that meets the goals and objectives of the Town’s various planning documents, and the State’s Sustainable Development and Smart Growth Principles. Some of DPCD’s more important recently completed or ongoing projects and initiatives are summarized below.
Support of Affordable Senior Housing. DPCD worked with Franklin DWP’s Water and Sewer Superintendent to successfully apply to the Housing
Choice Initiative Capital Grant Program for a $201,000 grant. The funds are being used to design a new Water Booster Pumping Station and related water mains that will provide water and fire protection service for the proposed 60-Unit Franklin Ridge Senior Housing project on Veterans Memorial Drive.
Regional Planning. DPCD regularly attends meetings and works on various regional planning issues with a variety of regional organizations, including Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC), the Southwest Advisory Planning Committee (SWAP Committee), and the I-495/MetroWest Corridor Partnership. Franklin’s Town Planner Amy Love is currently very involved with regional planning issue as the Town’s representative to the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, and Co-chair of the SWAP Committee. In addition, the DPCD occasionally supports the initiatives of other regional organizations including the Franklin Bellingham Rail Trail Committee, Friends of the SNETT, the MetroWest Tourism and Visitors Bureau, and the Charles River Meadowlands Working Group.
Downtown Revitalization
For close to twenty years the Town has made revitalization of Downtown Franklin a major focus and has worked to improve the Downtown in a variety of ways. During the 2021 fiscal year DPCD continued to work on projects related to implementation of the Franklin Center Plan, which was developed in 2002 and 2003 to provide Town officials with a vision and basic strategy for revitalization of Downtown Franklin. One important component of the Franklin Center Plan is Cultural Uses. The issue of Cultural Economic Development has been a focus for DPCD for more than six years, including working with the MetroWest Tourism and Visitors Bureau on a variety of cultural economic development marketing activities, preparing and distributing Cultural District marketing materials, performing outreach and educational activities, and coordinating efforts with local stakeholders. DPCD provides assistance to the Town’s Cultural District Committee in a variety of ways on a range of projects.
REVIVE Local Arts Indicators Project. DPCD and the Cultural District Committee participated in the regional REVIVE Local Arts Indicators Project implemented by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council. The project focused on four Massachusetts communities with a high density of arts and culture assets, Franklin, Arlington, Beverly and Boston. REVIVE documented impacts from COVID-19 to the local creative economy, and developed strategies that municipalities can utilize to chart a path to response and recovery for local artists and arts and cultural organizations. A recent webinar, REVIVE
Local Arts Indicators Discussion, provides a project summary:
DPCD works regularly on a wide range of economic development projects and programs, and is one of DPCD’s top priorities, second only to providing excellent administrative and technical assistance to the Town’s boards, commissions and committees. Potential benefits to the Town from successful implementation of DPCD’s business retainage and attraction initiatives are significant. Efforts focus on increasing the value of Franklin’s commercial and industrial tax base, filling the Town’s empty and underutilized industrially zoned buildings, and attracting the right mix of companies to the community. DPCD regularly communicates with realtors, property owners and businesses to make them aware of State and Federal technical assistance programs and financial resources that can be made available to further their development, and to raise awareness of DPCD as a resource for local businesses. DPCD works regularly Massachusetts Office of Business Development, MassDevelopment and other agencies in efforts to attract the right mix of companies to the Town of Franklin’s industrial and commercial areas.
DPCD will continue to undertake a wide range of community and economic development projects, programs, and planning initiatives that will keep the Town of Franklin’s goals and objectives current and representative of residents’ needs and desires. DPCD is proud of its accomplishments and welcomes public input on all of its efforts to improve the quality of life for the residents of Franklin.
Respectfully submitted,
Department of Planning & Community Development Staff
