Fair Warning?

Dear Mayor Tom Miller and Alderman Beverly Burger:

Doesn’t the city of Franklin have a legal and moral obligation to let the public know in advance of any pending plans that will severely impact the quality of life in their neighborhood?

We, the homeowners of Country Road in Franklin, are extremely disappointed over the Franklin planning departments’ recent approval of existing building plans for Grace Point. These plans would funnel traffic down our quiet, cul-de-sac and through an easement that sits between our neighbors house and ours. Country Road is a tiny road off of Franklin Road one half-mile South of Moore’s lane. We seven homeowners on Country Road have lived here for an average of thirty years.

The present traffic count on our street, Country Road, is approximately 15 cars a day.
If the planning departments present plans were carried out; we Country Road residents would be forced to immediately contend with 500 cars traversing our street on at least two days per week.

The non-profit corporation of Grace Point Church is associated with the powerful, wealthy developers, Haury and Smith; in so much as it was through personal friends within each of the corporations that the quiet transfer of the property’s title took place. None of the adjacent neighbors were aware the property had changed hands. No zoning or Planning Board meeting signs were ever posted on the property to inform neighbors of pending plans. The plans were then placed on the Planning Department meeting agenda to be passed automatically.

The neighbors who heard about the planning department meeting at the last minute and were able to attend did so. Two planning department members, Carol Croop and Scott Harrison opposed the plans. However, having seen so little opposition from the neighbors (who had never been informed) the planning department passed the plans.

We demand that our Mayor Tom Miller and Alderman Beverly Burger oppose, reject and block the present traffic routing plans that are due to come before them next week.

If our Mayor Tom Miller and Alderman Beverly Burger, allow this present plan to go forward bringing major traffic up Country Road, they will be paving the first step, an irreversible first step, for even worse things to come.

Presently, Grace Point’s membership is around 1500. It’s likely their congregation will triple in size soon after their building is erected and their signage is in place. Likewise, the projected 500-car traffic count will also triple.

We Country Road neighbors do not want our children, dogs, ducks or chickens crushed under the wheels of drivers coming up our tiny street. It is inevitable that this would happen. This is a quiet street where the children skate. No sidewalks. The ducks and chickens meander peacefully. 1500 cars entering this street with drivers who are unfamiliar with the nature of the area would be disastrous.

Realize that the Grace Point property already has an existing, deeded access on Franklin Road that has been in use for several decades. Perhaps Franklin traffic planners could work more closely with Grace Point and Haury and Smith in an effort to bring additional entrances through their adjoining properties, these being, the Brentwood Pointe Development off of General George Patton Drive and The Morningside Development off of Mallory Station. This arrangement would be a better plan for all concerned, as it would bring in more members Grace Point from densely populated, communities adjacent to their property.

Brentwood Pointe and Morningside are already densely populated communities. Homeowners who purchased property in these communities knew full well their neighbors were right on top of them with shared walls and lots of traffic. Bringing an access into the Grace Point property through Brentwood Point and/or Morningside would have little impact on the quality of life or the property values of the homeowners in these communities. Bringing traffic up Country Road, a dead-ended, cul-de-sac made up of single-family homes is not a good idea.

Moreover, it is our deepest fear that the "powers that be" may be making plans to push through the end of our cul-de-sac, making our street a main thoroughfare. There is undeveloped acreage zoned for multi family units directly behind our cul-de-sac. This land adjoins the Brentwood Pointe, The Landings and Morningside subdivisions, home to about four thousand people. These developments would barely feel the additional traffic were more roads made available to the undeveloped land through their properties. However, we Country Road residents who have single-family homes on a quiet street would be devastated if such a thing were to happen.

Increased traffic brings, increased litter, crime, air pollution and a high level of noise. These are the very things my husband and I were escaping from when we sold our three story, Haury and Smith, condominium overlooking Green hills and moved to Franklin 23 years ago.

It's bad enough that the beautiful valley, a virtual wildlife sanctuary, that sits behind our home will soon become a black topped, lighted, parking lot resembling a football stadium at night. We ask that the street to the front and to the side of our property not be ruined as well.

As our elected officials we respectfully ask that fulfill your obligation to preserve the character of our neighborhood.

~ Kittra Kittra
Country Road
Franklin, Tennessee