Meeting at City Hall

On Monday May 18th, 2009 a meeting was held at the City Hall.
In attendance were the disgruntled neighbors of Country Road.

They were heard by city folks including Alderman Beverly Burger, Micah Wood, Franklin’s traffic engineer, Carl Baughman. The meeting was overseen by Vernon Gerth who was terse but fair and even handed in managing the seething crowd.

Grace Point attendees included executive pastor, Mark Borders, Gracepoint pastor, Stan Mitchell and wife (first time I'd ever seen/met them) church member, Paul Richie and developer/church member, Richard Johnson, who has acted as a intermediary throughout this project.

What happened at the meeting was this; Gracepoint realized they’d rode roughshod without having fully recognized the impact to, or the alienating effect this would have upon their neighbors.

The City recognized the decision to bring traffic up Country Road was based on a poorly written access ordinance.

8.1.5 (1)a
“Access to a corner lot fronting on an arterial street, and bordered by a collector or local street, shall be required to have access only from the collector or local street.”


1. Grace Point Church is not a corner lot.
2. The ordinance presumes the local/collector street is a through street not a
cul-de-sac.

Naturally, you intelligent readers realize that a through street would have additional outlets which would serve to calm traffic. Country Road has only one outlet directly onto Franklin Road less than 100 feet from where Grace Point's office entrance sits.

Presently, in order for Grace Point Church members to get from the church (which sits at the BACK of the property) to their offices (located at the FRONT of the property facing Franklin Road) they have to exit the church through our neighborhood turn left, make a left hand turn onto Franklin Road, another left hand turn off of Franklin Road to re-enter their property from the front. This causes a traffic jam on Country Road as well as Franklin Road.

Yes, the City Planning committee mandated this plan! Grace Point developers were forced to spend over $300,000 to widen Franklin Road and the mouth of Country Road and they've now exhausted their funds.

The city suggested they submit a new plan hoping the planning committee will
see the light and consider a variance that would allow the Church to utilize its original entrance.

Maybe a sign on Franklin Road that says "Slow. Hidden driveway"?


~ Kittra