58° and Clear
Image
To the Editor:
Do town boards care about home owners in east Franklin? Since 2018, town boards have allowed construction of five large residential complexes along a half-mile stretch of East Central Street in Franklin.
In most cases, special permits were granted to override town bylaws. Single-family homes were torn down. The character of neighborhoods was altered. For seven years, construction has been nonstop, with blasting, drilling, noise from heavy equipment, and disruptions to traffic. Quality of life for home owners has suffered. More than 160 rental units have been added, which is more than double the number of homes in neighborhoods surrounding this small section of Franklin. The building frenzy continues, with an additional 264 rental units proposed for the site of Stobbarts Nurseries, just a quarter mile down the road.
Many town residents have voiced opposition to the project, citing financial risk to the municipality and businesses, loss of community character, superfluous adherence to 40B, environmental harm, and perhaps most damaging, a sense that town boards are ignoring residents's concerns.
In joining the pleas of so many others, I urge the Zoning Board of Appeals to reject the Stobbarts/444 East Central Street development proposal. Please stop the overdevelopment.
James Lyons,
east Franklin resident
