Third, it influences the physical character and appearance of the town. Finally, it influences transportation systems - how easily we can get where we need to go. This chapter establishes three land use goals that includes industrial and commercial zoning, reducing residential buildout, and maintaining Franklin s New England character. See Map 2. Land permanently preserved as open space increased 342 acres since 1985, primarily as the result of new open space subdivisions.
Residential uses are now the largest single land use category in the community.
Franklin led the state in the issuance of single family building permits in 3 of the last 4 years. However, this is not expected to occur, for two reasons. First, much of the commercial space along Route 140 is unused or underused, and re-use will likely occur as the available land becomes more scarce. Furthermore, only about 631 acres of 931 undeveloped acres currently zoned for industrial development may actually be developable because of floodplain and other environmental constraints. These remaining undeveloped lands can support 6 million additional square feet of industrial space.