What does the Growth Management Resolution do to control the influx of houses into Franklin Township?
Franklin Township is under development pressure, which will only increase going forward. The word development usually means “housing”. That is generally how it is used in the 1996 County Comprehensive Plan. Indeed, the fair market value of Franklin Township’s open farmland, meadows, and woods is way above its value for use as cropland, pasture, or logging. Almost all farms sold off in recent years have been sold as housing parcels. Rarely are the parcels re-combined into an operating farm, unless it is only for a few years until the houses can be built. The deed restrictions that are nowadays imposed on lots split off from larger parcels are designed to enhance their value for residential use. Recently certain agricultural activities have even become targets of deed restrictions in recognition of the market’s having transitioned from agriculture to housing. When we talk about property rights in Franklin Township the most important “right” is the one that gives the land its value, and t
