Franklin Township, New Jersey
Each issue has its own page: where it stands, what happens next, and every dated event, explainer, document and meeting recording behind it, each linked to the township's own record.
How the township is run: appointments, contracts, policing policy and public notice.
Franklin police run 28 Flock Safety license-plate and other cameras under a $339,000 grant-funded contract the Council approved in October 2025. From August 11 to October 13, 2026 residents asked the Council at every regular meeting to cancel the contract, put it to a public vote or add outside oversight; no vote on the contract has been scheduled.
On February 24, 2026 the Council adopted Resolution 26-112, 8–0, barring the federal government from using non-public township property for civil immigration enforcement without a judicial warrant or order. In December 2025 it had adopted Res. 25-511, 7–0, supporting the proposed New Jersey Immigrant Trust Act.
The Fourth Round housing plan, the court case behind it, and the developments that carry it.
Franklin's 2025–2035 obligation is 659 new affordable homes plus a separate rehabilitation share of 268. A court order of February 9, 2026 approved the township's amended plan, which provides 522 units plus 165 bonus credits, and the zoning to carry it out was adopted in February and March 2026.
Applications, redevelopment areas and the Master Plan: what is being proposed and built across the township.
On June 9, 2026 the Township Council adopted Ordinance 4507-26, 6–3, limiting warehouses in the Business and Industry (B-I) zone to 150,000 sq ft near I-287 and removing data centers as a permitted use. The boards have approved several warehouses since 2025, and the B9 site on Schoolhouse Road was approved by court order.
The Planning Board adopted two master plan reexaminations in early 2026: one for the Business and Industry (B-I) zone, which led to the warehouse ordinance, and a townwide one. The Council has since adopted three follow-up zoning ordinances, 4509, 4510 and 4517-26.
Tawheed Dahwah Center asks the Zoning Board of Adjustment for amended preliminary and final site plan approval and relief from two conditions of a 2019–2021 approval, chiefly on parking, to build a 19,350-square-foot place of worship at 630 South Middlebush Road. Neighboring farm owners object through counsel. The Board's decision has not been posted.
The township designated 600–610 Franklin Boulevard and nearby Lewis Street lots a condemnation redevelopment area for a 120-unit affordable senior building. It adopted a PILOT for The Haven at 260 Davidson Avenue in October 2026, and a 30-year PILOT for the last two Churchill-Millstone phases on Route 27 was on the October 27 agenda.
Road projects, sidewalks, sewer and water, power and cell coverage.
Franklin awarded eleven 2026 resurfacing contracts, funded largely by a May 2026 bond ordinance, and reported in October that asphalt costs had risen 36%. Residents have asked for traffic lights, crosswalks, speed humps and truck limits, including a Beekman Road petition with over 300 signatures; many of the busiest roads belong to the county or the state.
Franklin's own Water Utility buys and distributes drinking water, and a separate Sewerage Authority runs the sewers. In 2026 the Council approved a $4,588,000 water bond, about $4.6 million in new main-replacement contracts and a $3 million meter contract; King Road and Cedar Brook Drive residents spoke about main work in September.
Property taxes, the township budget, assessments and tax appeals.
Franklin's 2026 municipal budget raises $41,722,842 in property taxes, 7.00% more than in 2025, and the municipal rate rose from 0.234 to 0.240 per $100. The Council adopted it 9–0 on May 26. In 2025 the township's share of all property-tax levies was 13.41%; the school district's was 61.11%.
Farmland and open-space preservation, wildlife, streams and the Sourland Mountain.
Transco plans a 32,000-horsepower gas compressor station in Franklin as part of its Northeast Supply Enhancement project, which the Council has opposed by resolution since 2016. On September 8, 2026 the Council settled Transco's federal condemnation of a preserved-farm access road for $500,000 plus $100,000, and the same day a federal appeals court vacated NJDEP's water quality certificate for the project.
Since October 2025 the Council has authorized Open Space Trust Fund money for five land purchases, from $426,721.40 for the Collins property to $5,460,000 for 287 Cedar Grove Lane, and joined the state in preserving the Horses & Hay farm. The Catalpa Park construction contract went to Vulcan Construction Group for $8,580,581 in September 2026.
The Appellate Division ruled in March 2026 that Franklin's 2023 stormwater ordinance could not be applied to two warehouse applications already complete when it was adopted. The township has joined a regional Lower Millstone watershed plan, and residents have raised drainage problems at Council meetings.