Excavation and grading in Franklin

How steep is too steep in Franklin?

The city’s 2025 zoning ordinance starts its steep-slope rules at natural slopes of 14%. Where there’s at least 20 feet of rise in 100 feet of run, development is barred outright, apart from public infrastructure and passive parks. So if you’re looking at a lot with a view, have the slope measured before you get attached to a house plan.

What limits apply to cuts and driveways?

Cut and fill is capped at 3:1, which takes 3 feet of horizontal room for each foot of height. On a narrow side yard that often isn’t available, and that’s when a retaining wall earns its place. Driveways are capped at 14% for single-family homes and 10% for everything else, so a straight shot up a hill may have to become a curve. Driveway prep starts with that number.

Can I just take the trees down?

Not always. Franklin wants an approved plan or a tree removal permit, with an exemption for lots of 1 acre or less that aren’t marked critical. That’s worth checking before the saws start, since a cleared tree can’t be undone. We do the clearing once you know which side of that line you’re on.

Who do I call in Franklin?

For the permit question, the city’s planning and engineering staff. For the dirt, that’s us: Franklin is 9.1 miles from our Brentwood base and one of the towns the company names on its Facebook page. Grading permit thresholds sit in the city’s Municipal Code rather than the zoning ordinance, and we’d rather confirm those with the city for your site than guess here. Outside city limits, in unincorporated Williamson County, the county’s Land Disturbance Permit takes over at 1 acre.

Send a picture of the lot or the problem, and tell us whether it’s inside the city. Common jobs include house pads, barn pads on the edges of town, and drainage on established yards.