FRANKLIN -- A plan for an estimated $4 million park including new cricket fields was approved Thursday night during a two-hour public hearing and council vote, despite opposition from some residents.

The 11-member Franklin council voted unanimously to continue site plan development for Catalpa Park-- a recreational facility on part of a 104-acre tract of land initially submitted in 2014. The plan includes cricket fields and basketball courts, picnic pavilions and walking trails among other amenities.

The park was previously the subject of controversy for its cricket fields. In 2015, Councilman Rajiv Prasad accused those in disagreement with the park of being racially motivated against the Indian cricket community and called for an FBI probe.

On Thursday, local cricket enthusiasts expressed excitement over a new spot to practice their sport. Of the 172 teams in Central Jersey, Franklin is home to 18 teams. Players within leagues say the township's current fields do not meet the sport's growing demand.

"(Cricket) is really a religion for two billion people. Two billion people on this Earth love cricket (and) some of those people live in this township," said 59-year-old Vinod Gupta who lives in Somerset County.

The park has undergone numerous modifications following two heated public hearings in the last three years that pitted residents opposed to the development over traffic concerns against local cricket players eager for a new space to compete.

Mayor Philip Kramer called the latest proposal "a good compromise."

"We've come to a happy medium," Kramer said. "Some people are still not happy, but they don't seem angry."

Engineering firm CME Associates drew up the latest proposal that they called a "scaled-back version" of previous drafts meant to accommodate nearby residents, though its estimated price tag is unchanged. The park would be located at 15 Old Vilet Road in Franklin Park, close to the site of a family-owned farm.

Residents who live near the proposed park raised traffic concerns as well as fears of losing an untouched piece of nature.

Sylvia Temmer, 78 of Franklin Park, said she worries about the environmental affects of a park that would be adjacent to her home.

"We cannot recreate species that have been destroyed and we cannot recreate environments that have been lost," she said.

Others called the park "unnecessary" and cited public areas nearby, though the council found a need for additional parks after an outside consultant drew up a Preservation and Recreation Needs Assessment and Action Plan for the town in 2012.

Robert Bordentown, principal of CME Associates, said the firm hopes to submit the plan to the Department of Environmental Protection by November and begin a six to eight month construction process by May 2018.

The entire project's estimated completion is set for Spring 2019.

The town first purchased the property as open space from a developer in 1998 and began working on design options more than a decade ago.

Avalon Zoppo may be reached at azoppo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @AvalonZoppo. Find NJ.com on Facebook.