JONESBORO — A 77-townhome development will be built along Fayetteville Road near the North Main Street intersection after a recent Jonesboro City Council vote.
At its April 8 regular meeting, the Council approved two map amendments to its official zoning map, a conditional use permit application and a variance application to allow for the building of the development.
The development is by Fayetteville Gingercake Road LLC and Templar Development.
During the public comments portion of the meeting, former City Council member and former mayoral candidate Pat Sebo-Hand said she had concerns about infrastructure, traffic, green space and the impact on public safety.
The City Council also discussed the development at an April 1 work session.
At its March meeting, the City Council tabled the issue.
At that meeting, Sebo-Hand spoke against the development and read a statement from another Jonesboro resident who had concerns about the project.
Also at the March meeting, Mayor Pro Tem Tracey Messick made the motion to table as she had concerns about traffic flow, rezoning the property from commercial to residential and the impact on public services and infrastructure.
At the March meeting, Mayor Donya Sartor said she agreed with Messick about more commercial development and the need for more amenities such as restaurants but the City of Jonesboro doesn’t have the mean income to attract such businesses.
The development would be nearly 12 acres and according to information in the agenda packet, it’s one of the few remaining larger undeveloped tracts of land in city limits.
“A new townhome community with quality architecture in the north part of the City could serve as a catalyst for change in the immediate area, providing more of an ‘aesthetic’ entrance into the city and creating a need for more service-oriented businesses, such as restaurants,” information in the agenda packet read.
The development also honors the stated goals of the city’s updated Comprehensive Plan, providing more diversified housing and it also conforms to the city’s Future Land Use Map, according to information in the agenda packet.
The Council denied a development at the same location in 2019.
At its Aug. 14, 2023 meeting, the City Council approved a 90-townhome development at 217 S. Main St.
