Jacksonville City Council’s Land Use and Zoning Committee on Jan. 7 approved a land‑use change and companion planned‑unit development (PUD) rezoning that clears the way for a 124‑lot single‑family subdivision on a roughly 28‑acre site at McGill Road and Jones Road.

The committee approved the land‑use amendment (2024‑0720) on a 6‑0 vote and the companion PUD rezoning (2024‑0721) on a separate vote after the developer agreed to and the committee adopted several conditions, including a revised site plan, perimeter fencing and landscaping, a requirement to preserve wetlands under conservation easement and a cap of 124 lots.

Why it matters: The vote ends a long review process and will allow the property to be developed as a medium‑density residential neighborhood; neighbors said the change will alter a long‑time rural area and raised concerns about road capacity, flooding and tree removal.

Planning staff told the committee the application is consistent with the 2045 Comprehensive Plan’s medium‑density residential designation and noted the site has access to municipal water and sewer. The Planning Commission unanimously recommended approval at its Dec. 5 hearing.

Neighbor speakers at the Jan. 7 committee hearing urged the panel to slow or deny the request. Leroy Strickland, who lives on Jones Road, said the locality’s roads are narrow and in poor condition and argued the area’s rural character would be lost. John Combs and other residents described old oaks, archeological features and traffic safety worries. Several speakers asked for a return to one‑acre single‑family zoning.

Developer Curtis Hart, the landowner’s agent, told the committee he met with community groups and reduced the project footprint from earlier proposals. “We reduced the number of units to 124,” Hart said, and said the updated plan provides three entrances to disperse traffic, sets aside wetlands under conservation easement and includes perimeter landscaping.

Committee action and conditions: The committee adopted an amendment that attached a revised PUD site plan dated Sept. 26, 2024, and added conditions that the applicant agreed to after meetings with neighbors. Key items included: a requirement for a traffic study at civil‑plan review following the city’s Land Development Procedures Manual; a minimum guest‑parking provision; matching city standard street cross‑sections where right‑of‑way is dedicated; a six‑foot perimeter privacy fence with a double hedge row; one canopy tree every 50 feet of perimeter frontage; and a total unit cap of 124 lots. The amendment and the bill as amended passed.

What comes next: The PUD will advance to subsequent permitting and civil plan review, where staff will evaluate engineering, drainage and any off‑site transportation improvements required by the traffic study. Several residents asked staff and council members to ensure follow‑up on drainage improvements and maintenance of existing ditches.

Context and history: The area has seen multiple rezonings and infill development in recent years; planning staff said nearby parcels have moved from agricultural to higher densities, which informed their recommendation. Committee members said they weighed the developer’s concessions and the site’s location between industrial and residential uses when making their decision.

The committee recorded the land‑use vote as 6‑0 in favor and approved the rezoning and conditions in a subsequent recorded vote.