Jonesboro MAPC approves Gladiola Business Park final subdivision amid traffic concerns

The Jonesboro Metropolitan Area Planning Commission approved a final subdivision for Gladiola Business Park, a six-lot development on 25.7 acres at Elmhurst Drive and Parker Road, during its May 27 meeting.

City planning staff said the final subdivision plan complies with the City of Jonesboro Code of Ordinances (Chapter 113, Subdivisions) and with C-3 General Commercial District standards. Jeremy Bevel, civil engineer with Craft and Toil, told commissioners the project is under construction and that the developer provided a performance bond that city engineering and the city attorney have approved.

The project drew questions from commissioners and public commenters about traffic and site access. Patty Lack, a nearby resident, said she drives past the site daily and raised concerns that the storage complex planned for the south end of the property will include a U-Haul operation that could increase commercial vehicle traffic on Elmhurst and Harrisburg Road. “I know that there’s work being done on it already,” Lack said. “... there was going to be a U-Haul business here. So once again, it is a retail store, so hopefully it's going to look like a retail outlet.”

Lack also showed commissioners a photograph she said depicted an 18-wheeler attempting to turn into the same general area and warned that similar movements could recur once the development opens. She reported contacting the Arkansas Department of Transportation (ARDOT) about nearby Harrisburg Road and said the ARDOT Harrisburg project is not scheduled for bid until January 2026 and has been on planning lists for about eight years.

Commissioners asked about an apparent offset in the proposed local-street alignment near Pike Road and Elmhurst Drive. City staff and the project engineer said the label for right-of-way can appear offset in the drawing but that the actual curb, gutter, centerlines and drainage will be set in the construction plans submitted to and reviewed by the city’s engineering division. A staff speaker said the full construction plans — including plan/profile, sidewalks, curb and gutter, and drainage — have been submitted and are under review while construction is underway.

A motion to approve the final subdivision was made and seconded; the commission voted to approve the final subdivision for Gladiola Business Park. The motion record in the meeting transcript does not list individual vote tallies by name.

Next steps noted in the meeting: engineering review of submitted construction documents and continued permitting before additional public-right-of-way work occurs. Public comments and the applicant’s statements indicated site construction is already in progress, and the ARDOT Harrisburg timeline will remain a separate state-controlled project.