Jonesboro planning panel approves conditional use for Elmhurst Drive storage facility amid traffic concerns

The Jonesboro Metropolitan Area Planning Commission on Feb. 11 approved a conditional use permit, 4-3, for a climate-controlled storage facility on Elmhurst Drive, a 6.35-acre site in the C-3 General Commercial district.

The project is proposed by Glenwood Limited Partnership and presented by Barry Davidson of Davidson Engineering. Davidson said the current plan is “the same site, but gone back to a single, entirely enclosed, single structure, climate controlled facility with a retail type look,” and described the design as similar to other MyU Storage facilities the company has built in Benton and Springdale.

Planning staff recommended approval with stipulations. Monica, planning staff, read conditions including that all required local and statewide permits and inspections must be obtained; any commercial development over 75,000 square feet of gross floor area must receive site plan approval by the Planning Commission; subdivision improvements for Gladiolis Business Park must be completed before a building permit is issued for this project; and the site must have at least 50 feet of public street frontage.

City staff clarified permit sequencing after public comment. Michael, city staff, told the commission: “The road will go in first before this project can even be permitted.” That requirement arose from the subdivision approval for Lot 9 in the business park, which staff said was approved in December 2024.

During public comment, Patty Lack, a Jonesboro resident, said the application should not have returned so soon and urged the commission to deny the request until the six-month reapplication period in the commission’s rules had elapsed. “So I hope you turn this down and have them come back and work with the city and let's get this right and develop that area in the right way,” Lack said, citing traffic safety concerns at Elmhurst Drive and Harrisburg Road and saying she counted 61 accidents in the area over two years.

Lack also raised parking and scale questions, saying the plan shows about 903 storage units and that, under her reading of city standards, the parking requirement would yield roughly 19 spaces. The applicant said the facility would contain about 900 units, mostly with internal access (not exterior roll-up doors), and that typical MyU Storage sites rarely have more than four or five vehicles on-site at a time. The developer said the building will be one story and that the east/front façade will include storefront glass and masonry consistent with a retail appearance; the applicant said no façade variances were being requested.

The applicant and staff corrected earlier calculations on lot coverage. Davidson said the lot area under contract is Lot 9 (approximately nine acres) and that the project’s corrected coverage is 46.9 percent, below the 60 percent figure cited in prior materials.

The commission considered whether the application violated a six-month waiting period for reapplying after a prior decision. Monica said the city attorney, Carol Duncan, determined the revised plan contained a significant enough change to allow it to return before six months. The commission voted to approve the conditional use with the staff-recommended stipulations; a commissioner summarized the outcome: “Based on 4 yeses, 3 noes, the conditional use was approved tonight based on majority of those present.”

The approval was for conditional use only. The applicant must return with full site plans where staff and the commission will review details such as final building elevations, parking and circulation. The commission’s action does not vest building permits; staff indicated required subdivision improvements and street work must be completed before a building permit will be issued.