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Jacksonville drops traffic issue Unanimous vote strikes down requirement that development include access off Fifth Street By MEG LANDERS Mail Tribune JACKSONVILLE - Nunan Square residents may experience more traffic, but City Council members say it will be insignificant. The council voted unanimously Tuesday to strike the Historical and Architectural Review Commission's condition that required William Monfort to include vehicular access off Fifth Street for his commercial and residential development. Located near the Pony Espresso and Blackstone Alley on Fifth Street, the development will consist of two fourplexes and a small commercial complex. As is, the only access to the fourplexes is from Nunan Street, which currently ends at Monfort's property. Several Nunan Square residents spoke out at the meeting, expressing concern about the added traffic to what has been a dead-end road. "I don't think two fourplexes at the end of that street is going to have a major impact," said Steve Sherbourne, the architect for the project, adding that access would create a thoroughfare connecting Fifth Street and Nunan Street. City Council member Wally Hicks said he thinks tax-paying landowners should have access to streets. "Traffic is a problem in Jacksonville," he said. "(But) I, frankly, have a hard time not allowing a property owner to use a city street." In other business, the council decided to discuss the recent Land Use Board of Appeals decision concerning the First Presbyterian Church at an executive session scheduled for 6 p.m. June 4. LUBA ruled May 14 that Jacksonville council member Jerry Mathern was not impartial in his vote to approve a conditional use permit for the church. LUBA sent the case back to City Council. At issue has been whether to grant the church a conditional use permit for a new building on 10 acres near Jacksonville Elementary School. Neighbors in a 40-home subdivision across the street from the church property don't want the new building because of concerns about increased traffic and noise. "I would like to make it known that I will not be present for the executive session and will not be present for any of the discussion," said Mathern. Mayor Jim Lewis did not want to comment on the options before the council until after the executive session. "We'll meet with (our attorney) the fourth of June, and that is where we'll get his counsel on what we are obliged to do," he said. Reach reporter Meg Landers at 776-4481 or e-mail [email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2002 Mail Tribune, Inc.