POCATELLO — The City Council is set to determine the fate of a controversial development project on Thursday that calls for the construction of 86 townhomes near Ammon Park.

Known as the Park Place Townhome development project, the endeavor {span}calls for the construction of 86 townhomes on 10.34 acres of undeveloped land located north of Ammon Park and west of Interstate 15.{/span}

During Thursday’s meeting at Pocatello City Hall, the City Council is set to hear two different applications that developers submitted to get approval for the project, one that will allow local residents a chance to provide public feedback and another that will not feature a public hearing.

Last month, the Pocatello Planning and Zoning Commission denied both applications, the first being a preliminary plat application (which will not involve a public hearing Thursday) and the second being a planned unit development submission (which will involve a public hearing Thursday).

In a Monday email to the Idaho State Journal, Pocatello long range senior planner Jim Anglesey said the biggest difference between the two submissions is that a planned unit development allows more flexibility in uses and density in exchange for the preservation of a greater amount of open space than required in just a preliminary plat.

“In the case of the proposed subdivision next to Ammon Park, (the developers) are utilizing the provisions of the PUD that allow lot size averaging, which enables lot size requirements of some lots to be reduced so long as the average meets what is required in the underlying zone,” the email read.

During the public hearing last month in front of the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission, over two dozen local residents spoke in opposition to the massive townhome development project. Not one local resident spoke in favor of the development during last month’s meeting.

The company behind the project is CMJ Holdings of Utah. It’s engineering firm, Knudsen Engineering of Pocatello, provided the public with an explanation of the entire development during last month’s meeting.

More than half of those who spoke against the project were concerned about the impact that 86 new townhomes would have on traffic in the area. Several local residents also expressed concern about the stormwater drainage system and planned changes to the drainage pond located in Ammon Park.

After the denials last month, the developers are set to again seek approval of the project, only this time the City Council will be making the ultimate determination.

Many of the local residents who spoke against the development last month are again expected to attend Thursday’s meeting.

The meeting on Thursday will begin at 6 p.m. in the council chambers at City Hall, located at 911 N. Seventh Ave.