St. James City Council members on Oct. 14 approved a development and access easement agreement with Amazon.com for a possible development near Matlock Drive.

The agreement would see a new unnamed and unplatted street be developed near Tiger Drive and Jefferson Street.

“This is just an unnamed, unopened platted street with the city that runs north of Matlock between Tiger Drive and Jefferson,” City Administrator Leeann DeMouche told the council. “This street will dead end to a parcel that is currently held by St. James Holding Company, but we have a developer, Amazon.com services, that wishes to develop the parcel and use that street as access to the parcel.”

The proposal, she said, has been reviewed by multiple attorneys, both for the city and Amazon, and both parties have agreed to the final version of the document.

“They will build it,” Public Works Director Lyle Thomas explained. “They will maintain it for a period of five years. At the end of that five year period, if it is up to the city’s standards at that point in time, we could accept it. Otherwise, they would have to bring it up to city standards for maintenance.”

In the agreement, the street is considered a right-of-way until the road is constructed and the city agrees to not allow any connection to the street without 30 days written notice. The developer will build the paved road with a width no less than 28 feet and no more than 40 feet to allow a corridor for utilities. Thomas said he anticipates the street to be no longer than 150 feet long.

The council also approved vacating two complete easements as well as a partial easement near the potential development site, which the council unanimously approved by ordinance.