A proposal to build new houses on a roughly 13-acre tract in the Stagner Farms subdivision moved one step closer to reality after a vote Thursday by the City-County Planning Commission.

The commission approved an amendment of the Future Land Use Map for the affected area from Low Density Residential to Moderate Density Residential.

That amendment enables applicant Renee Isaacs of Stagner Farms to come back to the commission later to request a rezoning of the 13-acre parcel, which if approved would clear the way for a development on the land that would include up to 94 single-family detached houses.

The commission approved the FLUM amendment in a 9-1 vote, with commissioner Gayla Cissell voting in opposition.

Land designated Low Density Residential in the future land use map, which provides a road map of sorts for development in the county, is capped at 4.5 dwelling units per acre, whereas Moderate Density Residential allows for construction of up to 13 dwelling units per acre.

Attorney Chris Davenport, representing Stagner Farms, referred to the 13-acre plot as Stagner Two at Thursday’s hearing, telling the commission the land was situated next to the 85-acre Stagner One property.

Though the land is situated off Elrod Road, Davenport said that, if developed, the homes on the 13-acre plot would not require any improvements to Elrod Road, because the homes would be accessed by streets within the existing subdivision.

The developer is looking to build homes that are at least 1,050 square feet, including garage, with at least half of the structures measuring at least 1,200 square feet.

Davenport said that the proposed density for the area if it is developed would come to 7.22 dwelling units per acre, which he said would be compatible with the home density in the surrounding area.

Davenport also noted that the land sits 260 yards away, or “a healthy par three” as he termed it, from a number of subdivisions on land designated Moderate Density Residential on the other side of Interstate 165 from the 13 acres proposed for development.

“When you get to the moderate density, there is an extreme amount of it in this vicinity,” Davenport said. “We think that moderate density is not untoward in this area.”