Bank of Holly Springs

LETTER TO THE EDITOR:

Wishes of residents ignored

To the Editor:

The community along Quinn Road and Barringer from Wingo to Goodman has been zoned residential-estate for decades. Now, however, 184.29 acres along Goodman, Barringer Road and a portion of Quinn Road have been rezoned industrial over the strenuous objections of the residents of the area. Many residents who live less than one-half mile from the rezoned site received no written notice of the meeting of the zoning commission. A notice in the paper is not sufficient.

This rezoning will cause considerable harm to this residential community. Some of the property owners have lived here for over 30 years, while others moved here in good faith that it would remain a quiet residential place and not a noisy, brightly-lighted industrial zone. The neighborhood already has a problem with semis and dump trucks driving on its roads illegally. The zoning commission told the citizens that this was not their problem even though this new zoning will exacerbate the problem.

If this kind of rezoning can be done in one community in Marshall County, it can be done in any other community when the board of supervisors decides to ignore the wishes of the residents. The rights of the tax-paying citizens of District 3 are being trampled on. None of the members of the zoning committee or the board of supervisors who voted for the rezoning lives in District 3. Now it appears that other sites in the area are being considered for rezoning. People will certainly hesitate to move to this county when they discover that a warehouse or industry can be built adjacent to or near their homes on the whim of a few.

More than 40 residents wrote letters to each of the supervisors expressing reasons for rejecting the proposed rezoning. The letters were sent to the contact address listed on the website for the board of supervisors. Each board member indicated that he had received no letters and proceeded to approve the rezoning. The letters were returned to the senders several days after the vote was taken. The address on the website was erroneous. A post office box number is now posted on the website.

Hundreds of people in the community signed petitions to stop this rezoning. These petitions were taken to the board of supervisors meeting and openly handed to the clerk with an explanation of what they were. These petitions evidently were so unimportant that they were not even looked at. It seemed obvious to everyone there that the board members would give no consideration to the expressed concerns of the citizens, because they had already made their decision.

The Mississippi Supreme Court ruled the following in an earlier case (2008): “Before property is reclassified, an applicant seeking rezoning must prove by clear and convincing evidence that (1) There was a mistake in the original zoning or (2) the character of the neighborhood has changed to such an extent as to justify rezoning and that a public need exists for rezoning.” Case #859-60 (Paragraph 13).

No one has proved by clear and convincing evidence that there was a mistake in the original zoning or that the character of the neighborhood has changed or that a public need exists for this rezoning.

Concerned and angry citizens,
Linda Cordle
Terri Cannon
Sadik Cove
Byhalia

Holly Springs South Reporter

P.O. Box 278
Holly Springs, MS 38635
PH: (662) 252-4261
FAX: (662) 252-3388
www.southreporter.com