[StBernard] Rankin extends ban on housing

[Westley Annis]

N.B.:  Rankin is a suburban county of Jackson MS.  Apparently they can do
what's best for their county w/out outside interference.

BRANDON - Rankin officials decided Friday to prolong their temporary ban on
new apartments as they rebuild the county's comprehensive plan and zoning
maps.


 
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The Board of Supervisors also passed proposals for a fire station for
Mississippi 468 and to make county records digital.

Concerned about dense development's impact on services, supervisors held a
public hearing Friday on whether to extend an apartment ban. No one spoke
for or against the ban at the meeting.

Supervisors are expected to approve a more detailed ban in February that
will last six months.

The resolution to be presented next month will have findings from early
studies on whether the county is becoming too saturated, board attorney
Craig Slay said.

"We're working to ensure we are looking at our future growth and
development," board President Greg Wilcox said. "The global trend of what is
going on in Rankin County in not five years but 10 to 15 to 20 years down
the road."

The Central Mississippi Planning and Development District is updating the
county's comprehensive plan and zoning maps, first created in 2004. It's
customary to redo them every five years. CMPPD Senior Planner David Wade
said plans are about halfway done.

"I certainly would be in favor of the moratorium extension until we have the
time to finish our plan," Wade said.

Apartments have been a hot-button issue in Rankin. Authorities nixed plans
for residential towers planned for the shoreline of Ross Barnett Reservoir
after public pressure mounted.

Meetings about Mandalay, the proposed development, questioned the impact
apartments and other dense developments have on public services, such as
fire safety and land values.

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