The Board of Aldermen has voted down a proposal to rezone property on the west side of Eupora to allow for the construction of a new Dollar General store.
The matter first came before the board on May 2, when Ricky Newton (Ward 3) offered a motion to rezone four lots located at 2175 and 2189 W. Roane Ave. from Residential 2 to Commercial 2. Robert Gibbs (Ward 4) seconded and the motion carried 4-1, with Jerry Gary (at-large) voting nay.
The lots are on the north side of West Roane (Highway 182) and are bordered by Dunlap Street on the east side. They are just east of the Civic Center, and across from Eupora LP Apartments and Eupora Church of Christ.
The proposed change in zoning was set for a public hearing on June 6 before further consideration and final adoption. Although the hearing was held, it was unofficial because the city did not publish a hearing notice beforehand. A number of concerned citizens voiced opposition to the proposed rezoning, which, according to the hearing minutes, was for the purpose of building a Dollar General store at the location in question.
Afterwards, aldermen voted 5-0 to table the item and set an official public hearing on July 5 after proper notification. On July 5, when all aldermen were present, concerned citizens again reiterated their opposition to the proposed rezoning. Many expressed concerns about the effect on the neighborhood and asked why the new store couldn’t be built elsewhere on property already zoned commercial, such as Highway 9 South. However, some spoke in favor of it.
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Petition Presented
In the meeting that followed, Gary presented a signed petition and proposed to invoke Section 6.13 of the city’s zoning ordinance.
The section states that in the event of a protest against a proposed amendment signed by 20% or more of the property owners either within the area to be rezoned or within 160 feet therefrom, the amendment cannot become effective except by the favorable vote of two-thirds (four) of all the members of the Board of Aldermen.
Billy Tabb (Ward 2) made a motion, seconded by Newton, to table the item until Aug. 1 to allow the city attorney to determine whether the petition signatures represented 20% of the property owners within the area. The motion carried 4-0; Gibbs was absent.
Gibbs was again absent Aug. 1 and four aldermen were present. City Attorney Joey Hood presented them with a list of 12 property owners of record within 160 feet of the proposed rezoning as determined by the Golden Triangle Planning and Development District.
This meant at least 2.4 property owners, which is 20% of 12, would have had to have signed the petition for the two-thirds vote to be required. Four of the 12, or 33.333%, had signed the petition: Jason White of Taylor Circle, Vince Tenhet of Mathiston, Brick Townsend of Dunlap Street and George Draine of West Fox Avenue.
Therefore, the petition was valid and four favorable votes would be required for the rezoning to become effective. Immediately after Hood’s presentation, Gary made a motion to consider the rezoning request and Tabb seconded.
Those two aldermen voted nay, or against rezoning, while Junior Shaw (Ward 1) and Newton voted aye, or for it. With Gibbs’ absence, this was a tie vote that the mayor would normally break.
However, Mayor Blake McMullan did not vote at all. This was because even if he had voted aye, it would be one vote short of the required four favorable votes. Therefore, McMullan declared that the motion did not carry, and the rezoning request was not approved.
Gary said later that he wanted the matter brought to a vote because it had already been the subject of so much discussion. He also pointed out that an alderman is allowed to make a motion to approve an item and then vote against it.
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Other Discussion
Further discussion of the rezoning request was on the agenda of a special-called board meeting Monday night, Aug. 8. Aldermen Gary, Shaw and Newton were present, along with McMullan and Public Works Director Odie Avery.
Meeting with them were Brian Bowen and Ben Bowen, both of Oxford. Brian Bowen, a Eupora native, is senior project manager with Blackburn Construction, which is a contractor for Dollar General. Ben Bowen is development analyst with Streamline Development Partners, a commercial real estate development company
Neither had attended either rezoning hearing; nor did any other representative of Dollar General or Southern Retail Development, which initially inquired about the rezoning.
The men said the West Roane location is desirable to Dollar General based upon “points” developed through market research. This includes its distance from the existing Dollar General on the other end of town on East Roane. Brian Bowen said that store would not be closed if a new one is built here, and that it would benefit the old one by “alleviating that pressure (heavy foot traffic) on that store.”
“They really want this location,” Brian Bowen said.
He said the store planned for West Roane would have been a 10,000-square-foot upgraded facility that would sell fresh produce, and distributed copies of the site plan layout.
The two men said the store could be made aesthetically pleasing to the public and that the land behind it could have been used as a buffer zone with privacy fences erected.
When asked about the possibility of an appeal or if the board could reconsider its rezoning decision, McMullan said there was no appeal process beyond the board. He also said the issue could only come back before the board if a property owner in the area involved asked to place it back on the agenda.
The mayor and board members indicated that they did not see the West Roane location as being a possibility again for a new store. Gary said he felt the people who were against it would not change their mind, adding, “We’ve already voted it down.”
Gary said the biggest complaints he heard were from the people loving close to the area who did not want additional traffic or people hanging out in the parking lot. He noted that a church and senior citizen apartments were located across the highway.
Avery said another concern is that the proposed location doesn’t meet the criteria for rezoning. He said an error was made in zoning in that area previously but that it has been residential for decades.
“As of now, I’m concerned we’d open up ourselves to a spot zoning lawsuit (if the rezoning was approved),” he said.
The mayor and aldermen informed the Bowens of at least three parcels of land available in commercial zones on Highway 9 South between Highway 182 and the four-lane. They also said that area would see much more traffic than the site that was originally proposed.
The discussion concluded with hopes that something can be worked out for another Dollar General to still be built here.
