Aldermen rezoned 326 acres of northwest Starkville properties for industrial use within the upcoming Innovation District Tuesday but not before establishing buffers to help screen parcels from nearby residential areas.
The board unanimously voted to convert numerous residential and commercial parcels within the proposed industrial park near the Highway 182 and Highway 25 corridor to M-1 usage, which includes light manufacturing, wholesaling and distribution.
Although city rules require M-1 parcels to maintain minimum landscape screening sizes and setbacks, numerous homeowners asked for greater buffers to help preserve their property values and their neighborhoods’ quality of life.
Aldermen approved the rezoning with conditions that require specific northwestern and eastern parcels directly abutting residential properties to have larger buffer screens — 100 feet on average — and that a creek running north and south within the property will receive similar protection 50 feet on both sides.
Potential locations for sanitary sewer infrastructure and vehicle crossing points over the creek are excluded from the buffers established Tuesday.
The board unanimously agreed to the limited screening since the city would have no legal authority to force the LINK into setting similar buffers once Tuesday’s rezoning was approved.
A supermajority of five affirmative votes was needed to approve the changes after residents formally appealed Starkville Planning and Zoning’s previous approval of the rezoning.
Joey Deason, Oktibbeha County’s primary economic developer within the LINK, told aldermen that his organization will develop specific covenants for potential businesses but did not elaborate on their specifics.
Tuesday’s rezoning was needed as aldermen and the county’s board of supervisors are both expected to issue $5 million in bonds each early next year to begin developing infrastructure within the park.
Both governing bodies supported resolutions of intent for the bond issuance earlier this year.
The proposed industrial park is projected to provide about 1 million square feet of building space and could create more than 1,000 jobs while adding millions of tax dollars to the tax rolls.
The 326 acres border a variety of parcels, including a residential neighborhood to the north, an apartment complex to the east and various residential and commercial properties to the south of Highway 182.
Pet ban stands
In other business, the board codified a moratorium against allowing pets in city-owned cemeteries with a 6-1 vote Tuesday.
Only Ward 4 Alderman Jason Walker objected to the resolution.
Tuesday’s action rewrites city code to state that “No domesticated animal shall be allowed” in Starkville’s three public cemeteries.
Service animals that assist people with disabilities are exempt from the ban.
Aldermen previously instituted a temporary pet ban after receiving complaints of pet owners allowing their animals to defecate in the properties without attempting to clean up the mess.
The city’s animal control ordinance already banned residents from allowing their pets to defecate on any property other than that of the owner and made it the owner’s responsibility to clean up after their pet if they did so.
Starkville Cemetery Association previously recommended the rule change and suggested the city erect signage clearly stating the rule change.
Walker previously championed the installation of waste bins in the Cotton District, the home of two of the three public cemeteries referenced in complaints, and said the city should take the initiative and reach out to the area’s student population in order to curb the problem without establishing rigid rules.
Community Development Director Buddy Sanders previously confirmed the city will install about 10 new waste bins along University Drive, Main Street and Highway 182 in an effort to heighten beatification efforts.
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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