After nearly three months of discussion and tweaks, the Starkville Board of Aldermen could vote tonight to rezone areas of downtown and Highway 182.
Form-based codes, which encourage mixed-use development, will affect certain parts of the city, particularly Highway 182 and Russell Street. The rezoning will lessen parking restrictions and allow building closer to the curb.
The board will hold the final public hearing prior to voting. In recent meetings, the codes have been lauded by city officials, but residents find the matter confusing.
In other matters, seven properties in the city will be recommended for demolition tonight during the Board of Aldermen meeting.
The city offices of code enforcement and administrative hearing have identified parcels of property that are a “menace to the public health and safety of the community.”
Upon approval from the board, city crews will immediately begin demolition and cleanup of the listed properties.
According to the meeting’s e-packet from cityofstarkville.org, four of the properties are estates, including addresses 118 Curtis Circle, 132 Yellow Jacket Drive, 404 S. Lafayette St. and 207 Ware St. Additionally, the properties of Emma Macon at 106.5 Yellow Jacket Drive, Leslie B. Brasell at an unknown address behind Pizza Hut on Highway 12 and George and Wendell Leonard at 311 N. Washington St. are listed.
The process began in July 2010, when the board authorized City Attorney Chris Latimer to conduct title searches of identified properties. The code enforcement staff went to work shortly thereafter. Letters were sent to property owners in February and October of 2011.
While the Curtis Circle property is overgrown wooded area, the structure at 106.5 Yellow Jacket Drive has rotted floors and ceilings and is classified as dilapidated. The same goes for the abandoned structures at 132 Yellow Jacket Drive, the lot behind pizza hut, 404 South Lafayette Street and 207 Ware Street.
The board also will have a final public hearing and vote on a new land-use chart, which, along with the proposed rezoning, is part of an initiative spearheaded by the city’s work with Placemaker’s planning group.
The chart itself is far less convoluted than the form-based codes document, generalizing categories to create less confusion. The document also encourages pocket parks and differentiates among parks, sportsplexes, bowling alleys and skating rinks. Live-work buildings and accessory dwelling units are also defined.
In other business, the board will:
- Hold its first public hearing on proposed condominium ordinance, which will help expedite condo development in Starkville. Currently, the city doesn’t have regulations for density and setback.
- Hear a report from City Services Department Head Doug Devlin on the water department’s efforts to eliminate brown water from city’s system.
- Hear a quarterly report from Park Commission Chairman Dan Moreland.
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