A Lowndes County Circuit Court ruling on Friday will allow bar and restaurant Yo’Bar to continue operating on Bluecutt Road.
Judge Lee Coleman affirmed the December votes of Columbus City Council and the city’s planning and zoning commission that granted Yo’Bar a permitted use variance to locate there, despite an appeal of those decisions filed by nine plaintiffs — mostly other Bluecutt Road business owners.
Bluecutt Road is zoned C-1 for light commercial/residential, meaning any business building a bar must obtain a permitted use variance. Yo’Bar, which had operated in a building on Highway 45, leased the former Columbus Boat Gallery building on Bluecutt Road from Magnolia Enterprises in 2020. Relocating there allowed Yo’Bar more customer parking space and increased its seating capacity from 99 to 160.
A group of area business owners tried to persuade the council against granting the variance, arguing a bar/restaurant/lounge was not “harmonious” with the medical practices, real estate agencies and other small businesses along Bluecutt. Some also raised concerns about increased traffic, trash and police calls such a business would generate.
After the council’s decision, Yo’Bar — owned by Mignon and Ledrico Isaac — opened at Bluecutt Road. The nine plaintiffs then appealed the council’s decision in circuit court claiming there wasn’t substantial evidence to support granting the variance and that residents and business owners had not been given sufficient notice before the decision was made.
Coleman, in his ruling, disagreed.
“The judge pointed out that he might not have made the same decisions if he had been sitting on the planning commission or city council,” said Bob Faulks, the Aberdeen-based attorney who represented the city in the case. “But (he noted) he’s not to make a ruling based on what he would’ve done, but rather whether the city followed the proper procedures in the decision that was made.”
Attorney John Crowell of Columbus, who represented Magnolia Enterprises and Yo’Bar, would not comment on the decision other than to say his clients were pleased with it.
Attorneys with the Mayo Mallette firm in Oxford, who represented the plaintiffs, did not return a call from The Dispatch by press time.
One of the plaintiffs, Realtor Doris Hardy, owner of CENTURY 21 Doris Hardy and Associates, told The Dispatch she was disappointed, but not surprised, by Friday’s ruling.
“There was not enough time for the people in this neighborhood to research the issue, discuss it or call the councilmen,” she said. “I feel like the city is steamrolling through too many relevant issues that need more consideration.”
Zack Plair is the managing editor for The Dispatch.
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