The Jackson County Water and Sewerage Authority doesn’t usually get involved in zoning matters before the county commissioners, but it’s about to make an exception.
The authority expects to approve a letter when it meets this Thursday night at 6:30 asking the board of commissioners to “hold off” on changes sought for parcels in two West Jackson subdivisions for fear of how it will affect county water and sewer lines.
In both cases, new owners of the property want to change their zoning from R-1 (low-density single-family residential) to A-2 (Agricultural Rural Farm District).
White Plains Baptist Church is buying six lots on Stillwood Place Road, in the defunct Westcott Place Subdivision, where it plans to construct a fellowship building. It would also like the last few hundred feet of the road abandoned. The new owner of Ambrosia Villas, located off Jackson Trail Road at Marshal Clark Road, wants the same zoning change to market large lots for equestrian use.
The authority has water and sewer lines in the public right of way at Westcott Place, and it has water lines in the right of way in Ambrosia Villas development.
The zoning change presents three potential problems:
First, it removes the public right of way, leaving the county’s lines unprotected. Second, it would change the land use to agricultural use, which raises the issue of potential contamination. Third, the authority would lose thousands of dollars of infrastructure already in the ground. It has an estimated $34,000 invested in Ambrosia Villas, but there was no estimate for Westcott Place.
In reality, however, the real fear from the authority’s viewpoint is that granting the zoning change might lead to more similar requests in the future.
“This is small potatoes right now, but it would set a precedent,” noted Eric Klerk, manager of the authority.
The authority will cite the Unified Development Code as it seeks to halt the rezoning process.
“The case we present in the letter is very solid,” advised the authority’s attorney, Paul Smart. “It’s grounded in the UDC and is something the commissioners will take seriously.”
Options for resolving the issue include relocating lines, granting of new rights of way and reimbursement by the petitioners of the authority’s losses in infrastructure.
