Opinion ID: 1682185
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The need for zoning and overall planning in the area.

Text: ¶ 22. The trial court found that the City had zoning ordinances, subdivision regulations, a building code, a burning ordinance, and a flood plain ordinance. The PAA has none of these. The City also has a full-time building inspector. Because the area is developing, and the county offers no regulation, the trial court found a need in the PAA for zoning and planning. ¶ 23. The City notes thirteen separate planning and zoning instances in Brookhaven, with none in the county. Because the PAA is already heavily urbanized, the City argues that the lack of land-use planning has resulted in leap-frog development and that enemy of economy and utility, urban sprawl. In the case of In re Enlargement and Extension of City of Jackson we quoted with approval an expert who stated that [m]ost cities try to eliminate sprawl, as [u]rban sprawl is an extremely expensive manner for a city to service the area. 691 So.2d 978, 982 (Miss.1997). ¶ 24. In contrast, the CAA argues that annexation will deprive the residents of the PAA of the full use of their land. The CAA again admits Brookhaven should annex, but not in its direction. It argues that the proposed annexation will result in residents being forbidden to hunt with rifles on their land, having to leash their pets, and being unable to engage in agricultural burning as needed. The CAA basically argues that zoning has very little to offer it. ¶ 25. Yet the evidence demonstrated, and the trial court found, that development in the PAA was already proceeding at a strong clip, and that this unregulated development was putting a strain on utilities and other municipal services. The evidence showed that zoning and other planning could maximize the economic use of land in the City and the PAA, thus benefiting all involved. Accordingly, this indicator runs in favor of Brookhaven.