Opinion ID: 1104071
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 9

Heading: Zoning and planning.

Text: ś 43. The Neals contend that the City is not really involved in planning citing to a number of deficiencies in the planning and zoning ordinances. In specific, the Neals note that the comprehensive plan is 34 years old, the zoning map is not updated and does not include some areas annexed in 1970 and 1997, there is no capital improvement plan, and that the city maps are incomplete and do not show all the City's water and sewer systems. Furthermore, the Neals argue that the Winona Elevator Property is next to the City's property which is zoned C-3 for residential and commercial usage, therefore, the Neal property is and can develop in the future to be consistent with the present City zoning. ś 44. The chancellor stated: Though the evidence reflected some deficiencies in Winona's administration of its planning and zoning efforts in the past, the testimony reveals that the City has taken steps to rectify the situation. The City has retained the services of urban planners to assist with updating its ordinances and plans. Winona does have in place adopted subdivision regulations and standard building codes. On the other hand, unincorporated Montgomery County has no land use or building codes whatsoever. Given the proximity of the parcels proposed to be annexed to the existing City and the total absence of land use controls in the County, this factor favors annexation. ś 45. This Court has upheld an annexation even when a town had no zoning ordinance and presented no evidence of any urban planning. In re Enlargement and Extension of Corporate Boundaries of the Town of Mantachie, 685 So.2d 724, 728 (Miss.1996). On the other hand, this Court has upheld an annexation even though a county already had a zoning ordinance. City of Ridgeland, 651 So.2d at 559. The dissent argues that the Neals' property is already zoned in conformity with surrounding land. However, just because a county may have zoning ordinance does not mean that an area cannot be annexed. See City of Ridgeland, 651 So.2d at 559. ś 46. The chancellor acknowledged the City's deficiencies in planning and zoning. However, he also based his decision on the fact that the City was in the process of rectifying any problems and had hired urban planners to assist the City. In addition, the chancellor considered that the City already had subdivision regulations, building codes whereas the County had no land or building codes. Substantial credible evidence at the hearing supports the chancellor's finding of reasonableness for this indicium. ś 47. The City readily acknowledged the deficiencies in its planning and zoning in the proposed annexation area as evidenced by many of its witnesses in its case in chief. However, the testimony also indicated that the City was making strides in correcting this indicia of reasonableness. The Mayor stated that the City has a new zoning board and control board. In addition a firm, Bridge & Slaughter, had been retained and is working with the City to update planning documents, zoning ordinances, and maps. The City has prepared cost estimates for the extension of utilities to the Neal Property, including water and sewer. This extension plan has been adopted by the Board of Aldermen. Phase I of the plan is adopted with a 5 year plan to extend sanitary sewers and water. The Mayor acknowledged that the a 1994 map is the most up to date. ś 48. Booker Clay, the City inspector and fire chief, has condemned twenty buildings in the past few years. In addition, he stated that the City and Board of Aldermen are serious about this issue. Butts stated that Bridge & Slaughter were hired to assist the City with updating planning documents, such as the comprehensive plan and zoning ordinances and possibly deannexing some areas. ś 49. Slaughter acknowledged that there were deficiencies in the planning and zoning process, however, he was working on updating the comprehensive plan, zoning ordinances and subdivision regulations for the City. He recommended that the City have a new comprehensive plan since the current plan is from 1967. In addition, the zoning ordinances and the subdivision regulations were last updated in 1967 and 1966 respectively. Even with the dated planning and zoning, Slaughter stated that the City is still in a better position with its commitment to update than the County of Montgomery which has no comprehensive plan, no zoning, no subdivision regulations, no planning and zoning boards and no building or housing codes. ś 50. Slaughter admitted that the City had no capital improvement plan, which is part of the comprehensive plan, but that he was working on including this plan. He gave an estimate of the time frame in which the plans would be completed at the hearing as 12-18 months for the comprehensive plan, capital improvement plan and subdivision regulations and the zoning plan would be updated after the comprehensive plan is completed and adopted. Slaughter determined that the annexation is not unreasonable simply because there is not a completed comprehensive plan and the City has zoning and subdivision plans that can be applied. ś 51. We find that the chancellor's findings for this indicium were supported by substantial credible evidence and were reasonable.