City of Ridgeland, et al. v. Estate of Lewis, et al.
| Docket Number: | 2005-CC-00361-COA Linked Case(s): 2005-CT-00361-SCT ; 2005-CC-00361-COA |
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| Court of Appeals: |
Opinion Link Opinion Date: 05-01-2007 Opinion Author: MYERS, P.J. Holding: Reversed and Rendered |
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| Additional Case Information: |
Topic: Real property - Rezoning Judge(s) Concurring: KING, C.J., LEE, P.J., IRVING, CHANDLER, GRIFFIS, BARNES, ISHEE AND ROBERTS, JJ. Non Participating Judge(s): CARLTON, J. Procedural History: Admin or Agency Judgment Nature of the Case: CIVIL - REAL PROPERTY |
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| Trial Court: |
Date of Trial Judgment: 01-24-2005 Appealed from: MADISON COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT Judge: Samac Richardson Disposition: CIRCUIT COURT REVERSED CITY’S DENIAL OF PETITION TO REZONE TRACT OF LAND. Case Number: CI2001-0131 |
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| Party Name: | Attorney Name: | |||
| Appellant: | MAYOR AND BOARD OF ALDERMEN, CITY OF
RIDGELAND, MISSISSIPPI,
SHADOWOOD/WENDOVER HOMEOWNERS’
ASSOCIATION AND CENTRAL RIDGELAND
HOMEOWNERS’ ASSOCIATION |
JERRY L. MILLS
CAROLYN B. MILLS
JAMES GABRIEL
CASSANDRA BURNEY WALTER |
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| Appellee: | THE ESTATE OF M.A. LEWIS AND RICHARD WAYNE PARKER | GLENN GATES TAYLOR ROBERT L. GOZA D. JAMES BLACKWOOD, JR. CHRISTY M. SPARKS |
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Synopsis provided by:  If you are interested in subscribing to the weekly synopses of all Mississippi Supreme Court and Court of Appeals hand downs please contact Tammy Upton in the MLI Press office. |
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| Topic: | Real property - Rezoning |
| Summary of the Facts: | The motion for rehearing is denied, and this opinion is substituted for the original opinion. The Estate of M.A. Lewis and Richard Wayne Parker petitioned the Ridgeland Planning Commission to have a tract of land rezoned from a single-family residential classification (R-2) to a restricted commercial classification (C-1). This petition was denied. Lewis-Parker appealed the Commission’s decision to deny the petition for rezoning to the Mayor and Board of Aldermen of the City of Ridgeland, but the petition was denied at this level, as well. The circuit court reversed the decision to deny the petition for rezoning. The Mayor and Board of Aldermen, the Shadowood/Wendover Homeowners’ Association, and Central Ridgeland Homeowners’ Association appeal. |
| Summary of Opinion Analysis: | A change in zoning on the subject property can only occur when there has been a mistake in the original zoning, or a substantial change in the character of the neighborhood and a public need for rezoning. No one contends that there is a mistake in the original zoning of the tract at issue in this appeal. Only two properties were shown by Lewis-Parker, in support of their position for rezoning, to have been transformed from residential to commercial classification in the recent years leading up to their petition. Based upon this evidence before them, the Mayor and Board of Aldermen found that the surrounding areas had not substantially changed in character so as to warrant a change in the classification of the Lewis-Parker tract of land. While there is no requisite number of rezoned tracts that must be proffered into evidence in order to show a substantial change in zoning in the neighborhood, it was not error for the Mayor and Board of Aldermen to decline the petition for rezoning when Lewis-Parker was only able to present evidence of two properties’ rezoning from residential to commercial. Therefore, the court erred in finding the decision of the Mayor and Board of Aldermen to be arbitrary and capricious. The Mayor and Board of Aldermen gave significant weight to the testimony of the concerned homeowners regarding the rezoning of the nearby Lewis-Parker property from the residential to the commercial classification. Giving such weight to the homeowners’ testimony regarding their opposition to a nearby rezoning was not error. Accordingly, the decision of the Mayor and Board of Aldermen denying the Lewis-Parker petition for rezoning is reinstated. |
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