Supervisors express zoning concerns and consider ARPA fund requests
DeSoto County supervisors Monday voted to approve a letter being presented to the Olive Branch Planning Commission meeting on Jan. 11 and one supervisor wants to personally speak with the city’s Board of Aldermen about a zoning issue.
There is a plan to ask Olive Branch to rezone part of Polk Lane in the Legacy Park area to M-1, or Light Industrial District. The land in question was part of the annexation the city obtained that previously was under zoning control by the county.
When the county controlled the zoning, they had promised there would be a buffer between the residents and the Legacy Park distribution center which lies nearby, keeping the residents from having to see the large center. Amazon is one of the tenants in the Legacy Park center.
“The people who live in that subdivision had an issue with seeing those big Legacy Park warehouses,” Lee said. “There was supposed to be a buffer left and the warehouses were only supposed to be built so close. Where they are now was supposed to stop.”
Lee is also concerned about the future condition of the Nail Road East roadway that was opened and dedicated earlier last year. He says trucks would be able to use that road, but Lee said Nail Road East would likely not withstand the weight of heavy trucks in its current condition.
“It would put traffic on that new Nail Road with trucks and we didn’t build that road for those trucks,” Lee said. “It (rezoning) would put warehouses real close to Nail Road.”
With annexation, Olive Branch can now determine how the land may be zoned or rezoned and that buffer may be in question.
Lee said that fellow Supervisor Jessie Medlin, who represents the eastern part of the county, wants to speak to the Olive Branch Board of Aldermen and explain the county’s concerns on the issue.
Board members are also finalizing their list of funding requests to the state government about project funding through the American Rescue Plan Act, or ARPA. The county has a $35 million allotment coming and the state has indicated it may match some of that ARPA money on certain projects, if strict guidelines are met.
Among the items county officials may ask about revolve around broadband in rural parts of the county, sewer and water projects.
There was discussion about possible funding from the Infrastructure Bill, but exact numbers have not been made available yet. A small portion of the $35 million DeSoto County expects to receive can be used on transportation projects and the state will not match any of that funding.
