“Take that plan to the pitch-in.”
“I have been in Bentonia my whole life, and I have never even heard of this.”
“They are just hoping a Walmart comes in.”
“You work all your life to pay for something, and then they tell you what you can do with it.”
“This is not right.”
“I guess we will have to go form a picket line outside.”
These were the statements being made from a standing room only crowd during the recent public hearing at the Bentonia town hall meeting concerning a proposed zoning ordinance.
The Board of Aldermen of the Town of Bentonia intended to consider the proposed adoption of a Zoning Ordinance during its regular board meeting last Thursday. But that consideration was removed from the table following the public hearing.
Bentonia town leaders declined to vote on the proposal, opting to consider the suggestions of the present residents, who were allowed to mark the map available to the public. Over 40 people filled the board room, filling out into the hallway. Most of the crowd marked the map to show town leaders how their property would be affected by the proposed ordinance.
A representative opened the public hearing with an explanation of the town’s proposed comprehension plan, which covered a long-term initiative that could possibly cover the future of Bentonia 25 to 35 years down the road.
“This zoning map is a gradual journey from existing land use to the 30-year proposed land use map,” she said.
“This is not looking at tomorrow,” added Mayor Kim Martin. “This is what it is going to be. This is a 25-year journey down the road. We are not talking about your property tomorrow. This is what it is going to be.”
That is when the demeanor of the crowd shifted when many learned that their homes and properties could move from a residential zone to a possible commercial or industrial zone.
“You are grandfathered in as a non-conforming use,” the map representative said. “For your parcel to become truly commercial, your house would have to burn down over 51 percent to no long be considered as a non-conforming residential.”
“What happens if you collect your insurance money and you want to rebuild in that spot of yours,” asked one resident.
“If it is burned over 51 percent, then it is considered commercial,” the representative replied. “You would not be able to.”
The representative said the parcel could then be sold as a commercial lot, admitting that it would affect property value.
It was also revealed that heirs to the affected properties could not treat them as a residential unit. The heirs would have the option to sell the parcel as a commercial lot, but they could not live in the home, regardless of how many generations or previous residents there were. Following the death of the owner who was grandfathered into the new zone, the new zone would be what was recognized.
“You are going to put me in a commercial area, and you are going to devalue my property,” a resident asked. “I just want to understand. That is what you are proposing?”
“I didn’t come up with this,” the representative replied. “I just do what I am told. I am a messenger.”
When the audience asked who pushed for the zoning ordinance, it was answered that “previous people” did.
“My concern is the Highway 49 corridor, making it commercial because we as a town need income,” Martin said. “As far as commercialization, in the future, we need a small grocery store. We may need a little pizza place, or we need some commercial places for our town, so we don’t have to travel from Bentonia to Yazoo City or to Flora. Why give them the business when we could have it? I think we should keep our small town a small town but keep the commercial stuff on the highway that’s close to us.”
Town leaders opted to not vote on the proposal, allowing residents to mark the map that they said would be revisited.
“If this was previous people who started this, why are we even talking about it,” one resident said. "Why keep this up when somebody else started it? You will do all this, hoping to get business. What good is business if your people all leave?”
