The Melton administration's conflicting opinions of proposed Jackson subdivision development projects have some South Jackson residents in a fury.
The four proposed developments include a 40-home neighborhood on TV Road, 155 homes on Raymond Road, across from the Will-O-Wood subdivision, another 170 homes on Raymond Road west of McDowell Road and 95 homes on Forest Hill Road. Neighbors are nervous about the new homes because developers are offering a 15-year lease, with an option to buy at the end.
"This is basically renting. I can't see it any other way," said James Gowen, a South Jackson resident living near the McDowell Road and Raymond Road intersection. "Anybody moving in doesn't have to make any kind of commitment. They can trash it all they want, and we're concerned, because this could drive down South Jackson property values."
Jackson Mayor Frank Melton attended a March 31 neighborhood rally at Forest Hill United Methodist Church, trying to ease concerns about the development.
"I feel very strongly, very strongly, that you have a right to decide how your neighborhood is going to be. They ask me all the time what the plans are for the neighborhood, and I have to tell you, the planners are sitting in here tonight," Melton said.
The mayor expressed sympathy toward residents' concerns, assuring them they would have strong input into the final approval of the development, but he occasionally revealed arguments in favor of the development.
"We need to have growth in South Jackson," Melton argued, then launched into a string of promises involving building theaters in Jackson and the revitalization of the Apple Ridge Plaza, in South Jackson. Melton also said the development would be "an opportunity for economic development."
"We have abandoned houses in South Jackson, and we're going to deal with that, but this (project) may be an opportunity for economic development, and I want you to understand that we have a biotech center that's coming here that's going to employ over 400 people and will probably come to Hinds County. Most of those people will be attracted to the South Jackson area, and we have to make sure that we have some place for them to live. The other thing is that we have Katrina people. Nobody has spent more time with them than I have, and I want you to know that they're decent people," Melton said, before sliding into a monologue on how nice hurricane refugees are.
The mayor often gave tangential or unrelated answers to questions. One question about what the city would do to address the increased traffic congestion from the new development led to a monologue on how the city combats flooding.
"Yes sir, we have an infrastructure problem out here ... I think we're going to correct that with the Two Lakes project by having a place to drain the water. But I've been out to South Jackson twice now after heavy rains, and I'm very concerned that the same houses keep getting flooded out because they're located on low-plain areas. We need to clean our drainage systems, and I'm going to use prisoners to do that, so we don't have to use taxpayer money. Some prisoners can work their time off by cleaning in the community and the demolition of these houses," Melton told the audience, and then discussed the virtues of hiring ex-cons.
South Jackson resident Betty Rhines said Melton did not have a good understanding of the problem.
"He doesn't know enough of the situation," Rhines said.
Still, Melton said he sympathized with the residents and respected their concerns.
"If you're living next door to an abandoned dope house, your property is worth nothing, and I understand that. We've done a lot of demolition. I've run out of budget money to do (any more demolitions), so I'm going to get some from the Legislature to do some more right now, to make sure that we get the things done that we need to get done. ... But talk to (Department of Planning and Development head) Jimmy Heidel, so you can make a determination based on facts, not on politics and rhetoric."
The Legislature ended its regular sessions without allocating any new money to the city's demolition budget.
Heidel, when contacted by the Jackson Free Press, said he supported the development, which uses tax credits normally reserved for apartment housing to build cheap, passing savings on to occupants.
"When you first got out of school, did you have a down payment for a house? That's the point here. This gives young couples and working families an opportunity to get into a house that's pretty substantial," Heidel said.
Heidel added that protesting South Jackson residents may have exhausted all their legal options in regard to city policy.
Developer Carolyn Proctor of J.L. Construction, which has applied for tax credits to develop the site, said she did not have time to speak to the Jackson Free Press.
David Kelly, who represents Chartre Consulting in their bid to build Timber Falls subdivision on Raymond Road, said his company would not allow decline in property values. Kelly said Chartre Consulting would put prospective residents through exhaustive background checks and perform routine maintenance and repairs on the properties.
"We have to pay for the upkeep, keep the grass cut, keep it in repair. If somebody does not live up to the regulations, they will be ushered out. If somebody moves out, we have to repair it constantly. If there's a cracked switch plate, we pay a fine. And we're scrutinized all the time," Kelly said, adding that Chartre would also be widening a section of Raymond Road and paying for a traffic light at the Will-O-Wood intersection.
Even with the maintenance promised by developers, Brandon Mayor Carlo Martella said he doesn't support the development.
"I don't know how the board would feel about it, but we have enough development going on here that we don't have to resort to that. It doesn't sound like something we would want to do in the city of Brandon right now. I would try to stay away from tax credits and stuff like that on a house. Now, for a business, it might be different, but not on housing. What you're talking about sounds more like apartments to me," Martella said.
The City Council voted 7-0 on a an April 4 resolution urging Mississippi Home Corporation, which allocates the tax credit money to developers, to focus more on rehabilitating existing property instead of building new property, but the resolution carries no real power. Developers are already breaking ground this year.
"You could say that we lost this round this year, but we'll be working to stop 450 of these extended lease homes from becoming 2,200 homes," Council President Marshand Crisler said.
Previous Commentsshow
What's this?More like this story
More stories by this author
Support our reporting -- Follow the MFP.
Comments
Use the comment form below to begin a discussion about this content.