Rankin County adopts comprehensive plan updates and zoning changes; approves event and hardship conditional uses

The Rankin County Board of Supervisors on April 7 approved updates to the county comprehensive plan and multiple text amendments to the Rankin County zoning ordinance, voted to accept a final plat for an eight-lot PRB subdivision with a $54,430 financial guarantee, and granted two conditional use permits: one for a small outdoor event venue at 1816 White Road and one temporary manufactured-home placement at 117 Littlewoods Road.

County engineer Tim Parker told the board the final plat is for an eight-lot PRB subdivision on Lake Harbor Road and that staff recommended approval of the final plat and financial security in the amount of $54,430 to cover road work in the development. The board approved the plat and the security.

The board also adopted amendments to the comprehensive plan that add an urban growth boundary and clarify that low-, moderate- and high-density land-designation areas on the land-use map should be served by wastewater systems owned by a public entity. County staff and consultants from CMPDD (noted in the hearing as Gray and Lindsey) said the changes are intended to guide development toward areas served by municipal or other public wastewater providers and to slow unplanned development in agricultural areas outside the growth boundary.

Alongside the comp plan changes the board approved multiple text changes to the zoning ordinance. Staff described the amendments as clarifications and codifications of existing practices, and highlighted: clarifying how pre-cut or “barn” structures are treated; distinguishing drive-through versus drive-in businesses; requiring site plans for accessory buildings in commercial and industrial districts; formalizing modular/manufactured-home documentation and inspection expectations; and correcting a previous inconsistency to require a two-acre minimum lot size for A-1 agricultural parcels in the code narrative (the dimensional table had already reflected that minimum). The board also approved an overlay for District 4 that will impose a five-acre minimum lot size in that overlay area and impose additional controls intended to pace growth and protect infrastructure in a corridor identified around I-20 and Pisgah school attendance areas.

County staff emphasized new enforcement language for parking areas and access ways in commercial districts. The revised ordinance declares poorly maintained parking areas that allow loose material to migrate into the public right of way a zoning-ordinance violation (rather than a mere nuisance), and requires paving to a minimum of 3 inches of asphalt for nonconforming loose-material surfaces when necessary to prevent debris entering roadways.

The board debated but did not adopt a single new manufactured-home age threshold in open discussion; staff and supervisors discussed ranges (5–15 years) but the public record at the hearing did not show a final numeric change separate from the package of text amendments the board approved.

Two conditional use permit requests were heard and decided in public hearings before the board. Staff presented a request from Daniel and Rebecca Harris to operate a small outdoor event venue at 1816 White Road (two parcels totaling about 18 acres, with event activities concentrated on a 2.44-acre house parcel and a 15.71-acre adjoining parcel for parking and event space). Staff recommended multiple conditions to address neighborhood impacts; the board approved the Harris permit with the staff-recommended restrictions except that the board declined to require a cash bond. Conditions listed in staff presentation and adopted by the board include: no alcohol service at the venue; no amplified outdoor music (instrumental or unamplified music permitted); events must end by 9 p.m.; a strict maximum of 50 attendees per event; no on-street parking (all parking interior to the property); no fireworks; trash removed by a commercial waste contractor (county hauler not permitted for commercial event waste); no overnight stays or short-term rentals (no VRBO); minimum $1,000,000 event liability insurance; compliance with health department and food-service rules; compliance with ADA and building-code requirements for assembly spaces; and a requirement that a property owner be present and reachable by cellphone during events. Staff noted a cash bond was an option the board could require; the motion to approve the permit specified all listed conditions except a cash bond.

The board also approved a conditional use permit request from Janice O’Neil to place a 28-by-56 manufactured home behind an existing residence at 117 Littlewoods Road as a temporary hardship measure to care for a 76-year-old veteran experiencing declining health. Staff explained the county’s rules allow temporary or emergency hardship placement of a manufactured home and that the permit must include a condition requiring removal when the hardship ends. The board approved the permit with that removal condition.

Separately, Rankin County initiated a dimensional variance for an existing commercial structure at 224 Avalon Circle (Lot 12, Avalon Center) after a survey showed portions of the building encroached into the required C-2 setback. The board approved the county-initiated 5-foot dimensional variance to reconcile the encroachment with the zoning ordinance.

All items in the planning-and-zoning package were approved by motions on the record with votes taken by the board during the meeting.

Why this matters: the comprehensive plan and ordinance changes alter how and where Rankin County plans to encourage development, adding a growth boundary and tightening wastewater and accessory-building controls. The new enforcement language for parking areas elevates maintenance failures to zoning violations, which staff said gives the county stronger remedies to address debris and safety risks on and off private property.

The planning and permit approvals include specific limits (example: a 50-person cap on the event venue, $1,000,000 liability insurance, and removal-on-hardship language for temporary manufactured housing) that the county will enforce as conditions of the permits.

Ending note: County staff and the board said they intend to follow up on implementation details and compliance procedures as the new code language is put into effect and as individual permits move into operation.