MADISON COUNTY, Miss. — Madison County supervisors on Nov. 3 moved to send Makita’s request to rezone roughly 625 acres along Highway 22 from agricultural (A‑1) to industrial (I‑2) to the county’s Planning & Zoning Commission for further review after a public hearing that drew scores of residents.

Makita representatives, speaking through spokesman Joseph “Joey” Jernigan, said the company already holds about 359 acres under contract and wants to expand the nearby industrial park that has developed around the county’s so‑called mega site. “We’re … asking that this property be rezoned for additional industrial development, economic development in the county,” Jernigan told the board, and said Makita would include covenants restricting noisy, smelly or explosive uses and a 150‑foot buffer along public rights of way.

Opponents disputed the project’s process and local impacts. Nathan Evans, president of the Panther Creek homeowners association, said he could not find the required newspaper notice or posted signage and argued the board should deny the request on procedural grounds: “Unless there’s evidence produced otherwise, I think this request has not met statutory requirements,” he told the board. County staff produced copies of an Oct. 16 legal advertisement and said signs were posted near Nissan Parkway and in the Calhoun Station area.

Several residents described health and quality‑of‑life problems they attribute to nearby development, including increased dust and new asthma diagnoses. One longtime resident asked: “Can you guarantee us that whatever type of pollution, whether it’s noise pollution, light pollution … that we won’t hear anything?” Another resident said a 150‑foot buffer would not be sufficient for homes that abut the property.

Makita and county staff repeatedly emphasized that a rezoning is an initial land‑use decision and that site plans and specific environmental controls would come later. The county attorney noted that rezoning is “step one” and that subsequent site‑plan review and conditions remain available to the board.

After extended public comment and discussion, President Greg Steen offered a substitute motion to refer the rezoning and the related variance to Planning & Zoning for further hearings and for Makita and neighborhood representatives to meet. The board approved the substitute motion and set a continuation date tied to Planning & Zoning for Jan. 8. Supervisors also instructed staff to improve on‑site signage and to supply PNZ with maps showing proposed building locations and nearby residences.

The proposal asks that I‑2 zoning be allowed with a requested height variance to permit buildings up to 110 feet (ordinance currently cites a 40‑foot standard in I‑2), and Makita said the company is seeking the same variance on multiple parcels in the area. County staff said the I‑2 designation can be constrained by conditional uses and recorded covenants, and Makita told the board the likely tenants shown to the company are advanced‑manufacturing assemblers rather than heavy industrial polluters.

What’s next: the rezoning and variance will return to the Planning & Zoning Commission as a continued hearing; the board set a tentative follow‑up tied to the January PNZ schedule. If PNZ acts, the matter will return to the supervisors for any final zoning decision and any recorded conditions or required site‑plan reviews.

Who spoke: President Greg Steen; Scott Clark, attorney; Joey Jernigan and Scott Deason for Makita; Nathan Evans (Panther Creek HOA); and more than a dozen residents who spoke in opposition.