10/11/2007 2:28:00 AM Ridgeland approves high-rise
More than 300 people showed up for the public hearing at Ridgeland High School Wednesday, some finding ways to pass the time during the six hour meeting.
Steve Smith, attorney for the opposition, addresses the board of aldermen.
RIDGELAND -- A controversial 13-story office building was narrowly approved by aldermen just after 1 a.m. Thursday following a marathon six-and-a-half hour public meeting.
By a 4-3 vote the Ridgeland Board of Aldermen approved the $60 million building that will be located in the Renaissance shopping center and will house the Butler Snow law firm, the Horne CPA Group, and another unnamed regional company.
More than 300 people attended the public hearing held Wednesday at the Ridgeland High School cafetorium.
Supporters and detractors of the building wore stickers and segregated themselves, one group sitting on one side of the room and one on the other.
Those in support of the building wore yellow stickers with the words "Build It!!" printed on them, while those against the building wore white stickers with the acronym Z.O.N.E. (Zoning Ordinances Need Enforcement) printed on them.
Mayor Gene McGee, the Board of Aldermen and other city officials sat on the stage listening to those asking for the conditional use permit to build the high-rise, as well as those for and against the issue.
The meeting lasted from 6:30 p.m. Wednesday until just after 1 a.m. Thursday.
Steve Smith, attorney for opponents of the building, did not say definitively that there would be an appeal of the vote to Madison County Circuit Court.
But members of a group that opposed the high-rise did indicate that the decision in favor of developer H.C. "Buster" Bailey will probably be appealed by local residents.
Lee Boozer, principal of Ridgeland High School and an opponent of the building, said he was "very disappointed" with the decision.
He was particularly unhappy with the testimony of Community Development Director Alan Hart, who recommended approval for the high-rise.
"He didn't listen to both sides," Boozer said.
Bailey expressed relief that the process was completed, and said he felt as if he had presented all the evidence and testimony necessary to approve the building. He added that he plans to start construction as soon as possible.
Ward 5 Alderman Scott Jones made the motion to approve the building. Ward 2 Alderman Robert Gautier, Ward 4 Alderman Larry Roberts, and Ward 6 Alderman Linda Davis voted in favor of Jones' motion.
Ward 1 Alderman Ken Heard, Ward 3 Alderman Kevin Holder and Alderman-at-Large Gerald Steen voted against Jones' motion.
"I ceased long ago to see Ridgeland as a bedroom community," Jones said, explaining his motion.
Davis was the last to cast her vote. She called it the most difficult decision she had ever made as an alderman. With some emotion in her voice, she expressed regret about the way the whole situation had been handled.
"All of this could have been avoided had the neighborhood been consulted," she said, before casting her vote for Bailey.
But Bailey had a different assessment.
"Since this issue has come up, we have had inordinate amounts of consultation," he said after the meeting.
During his presentation to the aldermen, Bailey said that the glass and steel structure would serve as a flagship for the Renaissance development, which is set to include numerous retail shops and restaurants.
The high-rise would be constructed in the northeast corner of the development which located west of Interstate 55 and at the corner of Old Agency Road and Highland Colony Parkway.
Bailey also argued that if the building's construction is stopped, it will hurt the long-term tax base of the city and send a message that Ridgeland is not a friendly business climate.
Members of Z.O.N.E. and others, however, argued that Bailey is ignoring the concerns of local residents. They claim that the building does not fit the atmosphere of the area and would bring more traffic and other negative effects.
At the Sept. 10 hearing, Bailey lowered the proposed height of the building from 17 to 13 stories, moving some of the parking to another structure. But this move did little to satisfy the building's opponents.
The tallest building at Renaissance is the Cellular South headquarters, which is eight stories high. The normal maximum height for buildings in the city is four stories, but the city granted a height variance for the Cellular South building.
Posted: Friday, October 12, 2007
Article comment by:
Bill Murphy
10/11/2007 2:28:00 AM Ridgeland approves high-rise
By ANDREW UJIFUSA Assistant Managing Editor
"The tallest building at Renaissance is the Cellular South headquarters, which is eight stories high."
Please, I invite you to take a closer look at the Cellular South building. It is this building, among other things, which influenced my objections to the Butler-Snow building.
The Cellular South building is not, as "advertised" an eight story building. Go look for yourselves. The lower level parking area is built entirely at GROUND LEVEL, as can be seen from all 4 sides. This is the first level, floor, STORY of this building. The 2nd level, floor, story contains the front entrance doors.... which are located up an incline RAMP which is constructed within a PORTION of the front of the building. The parking "garage" is not underground, nor is it below the surrounding ground level of shopping center. It can not be classified as a basement... not by any stretch of the imagination. The builders are calling the 2nd (the entrance) level, floor, STORY the "first floor." They begin the floor count from there, ignoring the true first floor. Note, there are 2 stories contained within the arched windowed area of the building.
Using this example, a building containing multiple levels of parking could "pass" for a much shorter building using this type floor-count.
It would make a very interesting and newsworth investigation to check into how this building could be APPROVED (with a special zoning variance) for EIGHT stories and actually be built TALLER. Obviously, this is more than a simple "oops." It would appear that some violation has been committed by someone, somewhere, sometime.
