Board approves subdivision changes
Published 12:00 pm Tuesday, July 19, 2016
After multiple discussions, suggestions and a thumbs-up from the Lafayette County Planning Commission, the Lafayette County Board of Supervisors approved two changes to the county’s subdivision regulations Monday during their regular meeting.
The biggest change will now require contractors to have water and sewer pipes inspected using a video camera.
The developer will furnish two copies of the video on CD to the county. Twenty-four hours notice will be given to the county engineer prior to beginning the video inspection so that a representative from the county can be on site if possible. The developer will conduct the video testing at their expense and will make any repairs to any displacement or other noted defects.
County Engineer Larry Britt has said the county’s been having issues with plastic pipes being damaged and that there were no regulations for video inspections of new pipes. The city of Oxford has a similar video inspection regulation for developers.
Supervisor Chad McLarty asked if projects currently under construction would be grandfathered in.
“I don’t want to put something on them extra when they’re in the middle of construction,” McLarty said.
Britt said one contractor who has a large development currently being built has agreed to give the county a $50,000 bond in case there is ever any trouble with the pipes.
New set backs
The second regulation change will change how set backs are measured. The minimum setback for any county road is 30 feet from the edge of the right-of-way, and has been that way for many years.
“We needed that so if we built or widened a new road, we weren’t having to buy houses,” Britt said.
The change will now require the minimum setback to be 30 feet from the edge of the right-of-way or 60 feet from the centerline of the road, whichever is greater, regardless of whether the road is shown on a platted subdivision.
In other business Monday, the supervisors:
— Approved cleaning property on county roads 277, 371 and 376 that have been used as dumps for couches, mattresses, appliances, household waste and even hot tubs. The funds to clean the sites comes from a Department of Environmental Quality grant.
— Approved the fire department applying for a $4,500 grant from Mississippi Forestry Commission that will be used on various equipment purchases.
— Tabled a discussion as to whether to approve the preliminary commercial plat approval for a development on Highway 30.
Board President Jeff Busby said he was concerned about the project — its ingress and egress and affect on traffic in the area. The developer, Jordan Bankhead, was not at the meeting.