City of Jackson v. Wilson, 44118

• Decision Date: 14 November 1966
• Docket Number: No. 44118,44118
• Citation: 195 So.2d 470
• Parties: CITY OF JACKSON, Mississippi v. John P. WILSON et al.
• Court: Mississippi Supreme Court

Page 470

195 So.2d 470

CITY OF JACKSON, Mississippi v. John P. WILSON et al.

No. 44118.

Supreme Court of Mississippi.

Nov. 14, 1966.

E. W. Stennett, Val Surgis, W. T. Neely, W. D. Coleman, Jackson, for appellant.

Gene A. Wilkinson, E. Grant Tharpe, Jackson, for appellees.

ROBERTSON, Justice.

This is an appeal by the City of Jackson, Mississippi, from the judgment of the Circuit Court of the First Judicial District of Hinds County, Mississippi, rezoning lands from A-1 residential to commercial after the City Council refused to do so.

In 1954 John P. Wilson and his wife, Mrs. Catherine H. Wilson, bought the property at the northeast intersection of Clinton Boulevard and Colebrook Drive for their home. The property immediately to the horth of them and the property to their east is in Country Club Estates Subdivision, a high type suburban residential subdivision. There are many fine and attractive homes in this residential area. A Humble Oil Company filling station has recently been constructed on the corner property at the northwest intersection of Clinton Boulevard and Colebrook Drive across from the Wilson property. The Wright property, across Clinton Boulevard and immediately south of the Wilson property, has been rezoned from residential to commercial and will be used for a service station and shopping center fronting on Clinton Boulevard and Dixon Road.

On June 17, 1963, John P. Wilson filed his petition to rezone his home property from A-1 residential to commercial. The petition was originally heard by the Zoning Committee of the Planning Board of the City of Jackson on July 8, 1963. After a full hearing, the Zoning Committee recommended to the City Council that this request for rezoning be denied. No appeal was taken by the Applicant Wilson from the action of the Zoning Committee, although notice of the right so to do was given.

The recommendation of the Zoning Committee was accepted and approved by the City Council on July 16, 1963. No appeal was taken from the Order of the City Council.

Seven months later and after the rezoning of the Wright property, south of and across Clinton Boulevard from the Wilson property, Wilson and Shell Oil Company filed a petition for a rehearing and again requested that the Wilson property be rezoned from residential to commercial in order that Shell Oil Company might construct a gasoline-filling station thereon. In addition to the request for a rehearing, a petition for rezoning was filed on March 17, 1964, and proper legal notice was given of a hearing to be held on April 14, 1964. In response to said notice, a petition signed by 29 property owners living adjacent to and near the Wilson property was filed in protest to the application to rezone. Attached to the protest petition were letters from several of the signers stating the grounds of their objections. Copies of these letters were also attached to the brief which Honorable Earl R. Cruthirds filed in opposition to the rezoning.

A brief urging the change in zoning was filed by Honorable Gene A. Wilkinson, which brief was supported by a petition of property owners agreeing to the rezoning.

After a full hearing the Zoning Committee denied the petition to rezone for the reason that: '* * * this service station would not be the best and highest use of the property for the City of Jackson as a whole, and due to the many protests of the residents in the area, * * *.'

Several of the protestants appeared at this hearing and stated that they opposed the rezoning for the reason that a service station would be constructed on the Wilson property and would be located near and adjoining some of their properties, and would result in loud noises, more traffic, lights, odors, and other undesirables which are associated with the operation of a service station. $An appeal was taken from the Zoning Committee's Order denying the application. The City Council entered an Order on August 25, 1964, remanding the case to the files with the right reserved in petitioners, the protestants or the City to call the matter up for disposition on one week's notice.

Prior to the Order of the City Council, it was agreed by the parties that the matter would be submitted to the City Council on the file as made with the Zoning Committee of the City Plainning Board and upon briefs submitted by counsel, and without the taking of testimony.

On January 12, 1965, Petitioner Wilson requested that the matter be called up for final disposition. Even though the agreement had previously been made that the matter...