Thursday, August 13, 2009

Mississippi Supreme Court: Fairview Inn Restaurant Permit Illegal

The Mississippi Supreme Court today granted relief in an appeal filed by two lawyer-homeowners against the City of Jackson. Mark Modak-Truran, Professor of Law at Mississippi College School of Law, and Anita Modak-Truran, partner at the Butler Snow law firm and filmmaker, convinced the Court to reverse the trial court's ruling for the City. The Court held that the City's permit to the Fairview Inn for operating a restaurant was "spot zoning" that was not permissible. The decision does not change the use of the Fairview for special events or as a bed & breakfast.

The case raises interesting issues. Should a restaurant be located in a residential neighborhood like Belhaven, which is close to downtown? How much input thould the homeowners have?

Interestingly, the decision reversed former Circuit Judge Delaughter, who had rejected the recommendation of a Special Master he had appointed to consider the case.

Fairview Inn Case

3 comments:

Curt Crowley said...

The headline for this post should be re-named "Snobbery in Fondren."

Kingfish said...

spot-zoning? Look at the damn google earth picture. Right next to a multi-story office building and offers a nice transition from residential to commercial.

What will be funny is if the place shuts down, the property values of the idiots who sued go down because no one will buy the building. That would be poetic justice.

QB said...

Agreed. Plus, Sophia's Restaurant is not exactly Walker's...I've never seen more than 10 people dining there for lunch. And anyway, why should these attorneys care whether the street is crowded at lunch - they should be at work.