Madison County has been one of the fastest-growing places in the Jackson metro, and a court ruling in September cleared one of the biggest subdivisions in the pipeline, at least for now.
On Sept. 15, a Madison County circuit judge ruled that the county Board of Supervisors acted properly when it rezoned roughly 363 acres off Clarkdell Road, WLBT reported. The land went from Residential Estate District (R-1) to Medium Density Residential District (R-2) with a Planned Unit Residential District overlay.
The ruling caps a two-year fight between the developers and neighboring property owners.
The project
The property is being developed by Clarkdell Farms LLC and Stillhouse Creek LLC. County planning records show the developers want 536 lots on one tract and 297 on a second, a total of 833 homes. That's fewer than the 1,489 lots the new zoning would allow.
According to county planning records presented in 2024, the developers said construction wouldn't start for two to three years, and full build-out would take 10 to 12 years, WLBT reported.
The rezoning first went to the county Planning and Zoning Commission on Aug. 8, 2024. The developers argued the land was ripe for rezoning because of a regional housing shortage, nearby job growth tied to companies including Amazon, and available sewer service from Bear Creek Water Association. They also pointed to the county's 2019 Comprehensive Plan, which calls for moderate-density housing in the area.
Dozens of neighbors objected over traffic on Clarkdell Road, crowded schools and a natural gas pipeline that runs through the property. The commission voted 3-2 to deny the request, saying county roads couldn't handle a 60% increase in traffic and new students would push schools past recommended teacher-to-student ratios. The developers appealed, and the supervisors reversed the commission and approved the rezoning.
Neighbors then took it to circuit court. The judge wrote that his job was only to decide whether the board's decision was backed by "substantial evidence" and wasn't "arbitrary or capricious," not whether he would have made the same call. He found the developers showed the neighborhood had changed, pointing to nearby rezonings, the incorporation of the City of Gluckstadt less than a mile away, rising traffic counts and the county's $92 million commitment to road improvements in the area. He also cited the regional housing shortage and the comprehensive plan.
The road question
For many neighbors, the fight is about Clarkdell Road itself.
"The Clarkdell Road is a small connector road with open ditches," said Ronnie Lott, a Clarkdell Road resident and the Madison County chancery clerk, who spoke as a homeowner. "It cannot handle the traffic." He said he's adding a second driveway at his own expense just to get out of his property.
Tracy Bush, who lives in the nearby Oakfield subdivision, said she has seen vehicles, including a delivery truck, go into the ditches along the road, which has no shoulder. "They need to look at the roads," she said.
Kelly Long, whose property borders the site, said she expected bigger homes. "I knew it was coming, but we thought that it was going to be bigger estate type homes similar to what is up and down Clarkdell," she said.
District 5 Supervisor Paul Griffin, who supported the rezoning, said the county isn't planning improvements to Clarkdell Road yet. Widening it would mean removing large trees that give the area its rural character, he said. "Ain't no sense in doing it until we know that their home gonna be at that location," Griffin said, adding that Clarkdell would become "the number one road" the county would look to improve once construction moves forward.
Neighbors opposed to the rezoning say they expect to appeal the ruling to the Mississippi Supreme Court.
Why it matters for Contractors
An 833-home subdivision built out over 10 to 12 years would be a long-running source of work in Madison County, from land clearing, grading, utilities and streets to foundations, framing and every trade that follows. But it's not a sure thing yet. Neighbors plan to appeal, and the developers had said construction wouldn't start for two to three years after 2024. There's also road work to watch: the county has committed $92 million to road improvements in the area, and Griffin said Clarkdell Road would move to the top of the list once homes start going up. No builder or general contractor has been named for the subdivision. Contractors interested in it should watch for a Supreme Court appeal and for plat filings with Madison County.