Jackson Jambalaya

Wow! Kewl! Can't wait to see/hear the fallout from this and what comes next. Ok, well, I guess I have to wait, but still...

Gene McGee is a proven liar, and the MSSC said so:

¶7. In September 2014, City officials nicknamed the Costco project “Project Santa Claus” in order to keep the venture confidential from the public. At that point, the Board of Aldermen, the city engineer, and the public works director had not been informed of the talks with Costco. Mayor Gene McGee repeatedly stated to the press and public that rumors regarding a Costco locating in Ridgeland were untrue, even subsequent to an article in the Jackson Clarion-Ledger stating that Costco had posted job openings for a Ridgeland location.

Mayor Lumumba oughtta pick up the phone...fast. If he doesn't want the zoo to move to Lakeland then try to get Costco instead.

One's misfortunes are another's fortunes

DA-YUM

didn't see this coming. wow. good for those residents. I was in full favor of the costco, but good on the neighbors for calling out the political shenanigans. and good on their attorneys. hell of a job.

Yes, he should. However, he is also surrounded by academics who like to have A PLAN first.

Costco in Jackson won't happen.

Its called spot zoning. Courts consistently shoot it down (except sometimes the local judge that is the mayor's buddy).

Costco needs to be in Rankin County or Madison the City. Ridgeland is too close to Jackson for comfort.

Hate all you want, but it's the truth for those of us who will not shop in Jackson and don't really feel completely comfortable in Ridgeland.

Who’s gonna pay to plant all the new trees? Maybe Mayor McGee should start by using his Costco ground breaking shovel that’s been in his closet.

Who is on the hook for the dirt work already done? It has to be a lot of money. What are Mattiece's options at this point? Of course, it probably isn't his money at risk.

This is an example of politicians at their worse. Being Mississippi it is too much to ask now for a criminal investigation.

Anyone who watched the oral argument saw this decision coming. When the Court says "it sounds like you’re making a distinction without a difference," you better have another point to argue.

So now we have a big empty lot on HCP that will become a mud pit. Great.

Is the end of a Costco at that location or could the Board of Aldermen go back and change the zoning in a more open and legal process?

hey 2:26, Marshall Ramsey thanks you for a great idea for his next cartoon. I can already see the mayor in his hard hat with his costco shovel digging holes for new baby trees with a caption: "this isn't the type of ground-breaking I was talking about when I ordered the shovel"

My interpretation of the whole case and the ruling is that it isn't over. The opposition of the zoning by the residents is only related to the FUEL STATION and not the store. In my opinion, Costo and the developers will press on and ultimately win this fight.

Isn't this just about the gas pumps? Didn't Costco already fit under the existing zoning but for their desired pumps? Question is whether Costco still will build there despite the decision to disallow the spot zoning to allow gas pumps.

Ah, the "it's just a flesh wound!" spin begins.

More importantly how in the hell does a Costco qualify as a "cultural retail attraction?"

Whether Costco comes or not, I hope the citizens of Ridgeland note the many times in the opinion that the Court found the mayor and alderman have intentionally lied and engaged in wrongdoing.

There is one reason that zoning of property is legal and that to implement a comprehensive plan and the parts of a plan are set out in State Law. The Land Use element is the big one here. Ridgeland adopts a recent plan to show the use of that property to be one thing and then zones it differently. All that money being spend and City Planning 101 not being followed. Those are some real dummies.

IF this means no Costco, then is the Lake Harbor flyover still necessary?

I just read that they ok'd pumps for Kroger. What's the difference?

3:21 is right. Costco will still build, just without the gas pumps (at least initially). They’ll keep fighting and, worst case, move the gas pumps down the road where they are allowed.

Well i hope they build the biggest Family Dollar store known to man there....that would be awsome

When are the Ridgeland citizens going to band together and vote out this crook - Gene McGee

hhmmmmmmmmm....Costco is one of the few Company's that pays an above decent wage in regards to Retail.

Way to go, its Still Mississippi!!

VOTE OUT Gene McGee

The same thing was done in Jackson when trying to get Costco on Lakeland Drive. They tried to rezone property against what their adopted Land Use Plan called for. It also failed. I guess this was about 8 years ago and now we know the quality of planning in Jackson and Ridgeland is about the same.

If you are uncomfortable shopping in Ridgeland but think Madison is somehow magically different and far off, you were raised in and still live in a bubble.

@ 4:08 it would be "awsome" if you could spell. There's probably a vocabulary primer you could buy at the Family Dollar up the road from your house.

Well Damn, I guess Sam's will now go back up to $1.70 for the hotdog soda combo now that Costco been sidelined.

As to whether or not it will continue on without the fuel pumps...

Based on the emails sent from Hart and Mattiace, it seems as though the fuel pumps were pretty important to Costco. I'm sure it's a VERY profitable part of their business. If they could go anywhere else in the Metro with this, why would they go somewhere that doesn't allow them? The City of Ridgeland likely knew the pump situation was a deal-breaker, which is why they went through all the trouble of amending the zoning ordinance.

This was not about gas pumps or the store......this was about the fraudulent process that elected officials orchestrated and enacted to change zoning of a piece of property.

I live across the street from the proposed Costco and just can’t believe this sad news. I was planning to teach my kids to ride bikes in the parking lot in Sunday mornings. And roller skate

Jackson should get back in the game. Lumumba could put together a deal where Yayber failed.

2:47, if you travel just down the highway there is a Sams Club - and they sell double rolls of Alcoa aluminum foil, better known to you and your friends as 'tin foil'. Rush on down there and buy the double roll and make yourself a tinfoil hat since you see the need for a criminal investigation in a zoning case and retail development.

Let this be a lesson to the MadCo Supes. When you ignore the ordinance, pretend it doesn't exist or manipulate it to suit your desires, somebody gonna call your hand and your ass is gonna be in a bind.

In Ridgeland they call it Operation Santa Claus. In Madison County, they call it Operation Campaign Donation. Same deal.

Any chance Gerald Steen can reclaim all that Costco asphalt he laid out on HCP for all those 18 wheelers and Magee? Steen likes to call that 'inter-local agreement'. But we all know what it is.

Wonder if Kushtown Mayor would waive minimum minority participation (EBO) requirements to get Costco? His answer would be most telling of what is in his real heart.

Funny how this is just now being slapped down! Ridgeland has been in the business of illegal rezoning for YEARS! Ask virtually anyone who has owned commercial land in Ridgeland for any length of time: you buy a piece of property with a certain zoning, under which the uses allowable in that zoning classification are spelled out. Ridgeland then later decides that that zoning designation no longer meets with their expectations, so rather doing what they are legally NOT allowed to do (rezoning BY the City), they simply change the allowable uses in that zoning classification! It's tantamount to rezoning - and it's certainly causes a devaluation of the property, thus a due process issue due to a "taking" or "condemnation," but since they didn't "rezone" it, they've gotten away with it.........I know these circumstances are a bit different on Costco, but it's good to see they got the shit slapped out of them (at least for now) on a rezoning case.

I bet Gary Rhodes and his lawyers are making some calls this evening...

I am happy to see the court slap the shit out of Ridgeland. These cities are out of control when it comes to land planning. You have a bunch of politicians and dumbass "Planning and Community development" types throwing darts at a board. The real tragedy occurs when their f--ups don't reveal themselves until the damage is done and in many cases, after the PERS checks are going out.

Jackson is a non-starter for Costco. Jackson's metrics are crap.

The perfect location would be on east metro parkway below dogwood.

Easy to make false accusations about about an honest, ethical person, Gene McGee. If you won't stand by your slanderous, false claims, your comments don't matter. I'll stand by mine. Carol Stern.

All I can say is, thank heavens justice prevailed. After reading this brief, I am appalled at all the shenanigans that went on in order for the city of Ridgeland to circumvent their own zoning laws. This is scary! It makes me wonder how often the City of Ridgeland gets away with these illegal maneuvers because the injured party doesn’t have the financial ability to hire attorneys. Speaking of attorneys, who in the world advised the aldermen and mayor that this was acceptable behavior? Seems to me, when the Supreme Court of the state of Miss uses the word “illegal” to describe the behavior of the Aldermen and Mayor, somebody ought to be held accountable. I mean, if you or I had been convicted of doing something illegal, we’d either be paying a fine or going to jail. Just sayin’.

Gene McGee exposed again as being phonier than a $3 dollar bill with Hugh Freeze's face on it.

Ridgeland has one of the highest income per capita than most metropolitan cities, due to mayor McGee,and his bringing in more businesses than people,and keeping Ridgeland classified as a small town, which results in more state money. Good job McGee, from a resident of jackson, which is run by a bunch of idiots!!

Now that the trees are all mowed down, maybe they can put in a go-cart track

What are those people who live in the going to say when Walmart rolls up in there?

Go try to open a tattoo parlor in Renaissance and see how fast Gene starts quoting the zoning ordinance. Selective enforcement of zoning and spot zoning are just crony capitalism at its worst.

Just like denying a hotel that is properly zoned because your buddy also wants to build a hotel. CROOKS!!!

Gene McGee, D.I. Smith, Chuck Gautier, Kevin Holder, and Wesley Hamlin all need to be booted out. And Wesley's mentor, the preacher of Christ Life Church of the Highlands, who claimed he didn't know a thing about Costco trying to come, should be ashamed of himself.

Hallelujah! The Supreme Court saw through Fibber McGee and his minions!

Carol:
the facts are that your boy intentionally lied to the public (stated as fact in the legal opinion) and got caught. I don’t think that is such honest and ethical behavior. Unless bold face lying to the public is ok by your standards.
Sincerely,
Ridgeland citizens

Well you know that Sneaky McGee has a trick up his sleeve. He will just move the gas station to Walter Michael’s land across the street. Hopefully Walter will listen to his constituents and not sell to Mattiace, Bailey and Barksdale.

Add Dick Hall to that list of men who ought to be BOOTED our of office. Remember him? He's the one who said, 18 months ago, that the State owns that roundabout and it is not designed for truck traffic and cannot be used by such a heavy volume of traffic as a Costco development would require. And he continues by saying 'Nobody has contacted me with anything about this sort of development It won't happen. We own that roundabout.'

Move Costco to the Paul Griffin High-School-Reunion Park and Drug Emporium in scenic, remote northern Madison County. It's central to Holmes, Leake and Madison Counties. A financial gold mine. Diesel for log trucks, alone, will be a windfall for Costco.

Nearby dog-fighting will be a spinoff draw.

(signed) Michael at MCEDA

Here is where you got to watch the ball . Ridgeland may try to a quickie land use plan amendment to show that zoning followers the plan.Real planning takes time and must follow an open process but these folks may be desperate. Keep an eye on the plan.

Hate all you want, but it's the truth for those of us who will not shop in Jackson and don't really feel completely comfortable in Ridgeland.

You're acting as if Jacksonians are concerned that people such as yourself won't come if and when it's built? Take your butt to Sam's in Madison then!?

Costco in Jackson would do well because people are tired of driving 10-12 miles to go shopping.

The Sam's on Ridgewood Court didn't have any problems with staying busy.

If Costco comes to Jackson, I'll gladly switch companies.

Costco is coming to Ridgeland. Get ready for a traffic signal to replace the roundabout and a sea of parking on the parkway (600 “oversized” spaces to be exact). Of course big box retail is an endangered species so this building will likely be a mega church, laser tag or a trampoline park in 5-10 years.

7:30 if Ridgeland officials hadn't been in such a hurry and been more thoughtful and less deceitful in their approach, they would have done a land use analysis of Highland Colony, complete with public hearings, to support amending the comprehensive plan to support additional uses from the beginning. If they had, this would never have become a legal fight. Too late now though, as watchful eyes from the community will be looking for just such an action.

everyone here ignores the real cause of this train wreak...... the circuit court trial judge who apparently does not know or comprehend the law. this was a 7-0 decision. all 7 justices on the panel voted to reverse . in football they call that a blowout. you can bet your last dollar that the circuit court ruled in favor of all the politicos in ridgeland cause he feared the next election without their support. his message to citizen property owners?..... go jump off a cliff. well now the good judge can take the leap.

A lot of you appear to really hate Ridgeland.

Definition of a "cultural retail attraction":

Businesses in the State of Mississippi have the opportunity to qualify for significant tax incentives through the Mississippi Tourism Project Incentive Program. In order to qualify, a development may be considered as a “cultural retail attraction”:a project which combines destination shopping with cultural or historical interpretive elements specific to Mississippi with a minimum private investment of Fifty Million Dollars ($50,000,000.00) in land, buildings,architecture, engineering, fixtures, equipment, furnishings, amenities and other related soft costs approved by the Mississippi Development Authority and which . . .
is located in a qualified resort area . . . and is a part of a master- planned development
.Miss. Code Ann. § 57-26-1 (Rev. 2014) (emphasis added). On June 11, 2015, a Mattiace representative emailed Hart, requesting that the City approve the Costco site as a “qualified resort area.” The City approved the site as a qualified resort area on June 16, 2015

No one has made a valid argument that a Costco store constitutes a "cultural retail attraction" as defined here. This was all done to "to qualify for significant tax incentives through the Mississippi Tourism Project Incentive Program".

I want to know what "cultural or historical interpretive elements specific to Mississippi" are being planned as required to qualify for tax incentives.

Attn 8:38 A "land use analysis" only provides the "results" the people paying them want them to find. Is this your first rodeo?

So what happens to the TIF bonds already issued I believe. These bonds would have been issued under the assumption a major sales tax generator would be in place. I would speculate that all the dirt work performed was paid for using these TIF bonds issued by the City. With what appears to be wrong doing do the Aldermen or City have liability for the bonds.

@9:35 I would love to see legal action taken against this. No more cultural than the "landmark" Renaissance or failed outlet malls in Pearl. MDA is a joke.

It’s Mississippi. I don’t care if it is in Madison County. It’s still Mississippi. And here, a bulk warehouse retailer selling junk food by the pallet is a cultural attraction.

What are you Madison folks going to when your retail boom brings auto burglaries, carjackings, and armed robbers to your golden city?

@9:35 it was to be a shrine of corruption, graft, favoritism, imposing feudalism, kleptocracy, corporatism, cronyism, ILL regard for citizen investors whom are expected to render annual percentages of monetary support to service local and state debt via taxation----and adding insult to injury ---- using said tax dollars to pay for the defense of such an action in the courts; all of the evils of Mississippi Government. I'd say that's cultural, ya know?

guess i do not see how it changes the character, but spot zoning is bad, politicians love picking whose property increases and declines in value. not just the zoning but sewage, water, better roads.

Tif bonds for this proposed development not issued, and may never be.

All that fast food and retail crap in Madison is the same brands that left a trail of destruction on Highway 80, and then up I-55. A new hot spot develops every decade and everything that is new becomes old.

Seriously, if everything closes in Jackson and then Ridgeland, do you not think black people will shop Madison? MDA can't keep funding new strip malls every time you don't like the clientele.

Send Costco down to County Line Road. Hey Mayor Baby Chock this is Jackson's second chance to help County Line Road again.

Wonder how Gene came up with the name Santa Claus for this project? Ya think it may have been because he figured Santa would be leaving some gifts under HIS tree?

The 'Culture' element can easily be satisfied. Simply paint some historic murals on the walls depicting 'the struggle' and you got it.

As to the moniker 'Santa Clause', Gene got that from a few miles up the road where Rudy became famous for gifting Christmas envelopes with legal guidance from Espy. There is nothing illegal about Christmas envelopes if Santa, the elves, the reindeer and all the children wear gloves.

"All that fast food and retail crap in Madison is the same brands that left a trail of destruction on Highway 80, and then up I-55. A new hot spot develops every decade and everything that is new becomes old.

Seriously, if everything closes in Jackson and then Ridgeland, do you not think black people will shop Madison? MDA can't keep funding new strip malls every time you don't like the clientele."

Excellent point @11:52am

The entire Jackson Metro area is spinning its wheels when it comes to building up the area.

Flowood now has Academy Sports and Dick Sports and Madison has Academy Sports as well, while Jackson lost an Academy Sports.

Look, not saying you shouldn't try to grow your local economy, but we are creating retail ghost properties around the metro, basically spinning our wheels. Hell, even the outlet mall in Pearl is closing stores too.

AWARD for the best comment goes to april 20 at 10;10am

Whatever will you people do when this is over? I'm sure you'll find something else to hate.
See you at Costco!

The former CEO of Costco said that they were attracted to the location in question because of the attractive demographics of the area. With thousands of local residences comprising those demographics opposing the questionable location of Costco it would certainly negatively impact those attractive demographics. Additional, with brick & mortar retail on the decline, Costco would have a major mountain to climb if they foolishly peruse this questionable location. Why would a retailer want to locate in an area where they r not wanted? Why wouldn’t they simply move to a more agreeable location & salvage their researched demographics? Why risk irrating a large segment of your customer base? Customers who have money to spend at your business.
The only people that I find in favor of Costco locating in the questionable location r a few land speculators, a few prostituting attorneys, & a few politicians. This hardly compares to heavy lose of business. Business that simply could b attracted to a more favorable location.
One has to seriously wonder why politicians who r elected to serve their constituents r more concerned about appeasing a few non-residents. I can only think of one reason! The city of Ridgeland has its own swamp.
My family & I presently spend approximately $5,000/month at Sam’s. I can assure Costco, if they locate at the questionable location, we will not darken their doors.
Ok. U few attack with multiple posts. Money is not the root of all evil. It is the greed of money that is the root of all evil.

There is no way Costco can compete with Sam’s without gas pumps. Fact. Plain & simple!

4:54 You are correct. The metro is not growing. It’s just everything is moving out of Jackson. If this is not true, why have so many airlines left our airport? The last time I checked, the population of Jackson was declining but the population of the metro was constant. You folks can forget Costco moving into Jackson. One might call it racism. Are they not choosing one race over the other?

9:26 they make no money off gas

You are wrong

There is a big difference when one spends ones own money without seeking monetary gain standing for the good of ones community & one standing for an issue seeking monetary gain. Big difference!

It appears that Judge Emfinger lived up to his name. He stuck his finger in the eyes of Ridgeland Citizens. It took the Mississippi Supreme Court Judges to pull it out.

I'm glad I moved...

9:19 is total BS. No one spends $60,000 a year at Sams. Costco isn’t alienating anyone. People will swarm to it after it opens, Mark my words.

Yes; People will 'swarm to it after it opens'. Then in less than two months the parking lot will look like that of Academy in Madison at 10:00 this morning (and this is Saturday).

Whoever listed (for some reason) which towns now have Academy and Dicks, left out the Dick in Madison which will soon close after the opening of Academy down the road. Madison Dick's is a morgue except for two weeks at Christmas when nine people come in to look at Kayaks.

And regarding the gas pumps, Costco has no intention of 'making money off gas pumps'. They only want to create the public illusion that they're offering gas at really low prices and that sucks customers into the store where the real money is made.

The only bargains being gotten at Costco or Sams is the profit the Indians make buying bulk goods and selling them triple priced at their convenience stores and gas stations.

I just read up on all of this when I saw this "news." I just was not aware of the whole ordeal.

From the outside, it sounds like everybody loses. The people who sued, are still going to get a Costco. They were suing because they NIMBY the whole Costco project but centered only on the zoning issue regarding the delivery of fuel.

Costco doesn't get their fuel island.

Ridgeland looks stupid.

I guess the attorneys involved "won" since they got paid.

LIAR LIAR pants on fire!

9:24 if u will send ur name & address to JJ, I will gladly forward to u my Sam’s credit card to pay.
I realize that big box, discount warehouses consider themselves destination retailers. However, I feel it good business & public relations to be a good neighbor. Now, I know Gene McKee sold his residents down the drain in an attempt to get Costco. If Costco can not respect the request of 1,000s of people in the immediate area,of the proposed location, Costco is totally disregarding this “Good Neighor” policy that most in business engage. It shows their greed trumps common decency. Does Mr. McGee’s as well?
On another note, this issue reminds me of so many of the California politicians putting the interests of illegal immigrants over concerns of their American residents. I had been initially puzzled by this till I realized that the elected officials where only going after the votes of this minority. Here, we see elected officials putting the interest of non-residents over the concerns of its residing citizens. Citizens that have invested greatly in their homesteads. Why? Why would elected officials turn their backs on their citizens for non-residents. The only answer I can come up with is MONEY. Sad, very, very sad. These people should hold their head down in shame.

One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Matthew 7:12 known as “The Golden Rule”, in effect says; Do unto others as u would have them do unto u. Would it not be nice if we all, especially politicians who hold themselves out as leaders, adhere to this?
I unfortunately recall in the Bible that one can become “hardened” to sin; i.e., one can lie so much one no longer has a conscience of lying. If a public official lies, it seems he should at least confess & ask for forgiveness, & then make atonement for that sin.

Yea! Costco! Less than five minutes from our home in Dinsmor. We can't wait.

One would think with all the highly educated & professional people in Ridgeland that the city would have a better quality mayor & council. Of course moral character would be a good start.

To Carol Stern, who is under contract with either the city of Ridgeland OR Gene McGee, personally OR both:

The ends do not justify the means, especially when one is a public official, whether elected, appointed, or hired.
It is not okay for public officials to lie and then pathologically convince themselves they have not.
It is ridiculous that these men can be found “guilty” by the Supreme Court of the State of MS and walk away scot free.
It is preposterous that any reasonably honorable public official would NOT respect the opinions of hundreds of residents that attend numerous town hall meetings as well as the 1800 (plus or minus) signatures in opposition to their deceptive tactics.

But you, while living in Rankin County, have the unmitigated gall to defend their character and behavior?
You have exactly ZERO credibility, ma’am!

When it has been over overwhelming established by hundreds of people, the media, & even the Supreme Court that a public official has been dishonest, if that public official had even a thread of common decedency or the slightest moral character, that public official should submit their resignation.
I heard it said by a political crony that it does not matter if the elected official is a slug just that if he is my slug. How disgraceful?
The City of Ridgeland administration should be an embarrassment to all residents of the city. Shameful.

9:57 - Industrial Development 101 teaches (or reminds) us that secrecy and strategic deception are two of the five cogs of the process. Its a given that there will be secrecy, and deception (which you call lying), is pretty much expected.

Magee teaches a class (at city hall) in this art and Hart grew up in it with a father engaged for forty years in the same occupation.

Secrecy & deception may be private business techniques but our laws say they are not the manner in which government is to be administrated.
There is a huge difference from deception & secrecy & out right, bold face lying.
Magee’s behavior is no art. It is immoral character.

9:14 if that is your spin on your profession, you live a miserable, sinful existence. I certainly hope you have no offsprings.
I studied at one of the leading business schools in America, & lying was NEVER taught as part of business; quite the contrary! A man’s word was his bond. You definitely need help!
Mississippi is known as being in “The Bible Belt”. It is obvious that neither you nor your idol have spent much time in the study thereof. Sad, sad, sad.

2:39, what unmitigated gall you have, addressing Ms Stern anonymously, while she boldly used her name. How dare you. She is a kind and decent person with more credibility than you've ever thought about.
I would never use my name on here due to cowards like you!

Amen, 6:05. And we are not in the minority. I see the Citizens for Development, who tried to threaten their neighbors, have moved here where they don't have to show their name. Mayor Magee is no "crook". Possibly a little inexperienced in dealing with large corporations and public statements on such, but he is a decent person who does not deserve all of your spiteful allegations and slander. Shame on each and every one of you participating in these personal attacks.

That social media spin contractor the city employs is showing up here, albeit late.

it is a shame Mississippians have such a low threshold for jealousy. So many of you are so jealous of many of the people living in the nice neighborhoods close to the proposed location. It’s alright, fine for the nonresident developers & financiers to have multiple $MM homes, but no one in Ridgeland should have one. One would never see a Costco across the street From Mr. McGee’s home.
Mr.McGee must be related to Bill & Hilary Clinton. So very much in common.

Hey, pot NIMBY at 4:22, call kettle black much? Let's try to decipher your little tirade...people are jealous of your nice home, close to the future Costco location. But your think those developing and financing also have nice homes. But now, no one in Ridgeland should have nice homes...WHAT? I'm sure the Mayor would love to live near Costco. None of which has a thing to do with Bill & Hillary. Bless your heart.

1:12 - I only pointed out a reality. I don't have a dog in this Ridgeland hunt and nobody is my idol. You can take your 'Bible Belt' business ethic and cram it. Your comments do not reflect reality where the rubber hits the road in industrial development. Industrial developers are one degree removed from used car salesmen. If that.

After reading the few pro mayor/Costco posts, one may conclude that there’s a lot of stupidity mixed in with the dishonesty & corruption of the government.
Private citizens should all stand up & rejoice that one can still prevail against the unbridled actions & unlimited resources of government.

Good grief! Has anybody really read this ruling? It’s brutal for the City. These judges were clearly extremely offended by the actions of the Mayor and Board of Aldermen of the City of Ridgeland.

Judges hate to rule against municipalities in zoning issues because they want to give officials as much opportunity to make decisions for the city as they possibly can. But in this particular case, the judges were so disgusted by the behavior of Ridgeland’s city leaders that they deemed their actions ARBITRARY (irresponsible, inconsistent, injudicious, irrational) AND CAPRICIOUS (unpredictable, unreasonable, unstable.) A simple “guilty” would have stopped the illegal zoning but they felt compelled to declare their choices ARBITRARY and CAPRICIOUS. WOW!

And not only did the Supreme Court rule UNANIMOUSLY (7-0, with 2 abstaining) AGAINST the Aldermen and Mayor (and FOR the citizens of Ridgeland) but they did it on TWO counts – ILLEGAL spot zoning and ILLEGALLY changing the zoning without going through the procedure defined by the State of Mississippi. EITHER count would have stopped the zoning but clearly the judges hearing this case thought the Mayor and Aldermen’s actions so heinous that they felt compelled to find them guilty on BOTH counts. WOW and WOW!!!

Many thanks to the Supreme Court Justices for having the courage to take a tough stand when the behavior of these city officials was so egregious! Some would have chosen to take the path of least resistance. Because they did not, justice prevailed.

That's one of those lawyer-type-wannabes at 3:59.

"One would think with all the highly educated & professional people in Ridgeland that the city would have a better quality mayor & council. April 21, 2018 at 9:34 PM"

Not to worry, 9:34, Gerald Steen is in the wings, ah, er, hiding in the bushes. I think he has a semester at Hinds. He wants to be mayor and has a double masters degree in election asphalt.

Lost in all this is the fact that West Ridgeland needs a gas station. Ha!

The person who doesn't want to shop in Ridgeland...are you kidding me? So I guess you don't shop at the Renaissance? You don't go to the Apple Store, Sephora or PF Chang's? Cause all of those places are in RIDGELAND!

Perhaps you should get your head out of your behind and take a look at a map sometime. I would be willing to bet that you shop in Ridgeland all the time...Oh, and what about Whole Foods in JACKSON. I bet it is magically in the bubble of a safe place to you. Perhaps they Gerrymandered it into Madison like they did the airport 50 years ago into Jackson so they could serve drinks.

I don't care where Costco ends up...I just wish it would end up somewhere soon. If you have never shopped at one you just don't know what you are missing. Comparing it to Sam's is like comparing Target to Walmart.

So the City of Ridgeland committed an illegal act, and now they're trying to lecture the Mississippi Supreme Court and accuse them of being anti-business? Give me a break! The City knew what they were doing was illegal, but they went right ahead and did it. They never dreamed they'd get caught; but when they did, they figured that the political might of the developers and the developers' deep pocket backers would carry the day. They were wrong! The LAW won! They fought the LAW and the LAW WON! Now they're trying to win the PR battle by saying that they haven't changed their plans. The LAW say they have to change their plans!

Bunch of dummies, the Highland Colony Parkway was built for businesses like this to locate on. Sites and uses pretty much predetermined. Go anywhere in the Southeast US and find a similar well thought out thoroughfare designed to keep a County Line Road logjam from happening again. If there is one, study it well and report back.

The I live here now's arguing this development came to be close yet far from hustle and bustle, guess what, you still are and will be - be glad the Parkway exists to handle this growth and move on. It was there when you bought, it will be there when you sell. The profit you make selling should make you smile. You should (but probably won't) thank those with the foresight to develop such an enterprise zone that keeps the real zoning battles from heating up inside your neighborhood and at your town-hall.

4:45. I am confused. If HCP was indeed designed for businesses like this, then why did the aldermen have to vote to break TW0 different zoning laws in order for the proposed development to come? And if they intended for these types of businesses to come to HCP, they had every opportunity to zone this parcel accordingly when they voted on our current zoning regulations in 2014 - the very regulations that they have been guilty of violating so the proposed development could come. Instead they zoned it something entirely different and went to a lot of trouble to explain exactly what their vision was for this piece of C-2 property and I can assure you that it did NOT include gas pumps nor fast food drive ins.

My beef with the city has little or nothing to do with the proposed development comng or not coming. My problem is with the half truths and mis-information that individuals such as yourself, the aldemren, the mayor, the Costco execs as well as all of their spin doctors continue to promulgate in an attempt to justify the illegal behavior of these elected officials.

In addition to that, it absolutely baffles me that hundreds of Ridgleand citizens show up at multiple meetings to voice their opposition to the project and their pleadings are competely ignored but you feel compelled to criticize THEM and defend those public officials that have broken the law, lied to their constituents and treated their neighbors with complete and total disdain.

I have a novel idea: why dont we hold the law breakers acocoutable instead of verbally attacking the people that got it right and were willing to persevere until justice was served.

5:27. Majority of Ridgeland citizens want the Costco and at that location. If not, they had a great opportunity to vote the mayor out at last election and chose not to do so. Just because most supporters were not brave enough to voice their support at the meetings doesn't mean they didn't support Costco. We saw how anyone in support of Costco at the meeting was treated.

5:27- Once again, we are getting half truths. IN YOUR OPINION, the majority of citizens wanted a Costco. There is absolutely no proof to sustantiate that assertion. Also, the people in Ridgeland that DID want Costco at that location didn’t live anywhere near it. Seems to me that the neighborly thing to do is defer to the wishes of those that will be directly affected. And by the way, the current mayor, a 25 year incumbent, was soundly defeated by a complete unknown in Ward I, which is where the proposed development would have been located.

Sadly, it is more important to you to berate your neighbors for defending their rights than it is to address the illegal behavior of our elected and hired public officials. Four of our seven aldermen, the Mayor, the City Attorney and Alan Hart put their little heads together and knowingly and willingly ILLEGALLY attempted to change the zoning in the city of Ridgeland at the bequest of a developer and a Big Bix Store. Worse, they are now berating the Supreme Court for convicting them. Please let that sink in!!!

Maybe you haven’t read the emails; maybe you haven’t even read the Supreme court’s ruling at the beginning of this post. Maybe, instead you just prefer to buy into the propaganda being presented by those that have been found GUILTY. That is certainly your prerogative. But please, until you take the time to familiarize yourself with the facts, refrain from posting inaccurate misrepresentations of the truth.

THESE COMMENTS WERE IN RESPONSE TO 4:02; NOT 5:27
Once again, we are getting half truths. IN YOUR OPINION, the majority of citizens wanted a Costco. There is absolutely no proof to sustantiate that assertion. Also, the people in Ridgeland that DID want Costco at that location didn’t live anywhere near it. Seems to me that the neighborly thing to do is defer to the wishes of those that will be directly affected. And by the way, the current mayor, a 25 year incumbent, was soundly defeated by a complete unknown in Ward I, which is where the proposed development would have been located.

Sadly, it is more important to you to berate your neighbors for defending their rights than it is to address the illegal behavior of our elected and hired public officials. Four of our seven aldermen, the Mayor, the City Attorney and Alan Hart put their little heads together and knowingly and willingly ILLEGALLY attempted to change the zoning in the city of Ridgeland at the bequest of a developer and a Big Bix Store. Worse, they are now berating the Supreme Court for convicting them. Please let that sink in!!!

Maybe you haven’t read the emails; maybe you haven’t even read the Supreme court’s ruling at the beginning of this post. Maybe, instead you just prefer to buy into the propaganda being presented by those that have been found GUILTY. That is certainly your prerogative. But please, until you take the time to familiarize yourself with the facts, refrain from posting inaccurate misrepresentations of the truth.

4:18 Not trying to berate my neighbors. Just saying (in my opinion) the majority of Ridgeland supports the Costco plan. I get that the majority of Ward 1 doesn't want it and dislikes the mayor because of it. But Ridgeland is bigger than Ward 1. I will probably never shop there since I am an Amazon kind of guy, but I wanted people from other cities and counties to come and spend money in Ridgeland. But regardless, the court has spoken and if the mayor has had acted illegally, that should not prevent Costco from building if they meet the current zoning, correct?

Ridgeland's problem is that the Mayor and at least 4 of the Aldermen work for a few developers, instead of the people that elected them. You get what you elect!