Judge staying on rezoning appeal
A request by county supervisor asking a judge to recuse himself in an appeal by the city of Madison over the rezoning of 350 acres on Bozeman Road has been denied.
Circuit Judge Steve Ratcliff issued the order on Dec. 27.
Earlier this summer, supervisors voted 3-2 to change the zoning of land near the proposed Reunion interchange on Bozeman Road from a Special-Use District (SU-1) to a Highway Commercial District (C-2) that will allow everything from convenience stores to strip malls.
The land in question is owned by the Minnie J. Bozeman Family Limited Partnership and was zoned as a Special Use District (SU-1) that allows for educational institutions, retirement facilities, and colleges.
The city of Madison argues the petitioner didn’t meet the burden of proof for the re-zoning, which is that there has been a significant change in the character of the area.
The supervisors in August filed a motion seeking to have Ratcliff and the other judges in the 20th Circuit District recuse themselves from the case, arguing that there are “inherent perceived relationships” with the individuals and political entities involved.
“The perceived political relationships involved in this matter present a potential conflict of interest and would cause a reasonable person knowing all the circumstances to question the Circuit Court Judge’s impartiality or, stated another way, to speculate that political issues influenced the decision on this appeal one way or another, regardless of the truth of the matter,” the brief filed by the county stated. “Thus, no Circuit Court Judge of the Twentieth Circuit District (of which Madison is a part) should preside over this cause of action due to the perceived familiarity and close connections and relationships involved with all of the parties involved.”
Multiple homeowner associations also have appealed the decision, including Belle Terre, Cherry Hill, Ingleside, Reunion and Reserve.
In Ratcliff’s response ultimately denying the request, he cited the Mississippi Supreme Court’s stance on judicial recusal requiring evidence that produces reasonable doubt of a judge’s impartiality.
“Because no evidence has been produced and only the specter of public perception of partiality argued, the Court finds the motion should be denied,” Ratcliff wrote.
In late August, Madison Mayor Mary Hawkins-Butler filed a lawsuit in her personal and official capacity against District 3 Supervisor Gerald Steen, District 4 Supervisor Karl Banks and District 5 Supervisor Paul Griffin and the supervisors’ bonding company in an effort to have them repay the county $965,000 she alleges was illegally paid to the Bozeman Family Trust for property the county already owned.
The lawsuit also alleges the county was involved in a pay-to-play scheme that involved the transfer of land to the county in exchange for rezoning of the 350 acres in question.
Hawkins-Butler’s lawsuit pointed out that 35 acres of right-of-way the county paid for was already owned by the county, thus any payments to the Bozeman Partnership were inappropriate and illegal.