A moratorium on recreational vehicle parks in the city will keepone under way in Ward Five from further progress until an ordinancecan be put into place to regulate the specifics on similardevelopments in the future, aldermen decided Tuesday night.

Mayor Les Bumgarner said City Attorney Joe Fernald had drawn upthe moratorium on his request in answer to a spot on IndustrialPark Road where a business owner is planning an RV park. Bumgarnersaid the project needs to be halted until the planning commissioncan look into it and an ordinance can be built to draw someguidelines for similar developments.

Ward Five Alderman D.W. Maxwell vehemently opposed themoratorium, saying the proposed park is in his ward and that he hasplanned to present the landowner with an ordinance from Biloxi. Hesaid the development can be approved and controlled just like abuilding project.

“This guy has already started this,” he said. “I’m dead setagainst this moratorium.”

Bumgarner and Fernald pointed out that most RV parks are builtnear places that offer some kind of recreational facility. Neitherthe park developer nor its specific location were identified duringTuesday’s meeting.

“If you let this guy put up an RV park, we’ve got to let justanyone put one up,” Bumgarner said. “This will just give us sixmonths to let us dictate how we want to deal with RV parks in thecity. For us to proceed and let him dictate the rules of how hewants to do this is backwards.”

Maxwell argued that there are only two kinds of zoning thatwould allow such a business, being C3 and R3, which allows mobilehomes.

Bumgarner stated again that the moratorium would only last sixmonths or until an ordinance is written. Therefore, it wouldn’thalt the project altogether, just until guidelines can be put inplace.

“Well I think you’re dead wrong about doing this,” Maxwellsaid.

Bumgarner did not flinch.

“I think I’m dead right,” he said.

Bumgarner and Fernald also pointed out that the city’scomprehensive plan says nothing about RV parks, and that people canpull in and stay three days or three years if the ordinance is notmade.

“You can go against this, but get ready to go to court,” Maxwellsaid.

Fernald said it’s a safety issue as well as a constructionissue. It has to be regulated for the public’s sake as well, heexplained.

“We get complaints about people parking RVs under sheds whenthey own them,” he said, adding that an RV park would certainlydraw feedback from the public.

Maxwell argued again that he had a copy of Biloxi’s ordinance totake to the landowner and that he was certain those guidelineswould be followed.

“We’re not using Biloxi’s ordinance. We want our own,” Bumgarnersaid.

Other aldermen agreed with the moratorium, stating that they’dlike to take a closer look at the issue of RV parks before theyallow one to just go up without regulation.

“We’ve done a lot of things just like this, but we have alwayshad to do a study or a committee to find out just where we are,”Ward One Alderman Dorsey Cameron said. “I’d hate to know that wejust agreed to this to find out later we made a big mistake.”

Ward Six Alderman David Phillips said he believed the zoningmight not allow an RV park in the area chosen anyway, since therearen’t supposed to be people living in areas zoned C3.

“I think that’s against our present code,” he said.

And Cameron also pointed out the differences between Brookhavenand Biloxi.

“Biloxi is a tourist town and lives off tourist dollars, so theywant to get all the RVs they can get,” he said. “Brookhaven is moreindustrial.”

Maxwell argued that the city’s propensity to overanalyze andregulate new developments is the reason “we don’t see any greatcommercial developments.”

“I think we’re doing him an injustice by holding him up if hewants to move forward with it,” he said. “I know if it were me andI wanted to move forward and after I contacted the city and saidI’d do whatever I needed to do … then they pass a moratoriumsaying you can’t do anything, I know what I’d do, no question aboutit. That’s the reason we have business people that don’t want tocome to Brookhaven.”

Ward Two Alderman Terry Bates argued that the moratorium and theordinance were necessary because at this point there are no answersto any questions the landowner might have.

“It’s not that we don’t want the business, we need it, but weneed an ordinance about it so we know what’s going on,” he said.”If he got a set of plans together and brought them to you, youcouldn’t really tell him anything.”

The moratorium passed 5-1, with Maxwell against it and WardThree Alderwoman Mary Wilson absent.