The Lafayette County Board of Supervisors decided on Monday, Oct. 20 to table the vote to rezone 40.1 acres on Mississippi Highway 328 from A-1 Rural to I-2 Heavy Industrial for a proposed asphalt plant until their next meeting on Nov. 3.
Local developer JW McCurdy, owner of MR Construction, submitted an application to the Lafayette County Planning Department in August to rezone the property to construct the plant, Magnolia Materials. On Sept. 22, the Lafayette County Planning Commission voted 3-1 to recommend that the land be rezoned, moving the vote to the board of supervisors.
The Oct. 20 meeting at the county chancery building drew a standing-room-only crowd, with many individuals denied entry before the proceedings due to maximum capacity being reached. McCurdy, Falkner Farms and residents of Taylor, Miss., shared testimonies in addition to over two hours of public comment that were largely in opposition to rezoning. The meeting lasted four-and-a-half hours.
The rezoning will go straight to a vote by the board of supervisors at the Nov. 3 meeting with no public hearing or presentations from affected parties.
Falkner Farms, a regenerative cattle and poultry farm, lies across Highway 328 from the proposed plant location. Members of the Falkner family each spoke before the board, emphasizing how the survival of their business and farming practices would be at stake if heavy industrial operations began in close proximity.
Ley Falkner, owner of Falkner Farms, shared his testimony against the rezoning and the comments of numerous agricultural experts who weighed in on the issue, including Ken Macklin, professor and head of the Mississippi State University Department of Poultry Science, and Andy Gipson, Mississippi commissioner of agriculture and commerce, among others.
“As a supervisor today, y’all have to make a decision — a hard decision — of whether to vote yes for an asphalt plant or vote (against the rezoning). Each one of you, when you vote, you’re determining the fate of our regenerative farming operation and our livelihood,” Ley Falkner said.
In his presentation, Ley Falkner stated that in a private meeting McCurdy threatened to rezone 40.1 acres to I-2 Heavy Industrial if Falkner fought the rezoning, an expansion from the smaller acreage that the proposed plant will actually occupy.
Ley Falkner also said that Falkner Farms has already seen a significant drop in egg production that he attributed to disruptive noise from trucks hauling materials to McCurdy’s property across Highway 328 over the past three weeks.
McCurdy did not directly address Falkner’s claims at the board meeting.
In an email exchange with The Daily Mississippian on Tuesday, Oct. 21, McCurdy said he believes the proposed asphalt plant would not affect nearby farms.
“It’s just (flat out) not true that this asphalt plant, or any asphalt plant, will mean nearby agriculture will have to go out of business, as is now being claimed,” McCurdy said via email. “That is a manipulative ultimatum. … Modern asphalt production is incredibly clean, and it exists in the dead center of major ag lands all across the country. So, it’s not just our opinion that this plant won’t affect the Falkners. … With all due respect, just because you yell something enough doesn’t make it true.”
Numerous attendees who spoke at the public hearing on Monday said that the current supervisors would not receive their votes in the 2026 election if they vote in favor of the rezoning.
“I am very appreciative to our supervisors for their work sitting there for five hours, and I was really disappointed at some of the things people were willing to say about them,” McCurdy said via email. “It’s one thing to attack me personally, but some of the attacks on the supervisors were just plain wrong.”
Immediately after Monday’s meeting, District 3 Supervisor Tim Gordon said via phone call that the board needed more time to review information to make a final decision on the rezoning.
“There were some new things that were brought to us, evidence and things that were brought from both sides, that were presented to the board, and we did not have the time to look over it,” Gordon said. “I don’t feel that I can make a fair judgment (if) I don’t look at all of the information and all of the facts that are being brought to us.”
The board president, Brent Larson, said at the meeting that the board was “starting fresh” on reviewing the proposed rezoning.
“We take all the information that was provided by both sides into consideration … without necessarily taking the planning commission’s recommendation into consideration. You know, we go back and we review everything on our own,” District 5 Supervisor Greg Bynum said.
The Daily Mississippian did not receive comments from supervisors Larson or Scott Allen by the time of publication.
Reed Falkner, owner of Falkner Farms, was overwhelmed by the support of community members who attended the meeting to advocate against the rezoning.
“The positive is that we’re still in the fight,” Reed Falkner said. “We just thought (the meeting) would be more of a finality. I think everyone is at that point, and we’re hoping for that sooner or later.”
Jordan Daniels is a local farmer who attended the meeting and spoke about her concern for the precedent the rezoning would set for further industrialization of agricultural land in Lafayette County.
“The (planning commission) seems easily persuaded that every small variance and utility extension is evidence of a fundamental change in character to a neighborhood. So, there’s no telling what kind of floodgates this extremely large zoning change might open,” Daniels said via phone.
Daniels is thankful that the board has chosen to take more time to weigh the evidence of all parties in this case. She was also happy to see the large community turnout.
“I think legal experts and community members made compelling arguments for why this should be rejected outright — so, like others, I’m pretty shocked (the rezoning) has even made it this far,” Daniels said.
Rickey Harwell lives approximately 400 feet from the site of the proposed asphalt plant. He attended the meeting in support of the rezoning and said McCurdy visited him two months ago to ask for an endorsement for the project.
“He just told (my family) what he was planning to do, and I said, ‘It’s your property. As long as you’re not breaking any laws or rules, then I’m for it,’” Harwell said.
At the meeting, the board of supervisors also voted in favor of rezoning property that McCurdy owns on County Road 321 from A-1 Rural to R-3 High Density Residential. Additionally, the board voted to approve a request by storage, consignment and moving company Cedar Bucket for a conditional use permit allowing I-1 Light Industrial use in an A-1 Rural district on Mississippi Highway 6.
