Board schedules May 4 hearing on Pamela Hervey private-family cemetery application in Florence

The Rankin County Board of Supervisors voted April 15 to set a May 4 public hearing on a revised application by Pamela Hervey to establish a private family cemetery at 475 McLain Circle in Florence.

Multiple speakers urged the board to deny the requested location, saying the parcel is adjacent to long‑established residences and that a new cemetery would change how neighbors use and experience their property. A community representative told the board the area is a tight-knit community with children and elderly residents who regularly use neighborhood roads and paths. "Putting a cemetery here would totally disrupt what we've known for over 100 years," one speaker said.

Speakers also questioned the need for the originally requested up to 300 plots and said reasonable alternatives exist, including space near the applicant’s residence on Dotsville and burial at a nearby church. The board acknowledged the comments and formally set a hearing for May 4, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. to allow the applicant and opponents to present evidence and exhibits.

The motion that set the hearing specified a reduced maximum in the revised application — the county record shows the revised filing requests up to 48 total burial plots on roughly 1/2 acre within a defined area. Board members said the hearing will allow a fuller administrative record before any final decision.