Rankin County board declares multiple dwellings unfit, delays one while buyer proceeds with demolition

Rankin County supervisors used a state-law habitability process to address multiple dilapidated properties in Plantation Shores and adjacent areas during the June 12 session.

Staff opened hearings on several addresses and presented photos and investigation findings. At 128 Holly Hedge Drive (the Betty Squires Estate), no representative attended and staff recommended condemning the dwelling; the board voted to declare it unfit for human habitation and authorized posting visual barriers and signage to bar entry. The board discussed that the finding under Mississippi Code Annotated §43-35-103 makes it unlawful for any person to inhabit the property after the finding and that subsequent removal or cost recovery steps will be determined later.

At 127 Cherokee Drive a recently recorded buyer, Lane Jones, told the board he is demolishing outbuildings and intends to clear the lot; Jones said demolition work should take about a month. Because a responsible party is actively addressing the property, the board closed that hearing without condemnation.

For 108 Holly Hedge Drive (Thomas and Judy Boen), staff said conditions posed life-safety concerns, no owner was present, and the board voted to find the dwelling unfit for habitation. The board also considered the property associated with Luis Rodriguez (address corrected on the agenda) and, after noting no representative was present, closed the hearing and carried the motion to bar occupation.

Board members noted that a property clean-up that returns a parcel to marketable condition can allow the county to pursue liens or other recovery options at a later date; they instructed staff to follow the statutory notice and enforcement steps before moving to remediation or cost recovery.