1. 2/25/2015 Starkville’s Curb Appeal: The Sidewalk Challenge ­ Starkville Free Press
http://www.starkvillefreepress.com/2014/04/starkvilles­curb­appeal­sidewalk­challenge/ 1/9
Starkville’s Curb Appeal: The Sidewalk
Challenge
Cars park on the side of the road along North
Washington Street.
By: Audra Gines
Just off “Old Highway 182,” a petite young
woman, dressed just warm enough to keep the
deep Mississippi chill from cutting through her, struggled to push her stroller
through the dense thicket of weeds on the steep slope not meant for the soles
of a mother’s feet. Each step she took was an attempt to regain ground from the
gravity that continued to pull her down. At the top of the slope, a steady stream
of cars awaited should she attempt to brave the tightrope of gravel that clung
to the side of the narrow street.
City of Starkville Sidewalk Ordinance (.pdf)
Click to enlarge

2. 2/25/2015 Starkville’s Curb Appeal: The Sidewalk Challenge ­ Starkville Free Press
http://www.starkvillefreepress.com/2014/04/starkvilles­curb­appeal­sidewalk­challenge/ 2/9
Dan Camp’s Letter to the Board (.pdf)
The SFP Interview: Ward 4 Alderman
Jason Walker discussed how his
background in landscape architecture
translates to his job as alderman. | Photo
by Zach Boozer
How Do We Pay for Sidewalks (and Other Infrastructure)? – Mark
Fenton (.pdf)
For Smaller Towns, Paying for Sidewalks Isn’t Always Easy – The
Atlantic Cities
On this morning a year and a half ago, Starkville’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Drive was packed with parents hustling to get their children to the public
school on “Old Highway 182,” which stretches the length of Starkville and on
into the Mississippi Delta. Cars looked like sardines lined in a can as their
drivers sat impatiently waiting for the light to turn green.
Drivers trudged on as the young lady wrestled to make it a few blocks to the

3. 2/25/2015 Starkville’s Curb Appeal: The Sidewalk Challenge ­ Starkville Free Press
http://www.starkvillefreepress.com/2014/04/starkvilles­curb­appeal­sidewalk­challenge/ 3/9
only convenience store within a mile of her crowded neighborhood north of
Highway 182. As she grasped the handle of her baby’s stroller, the mother
strained to protect her child from the danger that loomed just 10 steps to her
left—with no sidewalk in sight.
‘We Are Pushing Ahead …’
Starkville streets, and the lack of pedestrian- and bike-friendly pathways, leave
little room for error. With just a few inches to give in many areas of town,
pedestrians are left to fend for themselves.
Ward 4 Alderman Jason Walker, a landscape architect, told the Starkville Free
Press that increasing the number of sidewalks would not only allow for
increased safety, but more walkability throughout the city.
“Starkville, and places our size, are growing significantly, and we plan to grow
significantly, and that means you have to have a plan,” Walker said.
The problem in Starkville, and many other cities, is what exactly that plan
should be and who pays to carry it out. Starkville’s ordinance currently calls for
all new development to incorporate sidewalks in and around the area, as well
as all re-development—meaning that developers are supposed to foot the bill
for the sidewalks, unless they can prove that it would pose an “undue hardship”
on them. The definition of that “hardship”—not to mention the question of
whether sidewalk and other infrastructure costs might scare off needed
development—is at the heart of the city’s current heated sidewalks controversy.
It is not uncommon for municipalities to require developers to build or maintain
sidewalks, as a part of new projects—New York City, for instance, requires
private construction and maintenance of sidewalks. But cities around the
country employ a variety of ways to fund sidewalks, from putting the burden
completely on developers to taxing all area businesses or incorporating grant
money, establishing “improvement districts” for sharing the costs and other
alternatives.

4. 2/25/2015 Starkville’s Curb Appeal: The Sidewalk Challenge ­ Starkville Free Press
http://www.starkvillefreepress.com/2014/04/starkvilles­curb­appeal­sidewalk­challenge/ 4/9
At the Oct. 15, 2013, Board of Aldermen meeting, reported by the Columbus
Dispatch, Ward 2 Alderman Lisa Wynn moved for the board to review the
current sidewalk ordinance by the end of 2013 because, Wynn and Ward 3
Alderman David Little said it places “unfair, business-hindering burdens on
developers.” Wynn wanted community developer William Snowden to review
the ordinance and make suggestions for updates by the end of 2013.
Shortly after the board approved Snowden to review and report back on the
current ordinance, he became ill and took medical leave—with the charge to
report back to the board by February 2014.
On Nov. 5, 2013, Walker proposed a seven-member committee that he called
the “Ordinance Review Committee.” He said that a variety of appointees would
bring a less-partisan approach to the sidewalk ordinance issues. However, the
board voted it down 5-2.
A road with no sidewalks can be seen running
between two houses. Cars are parked in the grass
next to the houses. | Photo by Andrew Yerger
The following month, Snowden resigned his position as community developer,
and Starkville Mayor Parker Wiseman took over the responsibilities until the
board appointed a replacement. Taylor Adams, the chief administrator and city
clerk, has been supporting Wiseman as necessary.

5. 2/25/2015 Starkville’s Curb Appeal: The Sidewalk Challenge ­ Starkville Free Press
http://www.starkvillefreepress.com/2014/04/starkvilles­curb­appeal­sidewalk­challenge/ 5/9
“The mayor officially was given those tasks,” Adams said. “Now certainly I’ve
been assisting him in the day-to-day administration of those tasks, but officially
the mayor is the acting community development director until (the position) is
filled.”
Adams said the city advertised and recently closed the search for the position.
Board members will discuss the candidates tonight, at the April 15 Board of
Aldermen meeting.
The sidewalk ordinance remains stagnant for now, leaving the unresolved
debate wide open for speculation between the residents of Starkville, board
members and developers.
For those in favor of the current ordinance, no movement is good because it
means the ordinance would not change, including the requirement that
developers foot the bill. Wynn and developers who believe the ordinance is too
harsh clearly want a more lenient ordinance.
What Is an ‘Undue Hardship’?
The Board of Aldermen has continually debated this issue since the 2009
ordinance was established. Since then, the board has revised the ordinance,
most notably adding a variance allowing developers to bypass the requirement
to build sidewalks if they could prove it created an “undue hardship” on them.

6. 2/25/2015 Starkville’s Curb Appeal: The Sidewalk Challenge ­ Starkville Free Press
http://www.starkvillefreepress.com/2014/04/starkvilles­curb­appeal­sidewalk­challenge/ 6/9
A kid’s ball rolls on to North Washington Street.
The intersection of North Washington and Dr.
Martin Luther King Drive can be seen in the
distance. | Photo by Andrew Yerger
The current Starkville sidewalk ordinance states that sidewalks are mandatory
on all new single-family residents, subdivision developments and commercial
developments. It also requires developers to provide a site plan with provisions
for all sidewalk construction.
A developer must request a variance to bypass the current ordinance. The
application for variance must state the “specific variances sought and the
reasons for the variance(s).” Currently, “The sole criteria to be evaluated in
granting variance shall be that the cost of constructing the sidewalk constitutes
an undue hardship as defined in subsection 90-60(3).”
That section states that undue hardship is based on whether or not the cost per
linear foot to install sidewalks exceeds “more than two times the average rate
as documented by the transportation committee.”
In other words, it is an “undue burden” only if building a particular sidewalk is
considerably more expensive than the average sidewalk. The nature of the
development or the capacity of the developer to make the capital improvement
is not a consideration.

7. 2/25/2015 Starkville’s Curb Appeal: The Sidewalk Challenge ­ Starkville Free Press
http://www.starkvillefreepress.com/2014/04/starkvilles­curb­appeal­sidewalk­challenge/ 7/9
Cotton District developer Dan Camp, the former mayor of Starkville and a
longtime advocate for a more walkable city, is opposed to changing the current
sidewalk ordinance, saying that it would make it easier for developers to
abdicate their sidewalk responsibility.
“If you want to be known as the board that took us back into the dark ages of
‘anything goes,’” Camp said in an Oct. 17, 2013, letter to the Board of Aldermen,
“then continue this trend,” Camp said.
Wynn emphasizes that she does want good infrastructure; it’s just a question of
how to pay for it. “Let me say this about sidewalks: I’m a big proponent of
sidewalks, I enjoy walking in the summertime, I look forward to being able to
walk (on sidewalks) all over town,” Wynn explained. “But,” she added, “in
addition to (sidewalks), I want the developers to have some type of incentive,
and right now, we are definitely working on that.”
Two kids walk down a one-way Starkville street after school. Cars parked
on on both sides of the street block parts of the road. | Photo by Andrew
Yerger

8. 2/25/2015 Starkville’s Curb Appeal: The Sidewalk Challenge ­ Starkville Free Press
http://www.starkvillefreepress.com/2014/04/starkvilles­curb­appeal­sidewalk­challenge/ 8/9
Walker, the Ward 4 alderman, disagrees with Wynn’s suggestion that tighter
ordinances are pushing potential developers away.
“In an extremely down economy, it didn’t stop the development that’s occurred
here,” Walker said. “It didn’t stop the Camps from doing what they’re doing on
513 University, it hasn’t stopped the chain restaurants from coming here, it
didn’t stop Beef O’ Brady’s, it hasn’t precluded Bojangles, it hasn’t precluded
Chick-Fil-A or Buffalo Wild Wings.”
‘It’s Not Coming, It’s Here’
Despite the complexity of the issue, progress is evident in Starkville’s newly
paved roads and sidewalks found sporadically throughout town. The most
recent example is the “new highway 182.” The same stretch of road that, a year
and a half earlier, a young lady struggled to push her baby safely on now has a
new sheen of freshly paved asphalt, beautiful curbs and gutters, and pristine
sidewalks. Now parents are able to walk their children to and from school safely
while enjoying the beauty of their surroundings without having to worry
whether or not they or their children will be safe.
Walker believes good things are happening; they just take time, patience and
proper funding.
“We are pushing ahead as rapidly as possible; because, look, if you want to
attract people, you have to have a place that people want to be,” Walker said. “I
think we can do that; we need to do that—and find a way to make that happen.”
Former Mayor Camp, though, blames the four-year term limits that Starkville
aldermen/women face for making it extremely difficult to implement a proper
long-term plan for infrastructure.
“Every board has the right to put aside what the previous board did in
Mississippi,” Camp said, when asked why the city hasn’t been able to implement
a long-term plan for the city’s infrastructure.

9. 2/25/2015 Starkville’s Curb Appeal: The Sidewalk Challenge ­ Starkville Free Press
http://www.starkvillefreepress.com/2014/04/starkvilles­curb­appeal­sidewalk­challenge/ 9/9
Walker said he understands the complications that come when new board
members are elected, thus increasing the difficulty of putting a long-term
infrastructure plan in motion.
In the meantime, Starkville continues to have sidewalks that lead to nowhere
and dangerous sections of road that would benefit from pedestrian-friendly
improvements.
With time, Wynn said, the board will address Starkville’s sidewalk concerns. “I
could never, ever see us being without sidewalks,” she said.
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