Lafayette County Supervisors Approve Overlay Design for Future 850-Acre Development

By Alyssa Schnugg
News Editor
alyssa.schnugg@hottytoddy.com

The Planned Unit Development for an 855-acre development off Old Taylor Road was approved by the Lafayette County Board of Supervisors Monday.
Map provided by Lafayette County

The Lafayette County Board of Supervisors approved the overlay design Monday for a new development that will sit on 855 acres of land and contain about 1,900 residences over the next 15 to 20 years.

The only request considered by the Supervisors was to approve the PUD, which is an overlay design that shows where the development is proposed and the different uses of the property that range from commercial, to residential to recreational.

The Lafayette County Planning Commission, which also approved the PUD last month, and the Board of Supervisors will still have to approve each phase and the site plans attached to those phases, which will require traffic studies for each phase.

The proposed development, dubbed “Julep” is located west of Old Taylor Road, stretching out about 855 acres to South Lamar Boulevard. The development is proposed to built in several phases over about 15 years. Residential options will include flats above commercial businesses of offices, single-family homes, townhouses and large estate homes. There are eight planned “neighborhoods” inside the large development, with each one having a center that will include smaller commercial uses, like a coffee shop or pizza place, according to planners with Common Ground Urban Design + Planning.

A handful of residents attended Monday’s meeting and were given a brief chance to speak even though the meeting was not a public hearing.

Campbell McCool, developer of Plein Air in Taylor, said he was “all for the project,” however, he said the additional traffic on Old Taylor Road would negatively affect everyone who drives or lives on the road.

Supervisors Kevin Frye and Chad Mclarty said the recently approved Transportation Plan between Oxford, Lafayette County and the University of Mississippi calls for Old Taylor Road to be three-laned within the next five years, regardless whether the proposed project moves forward.

Frye said the investment and development would also be good for the Lafayette County School District as more taxes would be collected as the property is developed.

Another resident said she liked the idea of the project, but not the placement that she said will wreak havoc on the already at-capacity Old Taylor Road.

Julep developers have committed to building a $4 million connector road from Old Taylor Road to South Lamar Boulevard to help alleviate some of the traffic as well as other connector roads within the development.