A public hearing during the Starkville Board of Aldermen meeting Tuesday will determine the fate of a proposed ordinance that could reshape Starkville residents’ yards and porches.
City planner Ben Griffith said the purpose of the ordinance is meant to help clean up the appearance of the city.
“The beautification committee wanted to present a more aesthetically pleasing [side] to the city,” he said. “The intent of the ordinance is to prevent the use of indoor furniture being used outside.”
Griffith said the ordinance is not against residents socializing outside.
“We are not trying to pick on college students,” he said. “In some cases, it is not always college students but younger people who live in the area.”
Griffith said the ordinance is strictly about aesthetics.
“If it was some outdoor use furniture, no one would make a complaint,” he said.
He said the area that draws the most complaints is the Cotton District.
“It is certainly not targeted towards people socializing, but it’s just about all of the tacky furniture being outside left in the weather,” Griffith said.
He said if the proposal goes into effect, there will be 90 days allotted for people to comply with the ordinance.
“The time would give tenants and landlords the summer to have everything cleaned up,” Griffith said.
Ward 4 Alderman Richard Corey said he was unaware that porch furniture was a problem.
“No one was present at the meeting that was either for or against it; however, since the meeting, individuals have come forward about their dislike of the ordinance,” he said.
Corey said he is not in support of the ordinance as it is currently written.
“I do not see a need for this,” he said. “I think there are more effective ways of beautifying the city. I am certainly willing to express my concerns of it and vote against it if necessary.”
Starkville Mayor Dan Camp said he thinks the ordinance is an effective way to clean up Starkville.
“Inside furniture was not built to be outside, and it does not look good for upholstered furniture to be left outside,” he said. “It is an attempt to keep the city of Starkville well-looking.”
Camp said people who reside in the community should treat this area with the same respect as they do their own home.
“This is a policy that we will enforce,” he said. “This is not a policy to punish anyone but to bring it [this matter] to attention.”
Ry Lewis, junior electrical engineering major, said he was outraged at the idea of the city government setting a furniture policy.
“There’s so many other things that they could be spending their time on,” he said.
Lewis, who lives in a house with a porch on University Drive, said the furniture on his porch has been there for at least three years. His porch contains one futon, one couch, two love seats and an end table.
“I decided to live at this house because of the porch,” he said. “These couches have been on this porch long before I was here.”
Lewis said he, his roommates and friends use the porch night after night regardless of the weather.
“This is how we wind down. This is our meeting place,” he said. “This porch is a place where cigars have been smoked, stories have been told and people have fallen in love.”
Lewis said porch furniture has been a part of the Cotton District’s tradition.
“If we’re trying to keep the Cotton District historic, this is historic,” he said.
Phillip Thompson, sophomore landscape architecture major, said the porch helps the guys relax and give them a restful setting.
“Except for the occasional D-bag that drives by, it’s a really peaceful and quiet environment,” he said.
Thompson, who has lived in Starkville for 15 years, said he has seen couches and other furniture adorning porches across town for years.
“It kind of defines the college town,” he said.
Lewis said he questioned how the city would enforce the ordinance.
“What are they going to do, haul away our couches?” he asked.
Lewis said he wondered if the proposed ordinance was because people might view the furniture as an eyesore.
“What are we going to do, get plastic furniture that looks like crap?” he said. “If it bothers you, talk to your neighbors about [it]; don’t try to go get an ordinance passed that affects the whole city.”
Lewis said he is all for the beautification of the city, but he does not view porch furniture as tacky.
“This is a college guy’s apartment,” he said. “We’re not going to have petunias out front, but it does look fairly nice.”
Lewis said some ordinances are definitely for the betterment of Starkville citizens, but he thinks this is taking personal opinion too far.
“I’m not a very confrontational person, I’m a very laid-back person, which is why I enjoy this porch,” he said. “Any person who tries to take away my porch will find me a less laid-back person because of it.”
Ward 2 Alderman Rodney Lincoln said he does not see why anyone would have a problem with the ordinance.
“There is indoor furniture for indoor use and outdoor furniture for outside,” he said.
Junior history major Ashley Shaunak said she understands what the city is attempting to accomplish as far as increasing Starkville’s curb appeal; however, she thinks the measure seems to encroach on residents’ rights concerning their own backyards and porches.
“I think that the wording is very vague and leaves room for exceptions that would negate the purpose of the ordinance,” she said.
Both Lewis and Thompson said they want to attend Tuesday’s board of aldermen meeting, and Lewis said he plans to speak out on the issue.
The Starkville city board of
aldermen meet Tuesday at 5:30
p.m. in City Hall located on
Lampkin Drive and meetings
are open to the public. View
a PDF of the ordinance.
Managing Editor Aubra Whitten contributed to this article.