Supervisors Approve Home Barber Shop on County Road

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

The Lafayette County Board of Supervisors approved a request Monday from a local barber to open an appointment-only home-based hair salon.

While Thomas Campbell lives in a residentially-zoned area on County 4015, certain home commercial uses can be allowed if the Supervisors grant a conditional use permit.

Campbell will be adding 800 square feet to an accessory structure that will contain two barber chairs for him and his wife to run the barbershop.

According to county codes, home businesses are allowed to take up 25 percent of flooring space inside homes – daycares, piano lessons, hair salons, etc. However, since Campbell is building onto an accessory structure, he needed the conditional use permit. Had Campbell decided to run the business from the home, it would only have to be administratively approved and would not go before the Supervisors.

Building Official Joel Hollowell said the state requires a separate bathroom for customers, which is why Campbell is building the accessory structure and not running his hair salon from inside the home. The accessory structure has its own wastewater disposal system that has been approved by the Mississippi Department of Health.

The majority of the board voted 4 to 1 to approve the permit.

Supervisor David Rikard was the dissenting vote. He said he didn’t think a commercial business should be in a residential area despite the county’s zoning codes allowing certain home businesses, especially when a neighbor objects to the project.

Ken Parkinson, who also lives on CR 4015, said he was concerned about the additional traffic on the narrow, 14-foot-wide road and whether the fire department could reach the structure. Parkinson did ask that if the request is granted that the Supervisors limit business hours to 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays and closed Sundays.

Campbell said he would like the business hours to be 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Fridays, 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays and closed Sunday and Monday.

Supervisor Chad McLarty made the motion to approve the application and Supervisor Kevin Frye seconded but added that the hours of operation would begin no earlier than 8 a.m. The approval is contingent upon a full inspection and approval by Lafayette County Fire Coordinator Wes Anderson.

Other conditions for the approval include limiting the business to be by appointment only and that only Campbell and his wife can work in the salon. Campbell is also required to make any necessary upgrades to his stormwater run-off and wastewater systems as needed.