After agreeing last month to call a public hearing to gather comment on whether changes should be made to the rules that govern neighborhood development outside city limits, Warren County supervisors have put the issue on hold.

Once imminent after a dust-up between the county engineering firm and developers of The Trace subdivision on Fisher Ferry Road, the swift no-decision even united common adversaries on the board.

&#8220We’re not going to go down that road,” District 4 Supervisor and this year’s board president Carl Flanders said, adding that provisions found in a county development code dating to 1977 dealing with stop-work orders and who should issue them was sufficient enough.

The decades-old code laid out in general terms who should inspect buildings for issuing permits and compliance with the National Flood Insurance Program but does not specifically address regulating subdivision development. It mentions positions such as a &#8220building official” and other inspectors underneath it.

An officer of the permitting department was hired only four months ago to work outside that office to help enforce the current subdivision ordinance, which was adopted in 2004 to do that, amid opposition from developers who were accustomed to the absence of zoning laws and building codes outside Vicksburg city limits.

&#8220(Amending the ordinance) wasn’t a widespread idea to start out with,” District 5 Supervisor Richard George said. &#8220What we had (with The Trace) was a basic compliance problem. It’s been dealt with.”

In the current ordinance’s 30 pages of regulations, developers are directed to build new roads and install drainage that will meet minimal standards. The goal was to cure problems with developers cutting financial corners in building infrastructure and not considering such factors as runoff.

Builders are then asked to hand in preliminary plats showing a broad definition of the area being developed, including names, widths and distances between roads. The County Engineer presents it for approval to the Board of Supervisors. After that, a construction plan must be done, showing drainage and elevation.

The compliance problem arose from land leveling that took place during the summer at The Trace before drawings for the neighborhood’s second phase were filed timely with ABMB Engineers Inc., the beginning of the process to have roads in subdivisions maintained by Warren County.

In the weeks that followed, both Flanders and George echoed board sentiments that a hearing be held to improve communication with developers, with Flanders at the time calling it &#8220a living, evolving document.”

Since then, a set of construction plans for the second phase has been submitted and awaits Board approval. A preliminary plat on a third phase has also been handed in. According to its developer David Brewer, homes in the new phase will be between 2,200 and 3,200 square feet and priced between $230,000 and $330,000.

Despite the board putting off changes to the ordinance, those involved in overseeing the construction of neighborhoods in unincorporated Warren County still have criticisms of and suggestions for modifying the rules.

Brewer, for his part, has indicated the ordinance’s overall emphasis on getting roads up to specs for county maintenance, however worthy, is too heavy.

It ignores, he said, the topographical challenges presented in developing land in areas of hilly terrain like Warren County.

The kind of geotechnical engineering work Brewer paid for to help monitor the &#8220dirt work” that he said calculates changes of elevation as they happen should be mandated for all developments.

&#8220It is almost impossible to furnish an accurate set of construction plans until you perform your preliminary shaping and grading,” Brewer said.

Ultimately, he said, the county would save money by allowing developers to have grading done first and multiple submissions of plans can be eliminated.

Agreeing with that view is developer William Butler, a co-developer of the Tucker Crossing subdivision off Tucker Road.

&#8220The way Warren County is laid out, you’ve got to do dirt work,” Butler said, adding he also used geotechnical help since originally planning the neighborhood in 2003.

The scarcity of the technical skill would make it difficult to implement it for all developers, he said.

Tucker Crossing had the preliminary plat for its second phase approved Nov. 6 by the Board of Supervisors. Situated around two multi-acre lakes, its homes are priced lower than The Trace’s, ranging from $40,000 to $100,000, co-developer Thad Allen said.

As for the county perspective on the issue, County Engineer John McKee indicated the differences are philosophical and reflect more than one way to comply with the ordinance.

&#8220If I were to develop something, I’d rely on the surveys I already had,” McKee said, adding he still &#8220has differences” with Brewer on the cost-effectiveness to the county on making geotechnical consulting mandatory.