Adding a balcony is a go for developers of a planned Washington Street lounge, with a decision on whether to allow an exterior staircase leading to the balcony expected after a hearing Wednesday.

In anticipation of a tense hearing Monday, Mayor Paul Winfield told the 50 people in the city’s board room police would escort out anyone who “gets into any kind of ruckus.”

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A second appeals hearing regarding the proposed lounge above Burger Village, 1220 Washington St., will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday in City Hall Annex, 1415 Walnut St. Charles Ross, prospective manager of the lounge, will be appealing an Oct. 13 ruling by the Vicksburg Board of Architectural Review, which denied Ross’ application for an exterior staircase to a second story balcony.

No one was tossed, but Winfield did reiterate his pledge several times during the 90-minute hearing. After 10 speakers and exchanges, the city’s three board members voted 2-1 to uphold the Oct. 13 decision by the Vicksburg Board of Architectural Review to allow a second story balcony at Burger Village, 1220 Washington, where owners are planning to open a lounge with a full service bar.

Lisa Ashcraft, who lives across the street from Burger Village and is renovating residential and retail spaces there, had secured the hearing to object to the architectural board’s 5-3 vote to allow the story balcony. She has 10 days to appeal Monday’s vote to Warren County Circuit Court, but declined to say whether she would.

Wednesday’s planned hearing on whether to allow an ouside staircase to the balcony and second floor is at the request of developer Charles Ross, appealing the architectural board’s denial of the staircase aspect of remodeling.

The core issue raised in comments was how the new city administration, which took office in July, will manage the evolving and delicate mix of nightlife and residency downtown. The applicants initially sought, then withdrew, an application for nightclub status, which is not allowed in any downtown building under zoning ordinances.

Attorney Bobby Bailess, representing Ashcraft, pointed out that the architectural review board did not follow guidelines saying a new balcony cannot be approved for any building that did not have one at some point in its history.

“The law is clear that the burden of proof was on the applicant to prove that,” Bailess said. “There was no proof offered. In fact, to the contrary, proof was offered that there was no balcony on this building.”

Architectural board chairman Toni Lanford-Ferguson — one of the three who voted against the balcony on Oct. 13 — said Monday the board was wrong in ignoring its own guidelines. “That is where you screw up, when you go against the rules,” she said acknowledging the board has voted against its guidelines before in approving applications for balconies downtown — “which I am not in favor of,” she added.

“That’s the point I want to make today,” Winfield interjected. “It’s being thrown around like that has never been done before.”

Winfield endured a barrage of accusations from the public throughout the hearing about his relationship with Ross, to which the mayor stated he is not a personal friend of Ross’ and said he had no financial interest in Burger Village or the proposed business expansion.

Bailess began the hearing by asking Winfield to recuse himself from it as a result of the mayor’s having spoken in favor of the proposed lounge at the Oct. 13 meeting. “There are no ethical issues that I believe would invalidate me from making our decision,” Winfield said in denying Bailess’ request.

South Ward Alderman Sid Beauman, who also stated he thought the mayor should not sit in on the hearing, cast the dissenting vote, saying the architectural rules, written to preserve the downtown area’s visual identity, have no meaning if they can be cast aside. “I think that the whole thing has gotten to be an issue of, to some degree, nonsense,” he said.

In explaining his vote, North Ward Alderman Michael Mayfield held up a list of seven downtown residents or business owners whom he said have been approved for a balcony over the past five years.

“Not one of you in this room, to my knowledge, came in here to fight any of those balconies,” said Mayfield, who also chided those who accused the mayor of having a personal stake in Burger Village.

As it has in several public hearings concerning the upstairs expansion of Burger Village, the issue of race rose. “This is not about the balcony. This is about black businesses downtown,” said Mark Doyle, nephew of Burger Village owner Bobby Doyle. Doyle said Burger Village is only trying to increase its profits in an extremely tough economic climate, just as all of the other businesses on Washington Street are trying to do.

“We’re not coming into the area to cause any undue stress on anybody,” Ross said. “We just want to do something positive for the city of Vicksburg. Instead of us having to go to Jackson or to Memphis, why can’t we go out right here in our own town?”

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Contact Steve Sanoski at ssanoski@vicksburgpost.com