By Billy Davis

Panola County’s land commission voted Monday to ease a requirement for paved driveways for some home-based businesses.

The land commission, meeting in Sardis, voted unanimously to exempt driveways that are over 100 feet in length.

A public hearing will follow and the recommendation will go to county supervisors for approval.

The requirement to pave driveways and parking lots has been a hot topic for the land commission for some time.

The 10-member commission oversees land-use rules, or zoning requirements, for unincorporated Panola County. Among those rules is a requirement for commercial operations to use limestone rock or a hard surface, neither of them cheap, for the driveway and parking area.

The paving requirement was eased in 2006 to allow limestone rock and this past January, when a single-chair hair salon sought a permit to operate, discussion began again over amending the requirement.

At the July meeting, land commission consultant Bob Barber shared a list of options to consider and commissioners returned this week to make a decision.

Some commissioners said Monday night they preferred the opportunity to make a “case-by-case” decision, but commissioner Sledge Taylor cautioned his colleagues to stay away from decisions that change according to the applicant.

“I don’t like that because it’s too subjective,” Taylor said. Instead, he suggested a new rule that exempts driveways that are more than 100 feet in length.

Bob Haltom seconded the motion.

Danny Jones suggested including the 100-foot rule for other businesses, too, but further discussion kept the exemption for home-based businesses.