A 50-minute, standing-room-only public hearing Tuesday night resulted in the Vicksburg Board of Zoning Appeals upholding Zoning Administrator Dalton McCarty’s denial of a permit for a proposed nightclub above a Washington Street eatery.

Noel Ross said he will appeal the unanimous rejection to the Board of Mayor and Aldermen.

More than 40 people attended the meeting. When chairman Tim Fagerburg asked for a show of hands from those who were opposed to the nightclub, about 35 people not only raised their hands but stood in objection. Seven hands went up when Fagerburg asked who supported the applicant.

Ross wants to open a nightclub above Burger Village at 1220 Washington St., but ran headlong into the 2007 city ordinance that forbids nightclubs — defined as any business deriving more than 40 percent of its income from alcohol sales, set up sales or cover charges — from the downtown area. Businesses already in operation were not affected by the new limit.

Charles Ross, who represented his brother, said he meet the 10-day deadline to file an appeal. After elected officials rule, either side may take the matter to circuit court.

“My brother just wants to open a lounge; no under age — the lowest age is going to be 29; they’re not playing rap; they’re not playing hard core music,” said Ross. “It’s for people to settle and unwind.”

Bobby Doyle, owner of Burger Village, said he did not understand why so many had come to oppose his plans to renovate the second floor of his business and lease it to Ross.

“It just bothers me,” he said. “I mean, the 26 years I’ve been operating downtown I haven’t had any problems with anybody. If I want to lease my building upstairs and I got problems from all these people here, it just seems like I’m on trial; it seems unfair.”

Ross pointed out other bars in the area are operated by whites. “I understand less than 100 feet away (from Burger Village) there’s another bar, but the problem is their owners are Caucasian. That’s all it boils down to,” he said.

Zoning board member Tommie Rawlings — the lone black member sitting in on the meeting — responded. “Mr. Ross, let me make something clear: you’re looking at a black man here that’s raging black. I’m not anti-white; I’m not anti-Hispanic; but I am raging black. I won’t tolerate racism up here, period,” he said.

Three people spoke against the nightclub. All expressed having the respect for Mr. Doyle, but added they simply do not want nightclubs opening on Washington Street.

Lisa Ashcraft, who is renovating a building across the street from Burger Village at the corner of Washington and Clay streets, was tearful in asking that the 100 downtown residents be considered. “It’s not so much that we don’t want the nightlife, but we have a certain amount of friction when you put nightlife next to someone who needs to get some sleep and then we have problems,” she said.

Frances Koury, whose late husband was informally known as the “Mayor of Washington Street,” spoke in opposition of the nightclub, but drew a large round of applause when she pleaded that race be kept out of it. “We’re in this together, and if we don’t come together in peace, come together with a purpose, then we’ll defeat everything we’ve done over the past 20 or 30 years,” she said. “All I’m saying is: let’s come together in this community with the trust that the decisions being made will be made regardless of race, color, creed or religion.”

Residents and merchants downtown have been speaking out against late-night and early-morning loitering in the renovated area. Police Chief Walter Armstrong said last week he would like to see a downtown precinct established by the holiday season or the first quarter of 2009 due to loitering problems and increased interest from people wanting to open late night businesses.

Nightclubs are allowed by special exception in areas zoned C-2, C-4, L-1 and L-2, said McCarty. The C-2 zone refers to a highway commercial area, which includes the area around Mississippi 27. Properties zoned as C-4 are east of Washington Street, near Clay Street. The zone listed as L-1, or light industrial, is near Halls Ferry Road.

Over the past year, the zoning board has denied four requests from those wishing to obtain a special exception to operate a nightclub in non-conforming zoned areas.

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Contact Steve Sanoski at ssanoski@vicksburgpost.com