Supreme Court cancels oral arguments in Gluckstadt annexation case

The Mississippi Supreme Court cancelled oral arguments for the Gluckstadt incorporation effort at the eleventh hour on Tuesday. 

Oral arguments were set for Wednesday afternoon but the court late Tuesday announced the hearing was cancelled until further notice. 

The court gave no reason for the cancellation. 

The Gluckstadt incorporation, which had been approved by Madison County Chancery Judge James Walker in April 2019, has sat in limbo after a local businessman appealed the decision while trying to add a new road on some property in an effort to increase its value. 

Ron Hutchinson, once a proponent of the Gluckstadt incorporation effort, appealed Walker’s ruling in an attempt to get zoning restrictions removed on 3.71 acres of land east of Church Road and south of Calhoun Station Parkway. 

Hutchinson originally negotiated with area residents in 2015 to place certain restrictions on the property during a successful rezoning effort.

Fast forward four years and Hutchinson wanted those restrictions removed to increase the value and marketability of his commercial property. 

After Hutchinson appealed the decision, the city of Canton joined in the appeal as well, sparking a nearly two-year wait in the Mississippi Supreme Court. 

Canton is using the same argument Hutchinson raised in its appeal — that the Gluckstadt incorporators did not have enough valid signatures to incorporate in the first place. 

That same argument was initially raised by Mac Haik Auto Group in Chancery Court, but Judge Walker ruled Gluckstadt had met the requirements and Haik later withdrew all opposition. 

Canton is trying to annex property that Walker had included in Gluckstadt’s city limits after only receiving approval to annex two of five proposed areas.