Pinehaven mansion could become wedding venue

By Randy Bell

People passing by see the big white house on the hill. Some call it a mansion. And if a Madison woman and her daughter are able to get City approval, the property at 1480 Pinehaven Drive could become a venue for weddings and other special events.

Leah and Jessica Patch spoke to the Board of Aldermen at an April 17 work session to outline their proposal for the 5,687 square foot home, which sits on seventeen acres. It was built in 1986 and is listed for $1.45 million. The two women have a contract on the property contingent upon the City approving their plans to use it as “an elegant and refined event venue.”
“It’s a beautiful home,” said Leah Patch. “It’s modeled after the D’Evereux in Natchez,” a mansion that’s listed on the National Register of Historic Places. And she believes it’s something the city needs.

“We just feel like Clinton could really use something like that to be a little competitive with the other surrounding cities that all have venues.”

Patch said the property wouldn’t need a lot of renovations to be suitable for hosting events.

“What we would do downstairs is remove one wall to have a big area [for guests], and we would like to build a pavilion around the pool.” She said, with the seventeen acres, there’s plenty of room for on-site parking.

Jessica Patch said neighbors wouldn’t have to worry about loud music late into the night.

“Ten o’clock is the end of the bands, and then everyone out by 11:30. We don’t want to throw all-night events either. We want to be very strict, so that we don’t bother the neighbors.” And she said they would plant more trees and bushes to help screen the view and soften the noise.

Weddings and other private events wouldn’t be the only activities the venue would host. There would also be public events – including annual family-oriented Christmas and Easter festivities.

Some Board members raised concerns about the project, while others said it might be a fitting use for the estate.

Ward 3 Alderman Robert Chapman represents the area where the property is located.

“This could be a great chance for a need to be filled in Clinton,” Chapman said. “I certainly think there are additional steps needed to ensure this could fit with the surrounding neighbors, so due diligence on the potential buyer’s end is needed, but it’s encouraging to see a desire to invest in our city.”

But getting the City’s approval for a commercial venture in a residential area won’t be easy.

Clinton’s Director of Community Development Roy Edwards said the property would have to be rezoned, or the City’s zoning ordinance would have to be changed to allow an event center in a residentially-zoned area as a conditional use.

Changing the zoning to commercial could be a problem.

“In my opinion, it would be spot zoning,” said Edwards. He said the City’s zoning ordinance includes the following definition of spot zoning:

“The improper zoning or re-zoning of a lot or parcel of land to benefit an owner for a use incompatible with surrounding uses. While such spot zoning may not be illegal per se, it is generally regarded as an improper practice.”

Leah Patch favors the other alternative—granting a conditional use.

“We would actually prefer not to rezone it.” She said if the property were sold again in the future, “the person who bought it could turn it back to residential” if the zoning isn’t changed.

The Board suggested that Patch and her daughter make an effort to find out what neighbors think about the project. They were planning to go door to door to talk to some of the people living nearby. Patch said offering neighbors a tour of the home might be the best way to explain what she wants to do. And she said she’s gotten permission from the homeowner to do that – to “walk around and talk and just see what they say.”