Quitman County updates zoning code to guide future growth
Quitman County scrapped a 1973 zoning code for rules that allow mixed-use buildings, more housing types and a faster path for growth in Marks and beyond.
Quitman County has replaced a 1973 zoning ordinance that no longer fit the kind of development local leaders wanted, opening the door to mixed-use projects, more housing choices and a simpler path through county approvals. The rewrite, adopted by the Quitman County Board of Supervisors on June 3, 2019, was prepared with the Carl Small Town Center at Mississippi State University.
The old code reflected a different county and a different era. In a place with just 6,176 residents in the 2020 Census and an estimated population of 5,364 on July 1, 2025, land-use rules can shape whether investment stays concentrated in town centers or gets scattered through the county one permit at a time. Quitman County reported just 3 building permits in 2024, a sign of how small the development market remains across the Delta landscape.
The new ordinance is designed to make growth more deliberate. It expands opportunities for mixed-use development, allows a broader range of housing types, sets commercial design guidelines, updates building codes and streamlines the administrative process. The county’s own zoning materials describe the new code as more user-friendly, with easy-to-read tables, charts and illustrations that are meant to make the rules easier to follow for property owners, builders and county staff.
One of the clearest examples is the C-2 Downtown Commercial district. Under the rewritten code, that area is defined as a higher-density mixed-use district that can include retail, offices and upper-floor housing, a setup meant to support a walkable downtown rather than separate every use into a different part of town. That opens the door to projects like a storefront with apartments above it in Marks, while also giving the county tools to guide what kind of building fronts, parking and uses fit the district.
The rewrite also gives Quitman County a way to prevent the kind of patchwork development the old ordinance could not handle well. Commercial design guidelines can keep new buildings from looking out of place next to older downtown structures, while updated building codes give county officials a clearer standard when reviewing permits and enforcement issues. In a county whose seat is Marks and whose courthouse stands at 220 Chestnut Street, that matters because the Board of Supervisors sets policy and directs growth and development across five districts.
The county says the next step is to help form a new planning commission and train commissioners, supervisors and county staff to use the new code. For Quitman County, the zoning rewrite is now part of how local government plans where homes, businesses and higher-impact uses can go before the next round of growth arrives.
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