When Jack Huerkamp’s parents bought their Pearl River property in 1956, there were no zoning laws, and the sleepy little town was worlds away from the hustle and bustle of the big city.

The arrival of Interstate 59 in the early 1960s changed that, however. When it became apparent that the road linking to the highway would become a major commercial corridor, much of the land along Watts Road, now Louisiana Highway 41, was zoned B-2, or Commercial. The Huerkamps, with their home on Pine Street just off La. 41, gradually saw a number of businesses pop up over the years.

Now Huerkamp and several of his neighbors want to see that it doesn’t get any worse. The group was spurred into action after last month’s town hall meeting. At the tail end of the meeting Pearl River Mayor James Lavigne circulated a letter to the Board of Aldermen from developer John Finch, who is hoping the town will rezone a portion of the area to R-3 for multi-family dwellings, with the intent of constructing a small apartment complex.

“They’ve banned mobile homes and modular homes in the last few years,” said Huerkamp. “Now they want to build apartments.”

Huerkamp circulated a petition against the zoning change, which was quickly signed by more than 30 neighbors. He presented the petition to the aldermen during Tuesday night’s town hall meeting.

The problem, however, is that the group is not thrilled about it remaining as commercial property, either.

The area under consideration was resurveyed into three separate parcels in the 1980s. Parcel A, measuring 1.84 acres, already contains a strip mall. Parcel C, the largest portion, is 4.3 acres, but only has a 98-foot frontage on La. 41, with about 300 feet on Pine that abuts property owned by Huerkamp’s brother, which is right next door to his home.

That leaves Parcel B, which is where Finch wants to build his apartments. The 2.4-acre property takes up about 176 feet along La. 41 and 100 feet on Pine.

Huerkamp and many other residents, as well as town officials, thought the zoning designation only covered the first 200 feet off the highway. Further investigation determined that in fact it applies to the entire piece of property.

Chief among the residents’ complaint is the idea of increased volume in commercial traffic, and the possibility of heavy trucks thundering down Pine Street. The current property owner has reportedly considered building a truck stop, the thought of which is even worse than the proposed apartments.

Huerkamp said only one resident so far has told him they would prefer the apartments to another commercial entity. The general consensus, he said, is to see the zoning changed to R-1-A, which would allow only single-family units, without mobile or modular homes.

Alderman Virgil Phillips said a piece of property generally couldn’t be subdivided with different zoning unless it was part of a comprehensive rezoning plan. It may be possible, he added, to set a “footprint” that might limit where commercial developments are placed.

Lavigne instructed Huerkamp and his group to determine when exactly the zoning was set, and then contact the current landowners to discuss a possible rezoning. Huerkamp hopes all parties can come to an agreement.

“I knew that after Katrina the town was going to change, and change rapidly,” Huerkamp said. “If the town doesn’t control the growth, the character of Pearl River will be lost forever.”

In other business, Alderwoman Ruby Gauley introduced a resolution to ban all types of electronic and video gambling within town limits, including video bingo.

The town last shot down video bingo in August 2008, when a proposal for charitable video bingo, in which a portion of the proceeds go to local nonprofits, was defeated. Gauley said she had 17 calls Wednesday morning following the meeting, most in support of the ban. She said she wanted the ordinance passed to be in step with what Slidell and other parts of the parish have done, but also to avoid endless repetition.

“There’s no sense in people coming over and over again,” she said. “This way we can take care of it once and for all.”

The resolution passed 3-2. A public hearing on the ordinance will be held at 6:30 p.m. on July 28, followed by a special town hall meeting to vote.

In other business, a resolution was passed 5-1 to move on adopting the rules and regulations on covering drainage ditches on private property. Public input is required before an ordinance can be passed to add the guidelines to the building code, and a hearing will be held at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 11, before the next town hall meeting.

The town also approved the purchase of a piece of property owned by James Mobley behind the Town Hall. Lavigne hopes to make the property a recreation area, with water activities and perhaps a skating rink.

Whether or not a variance will be granted to Mobley in the future for the placement of a second mobile home on his Church Street property remains to be seen. Mobley was instructed to appear before the Planning Commission at 7 p.m. Monday, but apparently was not added to the agenda for the meeting, and therefore was not able to discuss his plans with the commission.

It was also announced that a public hearing would be held at 6:45 p.m. Aug. 11 to discuss the property tax rolls for 2009. Call 863-5800 for more information.