TUPELO – City leaders this week nixed plans for a dirt pit near Haven Acres but might not have stopped the project altogether.

The City Council unanimously voted Tuesday against Eutaw Construction Co.’s application for a dirt mine. The decision upheld an earlier vote by the city Planning Committee, which also rejected the application.

The company had planned to put the mine on its 31-acre site near the south Tupelo neighborhood. It would be used for the construction of future Highway 6.

But only about 10 acres of the site is within the municipal limits. The rest is in the county and requires approval only from the state Department of Environmental Quality.

Ben Eakes of Eutaw Construction told the council this week that the DEQ is likely to grant permission. In that case, the company might create the pit on the county section, which is still adjacent to the Haven Acres.

Residents of the neighborhood said they don’t want the dirt pit. Although Eutaw promised to fence it off and create a lake there after it’s mined, residents said it would create safety and aesthetics concerns.

They said the fence won’t keep out curious children who could hurt themselves in the pit or drown in an eventual lake. They also worried no one would force the company to transform the pit into a lake, and it’d be an eyesore to the community.

“Haven Acres is a community we’ve been trying to beautify and bring back to life for years,” said Willie Jennings, a neighborhood association member and council candidate for Ward 7.

Jennings said allowing the pit would reverse the neighborhood’s efforts.

Ward 1 City Councilman Dick Hill and At-Large Councilwoman Doyce Deas encouraged the neighbors to work with the construction company to find a solution.

Deas said cooperation is especially important since the company could create the pit without the city’s lack of permission.

Contact Emily Le Coz at (662) 678-1588 or emily.lecoz@djournal.com.