Harrison County Zoning May Change
By J.R. Welsh, The Sun Herald, Biloxi, Miss.
Jul. 11–HANCOCK COUNTY — A new page has turned in a legal battle over whether county supervisors acted properly when they changed the zoning on hundreds of beachfront acres in 2005, allowing for virtually unfettered development.
At stake is the future of about 1,000 acres in the Clermont Harbor and Bayou Caddy areas of southwest Hancock County. At the moment, the county’s zoning change, which opened up the area for development of high-rise condominiums, remains overturned by the state Court of Appeals.
But lawyers for the county and two development firms have now filed with the state Supreme Court, asking that the appeals court decision be re-examined. The documents filed are called a petition for writ of certiorari.
The issue began in May 2005 when supervisors voted to change the zoning from primarily single-family to a new designation called resort commercial. It would allow development of condominiums of unlimited density and height in the environmentally sensitive area, opponents said.
Three months after the change, much of the affected land was wiped clean by Hurricane Katrina.
Five citizens filed suit to protest the new zoning, but former Circuit Court Judge Steve Simpson upheld the county’s action in March 2006. His decision was appealed and the state Court of Appeals ruled against the county.
Following the ruling, the county asked for a rehearing which was denied June 10.
Now, lawyers for the county have filed the new petition. If granted, the Supreme Court would agree to hear an appeal. However, the state high court is not required to accept, and a writ of certiorari is legally considered not a matter of right, but of judicial discretion.
If the Supreme Court denies the petition, the appeals court ruling stands.
In its petition, the county said the appeals court wrongly placed the burden of proof on Hancock County. The petition asks that the Court of Appeals judgment be reviewed because the burden of proof over validity of the zoning change "was simply misplaced," and should be upon the parties who appealed.
Gulfport attorney William Whitfield filed the county’s petition. Two developers, Paradise Properties Group, LLC and Kudo Developers of Mississippi, LLC, are joining. Attorneys who also are government lawyers represent both companies.
Donald Rafferty, who also serves as city attorney for Bay St. Louis, represents Paradise Properties in the suit. Joseph Meadows, who represents Kudo Developers, is the longtime attorney for the Harrison County Board of Supervisors.
Attorney Robert Wiygul represents the appellants, Earl Childs, Lori Gordon, Amelia Kileen, David Wheeler, and Maria Beard.
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