Mark Twain once remarked, “It usually takes me more than three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech,” reminding us that even spontaneous words are most powerful when thoughtfully prepared. This Tuesday, May 6, 2025, at 6:00 PM, you’ll have one final opportunity to speak directly to the City Council and share your perspective on this project—for three impactful minutes [ref.]. We strongly encourage you to show up and speak. Silence protects no one!

When and What Did Elliott Homes Purchase?

Elliott Homes, the developer behind “Beauvoir Villas,” purchased the 17-acre property at the corner of Lawrence Street and Iris Street on November 21, 2024—less than six months ago [ref.]. Just two months later, on January 29, 2025, the project made its first appearance before the Development Review Committee (DRC) [ref.]. By April 3, 2025, it had advanced to the Planning Commission, where it was approved by a vote of 13 to 1—contingent upon increasing the side setbacks to five feet [ref.].

It’s important to recognize that this property remained largely vacant since the closure of Beauvoir Elementary School in 2011—nearly 15 years ago—under the stewardship of Biloxi’s School Board. Elliott Homes did not sit on this land for years before deciding to develop it; quite the opposite—they moved quickly and aggressively!

Currently, the property is zoned for Low-Density Single-Family Residential (RS-10), which requires a minimum lot size of 10,000 square feet [ref.]. Given that an acre contains 43,560 square feet and accounting for space needed for roads and infrastructure, this zoning typically allows for about four homes per acre. Under the current zoning, this 17-acre parcel could reasonably support around 65 homes. This is what the developer had the legal “right” to build at the time of purchase—and still does. Instead, the original “Beauvoir Villas” proposal, which appears to be changing, aimed to construct 251 homes—nearly quadrupling the density achievable by the current zoning by decreasing minimum lot sizes to just 1,250 square feet [ref.].

Planned Developments

Planned Developments are not just routine zoning adjustments—they are meant to be ambitious visions, built with intention and care. According to the City’s own definitions, these districts are “planned and developed under unified control and in accordance with more flexible standards and procedures that are more conducive to creating more mixed-use, pedestrian-oriented, and otherwise higher quality development"[ref.]. In other words, they are supposed to represent the best of what a community can aspire to.

Planned Development Districts “are established and intended to encourage innovative land planning and site design concepts that support a high quality of life and achieve a high quality of development, environmental sensitivity, energy efficiency, and other city goals and objectives" [ref.]. These aren’t just empty phrases—they are promises. They are commitments to the public that anything approved under these guidelines will be forward-thinking, environmentally conscious, and built to a higher standard.

But these promises come with responsibility. Planned Developments are reviewed and decided upon only after careful consideration of three layers of criteria: the Map Amendment (Rezoning) Review Standards, the general standards for all Planned Developments, and the standards for the specific proposed type of Planned Development [ref.]. For “Beauvoir Villas,” that category is “Planned Development – Residential District.” These Residential Districts, as defined, are “established and intended to encourage the use of innovative and creative design to provide a mix of different residential uses in close proximity to one another, while at the same time providing an efficient use of open space" [ref.].

The themes are unmistakable: innovation, creativity, efficiency, and quality. By now, one message should be crystal clear—Planned Developments, especially of the residential kind, are supposed to be exceptional. Not ordinary. Not expedient. Not shortcuts around zoning standards. They are meant to raise the bar… not lower it!

Zone Map Amendments (Rezoning)

The approval of a Planned Development is not a mere formality—it is a rezoning, a fundamental shift in how land may be used. And make no mistake: rezoning is serious. It is, in the City’s own stark terms, “a change in the zoning classification applied to land, and that is reviewed and decided by the City Council in accordance with Section 23-2-4(B), Map Amendment (Rezoning)” [ref.]. In Mississippi, this process is bound by the “change or mistake” rule, which sets a high bar [ref.]. Rezoning requires clear and convincing evidence—either that there was a mistake in the original zoning or that the character of the surrounding area has significantly changed. Absent such proof, and without a compelling public need, there is no justification for rezoning. It is serious legal and civic action, not to be taken lightly or granted by convenience.

Planned Development? No. Rezoning? Maybe.

The “Beauvoir Villas” property is currently zoned Low-Density Single-Family Residential (RS-10); yet, it stands isolated—an island of potentially mistaken or outdated zoning. To its North are apartments on High-Density Multi-Family Residential (RM-30) land; to the West and South, Commercial Business (CB) zones dominate; and to the east, High-Density Single-Family Residential (RS-5) takes over. Given this surrounding mix, it is reasonable to conclude that the current designation may be the result of a zoning error—one that emerged over the years through various updates to the Land Development Ordinance in 2003, 2010, and beyond, and as the property transitioned from public to private ownership.

Would a request by the landowner to rezone the property to one of the three surrounding base zones be appropriate? Very likely. But is a rezoning to a Planned Development justified? Not likely—unless the developer can clearly and convincingly demonstrate that the proposal embodies true innovation, creativity, efficiency, and quality. It must be more than a convenient way to sidestep established lot size, setbacks, landscaping, and/or other requirements.