Emotions run high over Pass Christian couple’s property

Feb. 04--Typically a technical and tedious part of county board meetings, a zoning appeal turned quite emotional Monday.

An older Pass Christian couple was fighting for their right to camp in their RV occasionally in order to maintain property they have owned for decades. Concerned residents in the area were fighting to maintain the appearance of a neighborhood they have struggled to bring back to normal after total destruction.

After the Planning Commission's split 3-2 vote to allow the RV, the group of residents appealed the decision Monday at the Harrison County Board of Supervisor's meeting.

According to county ordinances, a recreation vehicle cannot be parked overnight on a property without a home on it. An RV may be placed

on a waterfront lot prone to frequent flooding that does not have nearby permanent structures.

"You can't use a residentially zoned lot as a storage lot," said zoning director Pat Bonck.

The couple requested a conditional use permit that would allow them to stay for up to 17 days at a time in the RV and install a power pole.

The board ruled unanimously in favor of the appeal, meaning the Hortons would only be allowed to stay in their RV during the day.

"The problem with being a legislative body is that you cannot legislate specifically," said Supervisor Kim Savant, who made the motion.

"It would be great if we could say y'all are nice people ... we're gonna let your put that RV in there," he said. "But as soon as we do that we've subverted the meaning of the original ordinance."

Longtime residents

Edward Horton bought a corner piece of waterfront property in Henderson Point when he was 16 years old. He has owned it for 54 years, and he and his wife spent much of their life there.

After Hurricane Katrina decimated the area, the Hortons slowly repaired the property, rebuilding a bulkhead and planting sod.

As to why they chose to rebuild a bulkhead and not a home, Diana Horton said they wanted to protect the land first.

"We didn't have the money for sod for years," she said through teary eyes. "Every blade of grass was done scrape by scrape by scrape."

As elderly veterans with health issues, the couple lives in Biloxi to be close to the VA hospital. They frequently take the RV to the Pass to mow the grass and fish.

"We've asked for permission to fish from it and to just enjoy the beauty of where we've spent the bulk of our years," she said.

Bonck said residents of the Henderson Point area have consistently fought the appearance of camping on properties.

Attorney Henry Laird, who was representing the group of residents, said an RV has never been allowed in the area. He emphasized that there were permanent structures nearby, although not directly adjacent to the Hortons' property, so the RV should not be allowed.

The chief concern of the residents appealing the Planning Commission's decision was that it would set a precedent of allowing motor homes.

"If you allow this RV to use conditional use, the county will not be able to deny the next application," said resident Nani Bardelleban. "It will just be devastating to what we have been trying to accomplish."

Pass and future

Edward Horton disagreed with the other residents' goals for the area. He said that after seeing the catastrophic damage done by Katrina, he didn't think FEMA should allow anyone to rebuild in an area at such a high risk for flooding and wave action.

"If I build a house, I can't take it with me," he said. "I'm fixing to be 70 years old and I don't want to go through that again."

He and his wife said much of the area is still blighted and many properties have sat unsold for years.

"That's one of the reasons why I've never put it up for sale, nobody wants to buy it," he said.

Horton said he believes some parts of the Pass will never go back to pre-Katrina levels of habitation.

"If another hurricane comes through and wipes it out they might as well make a bird sanctuary out of it," he said.

Avra O'Dwyer, a real estate agent in Pass Christian, disagrees. She said she has sold several large lots recently.

"These people are going to build million-dollar homes," she said. "And these are non-residents and you know what that tax base means to this economy."

O'Dwyer also said that if the appeal was denied, she legally must disclose that RVs can be used with a conditional use permit, and that would scare away wealthy buyers.

"I just don't want to see this portion of this beautiful waterfront property turned into an RV park," she said. "They have a $300,000 (RV), that's fine, but the next guy might not have one as attractive as theirs."

The Hortons' neighbor, Raymond Swan, said he was speaking for several other immediate neighbors in support of the couple. He said they are model neighbors and meticulously keep up their property, unlike others nearby.

He agrees with Edward Horton, though, about the future of the area.

"It's not because of a motorhome that people are not going come back and built in the area, it's because of the fear of hurricanes," he said. "It's because of the restrictions on building, it's because of the high taxes and the astronomical insurance rates that are keeping things from progressing."

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