Opponent appeals RV park approval, says South MS county violated its own zoning laws

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A Gulf Park Estates property owner has filed a court appeal aimed at reversing Jackson County’s decision to permit an RV park that opponents fear will overwhelm the community’s residential character.

Eamon Mohiuddin has filed the appeal in Jackson County Circuit Court, where developers of Ocean Springs Islands RV Resort argue they should be allowed to proceed with the RV park.

The project would include 476 RV sites, 20 Airstreams on the waterfront available for rent, a lazy river, 16 elevated houses referred to as “tree houses,” a clubhouse, pools and more.

Developers believe an RV park is a practical use for the property because its in a flood zone and could be evacuated for hurricanes.

But some residents are concerned the park will lower their property values and put too much traffic on the main road that serves the area, Beachview Drive.

The argument at the heart of the appeal is whether the county violated its own zoning laws by approving the park.

Circuit Court Judge Keith Miller is scheduled to hear arguments in the case May 16.

Opponents on Ocean Springs RV park

The land where the RV park would sit, roughly 400 acres, has sat unused since Hurricane Georges flooded it in 1998. The county in 2001 designated the area a Planned Unit Development. The PUD rules specifically prohibit RVs “for living purposes.”

A master plan for the property that the county approved in 2006 would have allowed construction of 1,162 condos, townhouses and villas, plus a hotel and golf course, project proponents point out. That development fell through.

Ocean Springs RV Resort, referred to as OSRV in court records, was formed and bought the property by March 22, 2023.

“In the present case, OSRV bought a piece of land for a RV park that does not allow RV parks,” the attorney for Mohiuddin, Michael Fondren of Pascagoula, argues in court records. “OSRV caused their own dilemma.”

Mohiuddin, who lives in Ocean Springs but owns rental properties in Gulf Park Estates, has banded with other residents to protest the potential development. They have stood on the side of Beachview Drive with signs off and on since last year. On May 1, they started a daily protest that they hope to continue until the court hearing date.

“Let’s stick to the law,” Mohiuddin told the Sun Herald on Thursday afternoon, “but fundamentally, this RV park does not belong in a single-family residential community.

“The laws were designed to protect the citizens, but when you skirt around the laws, you end up doing harm to the citizens. You work against the public good and safety.”

Residents also fear the RV park will fall into disrepair, as so many do, Mohiuddin said.

Developers state their case

RV park developer and investor Adam Dial said that Ocean Springs Islands is a “luxury” RV resort because of the amenities it will offer. An RV park also is the kind of development federal flood officials recommend for land that floods, attorneys Amy St. Pe´ and Josh Danos of Pascagoula argue in a court submission.

The county Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors granted the developers a special-use exception from the PUD ordinance because of the flooding potential.

“The entire purpose of the special exception is to allow the use of property that is otherwise not permitted in a zoning district,” the RV park’s attorneys argue.

Dial said the RV park has more supporters than opponents, pointing to comments on Facebook, where the project has been endlessly debated. But residents of Gulf Park Estates claim a majority demonstrated their opposition to the project by signing a petition where 1,170 of the 1,726 signatures included subdivision addresses.

Dial said the park would create 25 or more jobs for clerks, maintenance workers, groundskeepers, property managers, food and beverage servers and others. He said the development also would contribute to the county tax base.

The project would be built out in phases, he said, over a two-year period.

Jackson County has plans to upgrade Beachview Drive, but residents fear that work could take many years to complete, based on the county’s track record, Mohiudden said.

Dial also said the project builds on the Coast’s growing eco-tourism industry.

“It just gives one more unique, authentic option for travelers that want to come check out Mississippi,” he said.