Posted on Wed, May. 07, 2008

BILOXI -- Community planning was a major topic of discussion on the second day of the ninth annual Coastal Development Strategies Conference, held at the Saenger Theatre and Sacred Heart Center.

SmartCode regional planning addresses land elevation and use, and one way to help communities use their land wisely is through transfer of development rights, said Jeffrey Bounds, coastal SmartCode planning consultant and Pass Christian's city planner.

Bounds showed participants examples of land in Pass Christian with elevation of three or four feet above sea level. Houses that were once in those areas are now gone, or are being rebuilt. Even elevated, these houses are still at risk.

Transfers of development rights, or TDRs, provide for "rational, sustainable economic growth and development," he said, by avoiding development on "inappropriate," dangerously flood-exposed areas or environmentally-sensitive areas.

The solution, he said, is to "build on a model of clusters and buffers." There are areas in Pass Christian with much higher elevation, and that is where the clusters of population could be located, with walkable neighborhoods. The "buffers" area could be those determined at high risk.

"It means building densely on available, suitable land and preserving areas inappropriate for development," Bounds said.

TDRs, he explained, are similar to a density-mitigation scheme or a cap-and-trade system.

Landowners in the sensitive, or sending, area would receive compensation and be encouraged to build in the higher-elevation, or receiving, area.

Ann Daigle, an urban design and community planning consultant, stressed the importance of comprehensive plans.

"Comprehensive plans look at the big future," she said.

The Mississippi Gulf Coast is still in its post-Katrina renewal period, she said, and the region is searching for meaning, coming to terms with new realities and reclaiming life.

As the 11 coastal communities rebuild, it is vital to include public input in decision-making because otherwise, cities will be rebuilt "on consultant-driven plans," said Daigle.

Daigle worked on the comprehensive plan for Ventura, Calif. Though Ventura is experiencing rapid growth, it is surrounded by fertile farmland that is vital to the area's thriving strawberry industry, making expansion difficult. Instead of urban sprawl, the Ventura plan promotes density with attractive neighborhood and shopfront development.

Other topics Tuesday at the conference:

• The Gulf Coast Renaissance Corporation is designed to help families acquire work-force housing, said Laura Davis, its president and CEO. The private, nonprofit corporation was formed after Hurricane Katrina to address housing needs. One component of its program is working with companies to help their employees afford to buy a home.

• The Coast has several archeological sites that continue to offer clues about South Mississippi's multicultural history, said three speakers. Marie Danforth is professor of anthropology at the University of Southern Mississippi, Amy Young is associate professor of anthropology at USM, and Edmond Boudreaux is a local historian. They discussed excavations at the Moran site in Biloxi, upcoming excavations at Elmwood Plantation in Bay St. Louis and the early history of Biloxi, respectively.

• The recent creation of tourism and housing committees in the Legislature can have a positive impact on the Coast, Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant said during the keynote address. In education, Bryant said he is working with Dr. Hank Bounds, state superintendent of education, on developing new career-path opportunities for more trained, skilled workers in the state's work force.