Will Veterans Avenue pier ever happen in Biloxi? State Supreme Court will decide.
After a judge ruled Monday that a pier could be built at Veterans Avenue without a tidelands lease, Secretary of State Michael Watson appealed the decision to the state Supreme Court on Tuesday.
The city’s plan is to lease the rights to RW Development to build the pier for public use.
A release on Biloxi’s website after this week’s ruling said RW Development “now plans to finalize the detailed design of the pier, create construction documents and begin the permitting process with the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources. Under the terms of the lease RW has with the city and county, the company would be responsible for constructing and maintaining the public pier.”
The company operates Big Play Entertainment Center on the north side of U.S. 90, along Veterans Avenue, and has tried for more than a decade to get its property north and south of the highway approved as a legal casino site.
Three times the Mississippi Gaming Commission has denied the request, saying RW Development doesn’t have control of the property to the water’s edge. The pier could give the company that control.
The ruling by Harrison County Chancery Court Judge Jennifer Schloegel said Biloxi and Harrison County could built a public pier without a tidelands lease from the Secretary of State.
A pier existed there before it was destroyed by a hurricane.
Former Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann filed a lawsuit to stop construction in 2019, when Biloxi first voted to sign a lease with the developer.
Watson said Thursday in a press release that he is “disappointed” in the ruling.
“I grew up on the Coast, want to see it prosper as much as anyone, and offered a rent-exempt lease for this project that was rejected,” he said.
“The Legislature named the Secretary of State as Trustee of the state’s Public Trust Tidelands to protect the interest of all 3 million Mississippi citizens in state-owned property along the Coast,” he said.
“All agencies and governing bodies should abide by the laws governing the use of state-held lands as written by the legislature. I believe the recent ruling is inconsistent with existing law and prior court decisions; therefore, it is my sworn duty as Trustee to ask the Mississippi Supreme Court to have the final say.”
Biloxi Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich said after the ruling that he hoped Watson wouldn’t spend thousands more dollars in tidelands funds to appeal the ruling.
“This is about public access and enjoyment of the waterfront, and the cities and counties have been building piers, harbors and other amenities on the waterfront for more than a hundred years,” Gilich said.
