Controversial Ocean Springs townhouses won’t be torn down for now. What’s the new plan?
The Sands developers in Ocean Springs proceeded at their own risk and lost.
Two court cases and hundreds of thousands of dollars later, The Sands is changing its plan to build high-end townhouses on Front Beach in Ocean Springs and instead proposing an apartment complex.
Neighbors objected to the townhouses back in 2018 and appealed to the court to stop the development after approval from the Board of Aldermen.
Circuit Court Judge Robert Krebs warned after neighbors filed their appeal and before he ruled in the case that construction might be a waste. But, with city approval in hand, construction went ahead nonetheless.
Now, two empty, unfinished townhouses sit on the 5.6 acres on Front Beach, surrounded by expensive single family homes overlooking the Mississippi Sound.
Ocean Springs residents have avidly followed the saga because the Front Beach acreage is prime property on a scenic and popular beach where everyone agrees an aesthetically pleasing development should be located.
Many wonder in social media posts why neighbors would prefer apartments to townhouses that would sell for up to $1.5 million. Hats emblazoned with The Sands logo are available to those who want to show their support.
Opponents say they just want The Sands developers to follow the legal requirements for setbacks, density and height that apply to the zoning.
Apartments vs. townhouses planned
The acreage is zoned for apartments or luxury townhouses in what is otherwise a single-family neighborhood, but the townhouse buildings are too close to a side road, too tall and closer together than zoning laws allow, Krebs most recently ruled in July.
The judge basically found that the Board of Aldermen gave the developer what he wanted, rather than what city regulations require. And the aldermen did so without giving the public much notice of what was about to happen, also required by law, Krebs noted.
Krebs ordered that the two townhouses already built be torn down within 60 days.
Krebs has since tempered that July ruling, filing a second order Aug. 18 that says The Sands developers can try to bring the two buildings into compliance with the apartment zoning.
The Sands development, as previously proposed, “is 100% dead,” says Mike Butler, a partner in the project, the building contractor and the development’s public face in meetings and on social media.
“Life is way too short to be fighting over something for 3 ½ years and I think it’s time we put it to bed,” he told the aldermen at their most recent public hearing Sept. 15.
“Our goal is 100% compliance. All we want to do is comply. Comply, comply, comply. I cannot say that word enough.”
He says the neighbors will now get an apartment complex with 54 to 60 units rather than the 57 townhouses in nine buildings most recently rejected by the court. The initial plan that was shot down called for 41 free-standing townhouses, Butler said.
Butler says he will have to trim down the two buildings already constructed so they are further off the side road, Martin Avenue, plus join the buildings and lower their height to comply with apartment zoning regulations.
He said the changes will take “a beautiful design and ruin it,” but he is determined to see the project finished.
Beach neighbors don’t oppose development
Opponents are far less certain the changes will meet zoning requirements.
They are not against development on the property, as many perceive, said Ocean Springs attorney Billy Guice. Guice represents the 10 residents who have fought the development in court.
“The Sands seems to think apartments aren’t desirable,” Guice said. “My clients are happy to have compliant apartments.”
“ . . . No one has presented a compliant design. There’s a lot of talk going on, but no one says, ‘This is what we’re going to do and this is how it complies. I don’t think it should be my clients’ job to design it for them.”
One of the neighbors’ biggest concerns was that investors would buy the townhouses and use them as short-term rentals.
Butler said he regretted that short-term rentals were included in the initial plans and took them “off the table” after neighbors complained.
This story was originally published October 21, 2021 at 5:50 AM.
