Parking plans halted for Ocean Springs beach event space. Now what for controversial plan?
A controversial plan that Mayor Kenny Holloway pitched for a marina and entertainment venue on Front Beach has been dealt another blow.
The city can no longer use space across from the beach at Jackson Avenue for venue parking, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says in a letter addressed to the director of the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources, which owns the property.
MDMR acquired the acre of land to conserve wetlands and serve as a buffer for the Mississippi Sound and Old Fort Bayou River system, the letter points out.
In an earlier email obtained by the Sun Herald, a Fish and Wildlife employee had said the lot could be used for a “green parking lot” because people were already parking there. The MDMR and city then signed an agreement allowing the city to use the lot for parking.
Now, Fish and Wildlife is demanding the MDMR fence off the area by July 15 and allow use only for low-impact activities such as bird watching, which was the original intent.
Mayor Kenny Holloway said Thursday evening in a text message that the city has not received a copy of the letter but, once MDMR has confirmed the news, “the Board of Aldermen and I will explore all options available to the city.”
How Ocean Springs acquired property
MDMR bought the property years ago with a federal grant, spending that was questioned in a federal audit that an Ocean Springs group, SaveOS.org, recently posted on its website.
The MDMR was supposed to restore the property as tidal marsh and associated habitats, the Fish and Wildlife letter says, but determined it would cost too much. The property was acquired under the administration of former MDMR director Bill Walker, who was later forced to resign and went to prison for fraud over a different land transaction.
The venue on the beach was supposed to include a marina, but the Ocean Springs Board of Aldermen recently rejected that idea after residents objected. The board instead scaled back plans to a finger pier.
Holloway’s administration is still proposing a one-acre event space on the water with a pavilion, space for food trucks, and a patio and seating. It is unclear how the loss of parking will affect those plans.
