City Council eyes condo, zoning issues Tuesday

The Biloxi City Council will meet twice on Tuesday, with a 10 a.m. special-called meeting to discuss increasing the number of condominium units allowed in individual developments, followed by a 1:30 p.m. meeting to discuss, among other issues, a request to re-zone land on an eastern portion of Back Bay to allow casino resorts.

Both meetings are open to the public and will be held at City Hall.

To see the complete agendas and available resolutions for each meeting, click here.

Debris-removal teams marking condemned properties

Property owners in neighborhoods throughout the city may have noticed crews from the city’s storm debris removal teams spray painting the letters “CC” and the property’s numerical address on sidewalks in front of many properties.

The markings, which crews began last week and stand for “Condemned by City,” are designed to help ensure that condemned properties are correctly identified for the city’s debris removal contractors, who may have to enter the property to remove storm debris, or, in some cases, actual structures that have been deemed a threat to public safety or public health.

The City Council on Dec. 30 condemned more than 4,200 properties throughout the city, bringing the overall total of condemned properties to more than 5,700 parcels – nearly a third of the 17,000 parcels in Biloxi.

“What property owners need to understand,” says debris-removal coordinator Jonathan Kiser, “is that just because their property may be in the condemnation notices, and just because the workers may be spray painting on the sidewalks in front of their property, this does not mean that the city is automatically going to tear down any homes or structures or even enter the property for that matter.

“This means that their property is in a condemnation area. We are not going to enter their property if they don’t have any storm debris. If they DO have debris on their property, or if they have a storm-damaged structure that needs to be removed, they should contact our office.”

Property owners can e-mail Jeff Coleman at jcoleman@neel-schaffer.com or call Coleman at (228) 374-1211.

For more information on the city’s storm debris removal plan, click here.

News and notes

Webcasting: Mayor A.J. Holloway discusses the Biloxi-Ocean Springs bridge issue on the “City Desk” webcast, which was recorded on Friday. To listen, click here.

Dates of note: Mayor A.J. Holloway has accepted an invitation to address the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 24-25. The Biloxi Bay Chamber has set Feb. 23 for the annual State of the City address. Location and time to be announced. And Mardi Gras will be celebrated Feb. 28 in Biloxi, with one parade planned. Route and time TBA.