Miss. towns torn on rebuilding or reinventing

Casinos fuel region
It will take years for many SmartCode-inspired ideas to yield tangible results. For now, casinos bathed in neon and a smattering of glossy condominium developments dominate the coast’s storm-scarred landscape at Katrina’s second anniversary.

Some cities have set limits on the height of construction projects so the coastline isn’t crowded by rows of high-rise condos. At the same time, the state is clearly banking on casino resorts to fuel the region’s economic recovery.

After Katrina, Mississippi enacted a law allowing floating casinos to move ashore. Today, 11 casinos are open on the Coast and are raking in more revenue than the 12 that operated before the storm.

Eight of those casinos are in Biloxi — the same number operating in the city before Katrina — and more are on the way. It may not be a coincidence, then, that New Urbanism has gained less traction in Biloxi than in neighboring cities.

Duany said Biloxi wanted to “clear the deck” for gaming and didn’t want to impose any limits on casino operators’ plans. Jerry Creel, Biloxi’s director of community development, said the city balked at adopting a SmartCode because it wants to review projects on a “case-by-case basis.”

“There’s an outside perception that the only thing in Biloxi is condos and casinos, and that’s not true,” Creel said. “We’re looking at better development in Biloxi with a variety of structures and a variety of uses.”

Afraid of 'Hooters at the harbor'
The outlook is much different in Ocean Springs, which shared a bridge with Biloxi before Katrina washed it away. Ocean Springs Mayor Connie Moran said SmartCode-inspired changes in the city’s planning and zoning laws “can’t come soon enough.”

“Some people are afraid we’ll have ’Hooters at the harbor,’ or they’ll wake up one morning and see a gas station next door to their home. That’s not what SmartCode is about. In fact, SmartCode will help protect that from happening,” she said.

Paige Riley opened an art gallery in Ocean Springs after Katrina damaged the old store, in downtown Pass Christian. She wants to return, but fears Pass Christian is ripe for overdevelopment in Katrina’s aftermath and could lose its small-town charms.

“We’re going to have to grow into being what we were before,” Riley said following the recent planning meeting at the old library.

Pass Christian Planning Commission member Walter Ketchings is losing patience for workshops like the one Riley attended. “We need to stop talking and start hammering,” he said.

How will towns look at 10th anniversary?
Urban planners have received a warmer welcome from Pass Christian’s mayor, but McDermott says the city’s blueprints aren’t worth much if developers don’t want to follow them.

Rob Carr / AP Hurricane Katrina erased much of the Mississippi Gulf Coast's past, but the deadly storm also created a blank canvas and a historic opportunity for reinventing cities like Pass Christian, Miss., pictured.

“Who’s going to pay for it?” he asked. “You can draw something. I can draw something. They can draw something. The bottom line is, the market will determine what happens.”

A lack of affordable insurance is widely seen as the biggest obstacle to private investment on the coast now and in the coming years. A recent study by the RAND Corp. think tank found that the soaring cost of wind coverage has nixed or delayed some commercial projects.

Given the modest pace of new construction, many experts say it’s premature to accurately forecast what the Gulf Coast will look on Katrina’s 10th anniversary.

“It will not be the same Mississippi Gulf Coast, I can tell you that,” said Tommy Walman, Gov. Haley Barbour’s housing adviser. “Things already are changing — some for the better and some not so. It depends on how you look at it.”

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