“There is a pressing need for housing in the region as a result of
Hurricane Katrina and locating housing in East Biloxi near major
employers (e.g., casinos, Keesler AFB) provides significant advantages.
However, housing is the land use that is most vulnerable to catastrophic
storm damage because of the threat to the personal safety and
property of residents and this issue must be addressed in locating and
designing new housing in East Biloxi.”
“Keesler Air Force Base and the Back Bay of Biloxi are physical barriers
that restrict vehicular connections from West Biloxi to East and
North Biloxi. Improving transportation corridors within West Biloxi and
connections from West Biloxi to inland routes is crucial to timely
evacuation during storm events as well as easing peak hour
congestion.”
Airport Noise Overlay 1 (ANO‐1) applies to the areas outside of Airport Noise
Overlay 3 (ANO‐3) and that are exposed to a yearly DNL of 65 – 70 dB. Airport
Noise Overlay 2 (ANO‐2) applies to areas outside of ANO‐3 and are exposed to
a yearly DNL of 70 – 65 dB. ANO‐3 applies to an approximate one square mile
area southwest of Keesler AFB. Buildings that are constructed within these
Airport Noise Overlays must be constructed in a way that reduces
exterior‐to‐interior noise level reduction. The standards outlined in the
ordinance are inconsistent with the Air Force noise standards, which are
addressed in the Compatibility Assessment in Background Report Chapter 5.
“Determine suitable location for a future employment / light industrial
center linked to the aerospace, Keesler AFB, and shipbuilding
industries.”
Throughout the Comprehensive Plan, Keesler AFB is mainly acknowledged
when discussing land use issues throughout the city. There are no goals or
policies that specifically relate to Keesler AFB even through the plan
acknowledges the economic importance of the installation.
Although the Development Ordinance provides standards for Airport Noise
Overlays, there are no safety standards identified for accident potential zones
or clear zones for Keesler AFB. The Development Ordinance should include
such standards especially since parts of the city lie within the Keesler AFB CZs
and APZs.
City of Biloxi Land Development Ordinance
The Land Development Code for the City of Biloxi was adopted in 2010. The
zoning ordinance establishes 31 zoning districts, one of which is the Planned
Development – Gaming Establishment District. This district provides
regulations for casino development, including hotels, restaurants, night clubs,
and entertainment establishments that are associated with gaming. This
district may only be established to overlay a Waterfront (WF) base zoning
district. The only explicit dimensional standard is that the district area must
be a minimum of three acres. All other dimensions, such as height and square
footage of the building, are to be established in a Planned Development
Master Plan.
Page 4‐20
The zoning ordinance also establishes four airport overlay districts: Airport
Airspace Overlay, Airport Noise Overlay 1, Airport Noise Overlay 2, Airport
Noise Overlay 3. The Airport Overlay District (AAO) controls potential hazards
to aircraft operations that use the navigable airspace near the airport at
Keesler AFB. Structures within this overlay district must comply with FAA
Regulation Part 77, as described in Section 4.2 of this chapter, and must not
exceed the existing military operations surface. In addition, structures within
this overlay may not create an interference with navigational signals or radio
communications between aircraft at Keesler AFB and the control tower,
create glare, make it difficult for pilots to distinguish airport lights, or
otherwise endanger or interfere with aircraft operations at the installation.
City of Biloxi Subdivision Standards
Article 23‐7, Subdivision Standards, of the Biloxi Land Development
Ordinance, adopted in 2010, provides standards for the layout of subdivisions
within Biloxi. The regulations outline requirements for subdivision
development, including design, street standards, and standards for other
Background Report