Dozens of Biloxi residents told the City Council during public comments that the proposed Beauvoir/Boulevard Villas Planned Development Residential (PDR) rezoning would create excessive density and fail to meet the city's open-space requirements. Speakers said the proposal would replace low-density single-family rules with a PDR that could allow about 200 homes and leave far less open space than the Land Development Ordinance requires.

The residents' objections focused on density, open space and trust in the developer. "I know that the builder has modified the plan to 200 plus homes, but it just doesn't seem to make sense to me," said Laurie Silvestro, who gave her address as 181 Iris Street. Steve Shepherd, Gulf Coast group chair for the Sierra Club, told the council the proposed subdivision "includes less than 5% open space ... falling more than a 100,000 square feet short of the 20% minimum required by law." Mike Capital, who said a change.org petition opposing the project has about 330 signatures, added that lots in the proposal would be roughly 1,500 square feet and called the plan "twice as dense as a mobile home park."

Residents also recounted prior local changes by the same developer. Silvestro referenced a prior Coral Breeze project, saying the builder "presented plans for 1 thing and then changed it after the construction starts," and urged the council to deny the zoning change. Several speakers raised traffic and livability concerns tied to local streets including Pass Road, Iris and Lawrence.

Bobby Heinrich, who identified himself as representing the Boulevard Villas developer, told the council the project "had our hearing at the planning commission. It was a 15 to 1 vote in favor of the development." Heinrich said the subdivision would be single-family homes, gated, would "save" existing live oaks and is not intended as a rental project. He also said the development team "answered all concerns" to city departments and the DRC before the planning commission hearing.

Speakers emphasized different remedies: some urged denial of the PDR rezoning to preserve neighborhood scale and the LDO's open-space standard; others raised the need for affordable housing in Biloxi and asked councilmembers to prioritize housing supply. After public comment concluded, the mayor closed citizens' comments and the meeting moved to the policy agenda.

Why it matters: The council will decide whether to change zoning that governs density, lot sizes and mandatory open space; such a decision affects neighborhood character, tree canopy, traffic and future development precedent in Biloxi.

The transcript segment provided public comment on this rezoning; the council's final vote on the specific Beauvoir/Boulevard Villas application is not recorded in the supplied excerpt.