Biloxi council upholds Planning Commission; 8 protected trees cleared for Chick‑fil‑A development after 6‑1 vote

The Biloxi City Council voted 6‑1 on Jan. 28 to deny an appeal and affirm the Planning Commission’s decision allowing the removal of eight protected trees for a Chick‑fil‑A development on Pass Road.

The appeal (appeal reference TR‑25‑001) was filed by local residents and conservation advocates who urged the council to require a redesign that would conserve a large live oak identified in the tree report as tree number 18 (58 inches DBH). Carol Campbell, speaking for the Mississippi chapter of the Sierra Club, told the council the developer "chose to remove anything and everything that's in the way of their site plan" and argued the project did not show that conserving tree 18 would prevent compliance with the city’s zoning and development standards.

Developer representatives, who said they had revised the site layout multiple times, told the council the key constraint was the trees’ root systems…