Neighbors press Ocean Springs to require Corps clearance before Madison Place Phase 2B moves forward

The Ocean Springs Planning Commission on June 9 recommended approval of the final plat for Madison Place Phase 2B — 21 of the 51 lots in the previously approved subdivision — but made its recommendation contingent on the city receiving documentation from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers showing either a Corps-approved mitigation plan or that no mitigation is required.

Amanda, city planning staff, told the commission the submission covers 21 lots and that the unified development code allows final plats to be submitted for portions of an approved preliminary plat. She said the smallest lot in the submittal measures about 8,060 square feet and that the subdivision’s declaration of restrictive covenants reserves roughly 24.25 acres as conservation area.

Neighbors speaking at the meeting said the site had been cleared beyond approved limits and into areas labeled as conservation easement on the February 11, 2025 preliminary plat and on the Corps permit. “As currently constructed, Madison Place 2 project does not comply with Ocean Springs conservation subdivision regulations,” said Steve Parker, an attorney and neighbor, who submitted an email and said he had filed a complaint with the Corps arguing the clearing exceeded approved limits. Residents also raised concerns about standing water and fire risk after trees were removed.

An applicant representative said the project team has been working with the Corps and that restoration and replanting will follow Corps instructions once the Corps completes its review; a commissioner noted that mitigation credits have been purchased. Planning staff told the panel that the final plat itself aligns with the earlier preliminary plat on file, while enforcement or determinations about wetlands and federal permitting rest with the Corps of Engineers.

Commissioners debated whether to defer action to wait for a formal Corps determination or to make a conditional recommendation that would advance the matter to the Board of Aldermen with a clear contingency. A motion to defer to the July meeting failed on a split vote. A substitute motion to recommend approval — conditioned on the planning department receiving either a Corps-approved mitigation plan or written confirmation that mitigation is not required — carried. The recommendation will be forwarded to the Board of Aldermen; staff said the matter could appear on the June 16 or July 7 agenda depending on the Corps correspondence timetable.

The commission’s action leaves the substantive Corps review and any enforcement (restoration, after-the-fact permitting, or mitigation) to federal authorities, while signaling the city’s preference that federal clearance or a mitigation plan be in hand before final local approval goes to the board.