A 400-acre RV park can be built in Jackson County next to Gulf Park Estates, a large subdivision east of Ocean Springs where some residents oppose the development.

The Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors were “duly diligent” in considering the request of Ocean Springs Islands RV Resort to build the waterfront park off Beachview Drive just east of Ocean Springs, Circuit Court Judge Keith Miller ruled this week.

Eamon Mohiuddin, an Ocean Springs resident who owns rental property in the neighboring subdivision, Gulf Park Estates, claimed in his court appeal that the county’s decision was “arbitrary and capricious.”

Mohiuddin told the Sun Herald on Friday that he plans to appeal Miller’s decision to the state Supreme Court. He said infrastructure in the area, including roads, are not designed to support such a large influx of tourists.

“It’s going to destroy the residential character of Gulf Park Estates and it’s going to destroy Gulf Park Estates as a whole, so there’s a lot riding on this decision,” he said. “It was extremely political from the get-go.”

But developers believe they will ultimately prevail.

“We are as excited about this project as ever and obviously grateful for the wheels of government playing out like they’re supposed to,” developer and investor Adam Dial told the Sun Herald on Friday. “We’ve been confident in our resort from the very beginning.”

Zoning exception permits RV park

The development is expected to include 476 RV sites, 20 Airstreams available for rent, a lazy river, 16 elevated houses referred to as “tree houses,” a clubhouse, pools and more.

The sprawling RV park property sits in a flood zone on Davis and Simmons bayous, and the Mississippi Sound. RV parks can be good uses of flood-prone properties, particularly where early warnings are available, the Federal Emergency Management Agency says.

The property has sat unused since Hurricane Georges flooded it in 1998. In 2006, plans for condominiums and townhouses on the property fell through. The current developers had bought the property by March 2023.

Dial said the owners have been cleaning up Katrina debris and mowing the property, where a site manager and maintenance worker would live full time. The property is filled with Live oaks that the developers plan to preserve.

The judge found that “substantial evidence” presented to county supervisors supported their decision to grant a special zoning exception that will allow the RV park next to Gulf Park Estates.

Gulf Park Estates is the largest subdivision in Jackson County with about 3,500 lots, according to the Planning Department. The subdivision includes a mix of single-family and rental properties.