Council votes to drop annexation plan with provisions

BILOXI — The Biloxi City Council has voted to drop its annexation bid for property east of the Biloxi River — but only if Gulfport and Harrison County drop objections to Biloxi’s annexation of 2.5 square miles to its north.

Yesterday’s resolution also requires that Gulfport refrain from annexing any property east of the Biloxi River for 15 years.

However, Harrison County attorney Tim Holleman and Gulfport council president Ricky Dombrowski both said Gulfport’s adoption of a 15-year annexation moratorium would violate state law. The Sun Herald reports that the two said Council members and county supervisors, who serve four-year terms, are prohibited from binding their successors to such long-term agreements.