VANCLEAVE — Tucked behind fields, farms and winding creeks, a quiet stretch of rural land could soon give way to a new conservation-style subdivision — if the county approves a developer’s rezoning request.

But longtime residents argue it’s more than zoning lines on a map; it’s about preserving the character of their community.

Jackson County officials are considering whether a rezoning request for 109 acres on Old Fort Bayou Road fills a public need — and if the character of the neighborhood has changed enough to justify it.

The land sits just up the road from a 110-acre subdivision already underway. If approved, the new project would be one of nine recent subdivisions reshaping the area.

A growing county, a shrinking supply

Kenneth Jones, a real estate developer from Gulfport, said the area has been preparing for this kind of growth for years.

“Walker Road and Old Fort Bayou have already developed up to I-10,” Jones said. “It’s been happening for the last 20 years, and the natural progression of development is just heading that direction.”

Jones’s attorney pointed to a 53% population increase in Jackson County’s unincorporated areas from 1990 to 2020, a shift that has tilted growth away from cities. County infrastructure has expanded, too, with new sewer and water lines in place to support development.

According to the centralized utilities are a major trigger for converting agricultural districts into residential neighborhoods.

Jones said rezoning is necessary due to a regional housing shortage and the challenges of finding buildable land.

“You drive by and see a lot of vacant land, but finding property that’s for sale, not in a flood zone or wetlands, and has access to water and sewer — that’s extremely difficult,” he said.

Based on monthly sales trends, Jones’s team found the current housing supply would run out in under three months if no new homes were listed for sale — well below the five to six months generally considered healthy for the real estate market.

“We’re in between a buyer’s market and an extreme shortage,” Jones. “An adequate supply of housing allows you to attract other industries and to house the workers already here.”

Jones said his company’s project is designed to respect the area’s natural landscape — and its rural character.

“This is going to be more of a preservation neighborhood,” he said. “We’re preserving almost … 45% of the site, which will be really nice for the residents. They’ll have preservation areas where they can walk and have trails and stuff like that.”

‘We chose to live in a quieter, slower area’

At a county Planning Commission meeting in April, residents voiced a different concern: Vancleave’s rural identity being steadily replaced by subdivisions.

Laurie Claxton, who has lived off Old Fort Bayou Road for 25 years, said the proposed development would directly affect her way of life.

“We have a chicken coop. We have a donkey you can hear outside. We have many, many animals that will be affected by this,” she said.

Claxton also challenged the premise that the zoning change is necessary.

“I feel there is no need to change this zoning,” she said. “There is no public need.”

Emily Theriot, who lives near the property, echoed those concerns.

“The majority of changes I’ve been seeing are approvals of subdivisions — and using the approval of one subdivision to justify the approval of more subdivisions — as a change in character of the neighborhood,” she said. “Many people in this neighborhood do not want subdivision housing.”

Another area resident, Elutarious Christopher Lionel, warned rezoning to allow smaller lots would destroy the community’s character.

“The reason why people are moving to Vancleave is because it’s a homestead area,” he said. “Most of these houses are on land that is an acre or larger, small farms and what have you.”

“We chose to live in a quieter, slower area that we have peace in,” Theriot said. “There has been no substantial increase in jobs, restaurants, shopping or school capacity at Vancleave to justify a need. It would not be in harmony with the rest of the neighborhood.”

For Jack Stokes, who lives across from the land, the issue is simple.

“We don’t want our country life turned into a big neighborhood housing project,” he said.

As Jackson County leaders prepare to vote on the proposal, residents on both sides say the decision will shape more than just property lines. It may redefine what kind of future Vancleave is growing into — and whether rural life there can keep its roots.