Biloxi council delays Black Spring Break permit decision amid safety concerns

The Biloxi City Council was set to meet to take up an appeal on a permit request for a plot of land during Black Spring Break, which is set to take place from April 11-14.

Upon the event promoters’ request, the appeal hearing was rescheduled for April 2nd.

The denial of this permit does not mean that Black Spring Break is canceled, however, the City of Biloxi has not approved the special event either.

Biloxi ordinances require this for any vendor permits to be approved.

“For any event, regardless of spring break, until the event is actually approved we don’t issue any sub-vendor permits for that event,” Creel said. “It wouldn’t make sense for us to issue a vendor permit for an event that has not been approved by the administration and the city council. So, we’re waiting on that, and once a decision is made on that, that will determine whether we can issue the permits for the individual vendors.”

Per Black Spring Break’s Facebook, the event will still be taking place on county-owned property, like the beach and coast coliseum.

City officials and the police department wrote up a recommendation that this particular permit not be pulled due to safety reasons.

The special events ordinance added new safety measures to determine when to approve permits.

“It’s a requirement now that all vendors have to be set up at least sixty feet back from the property line in order to allow a little bit more pedestrian traffic room there,” Creel said. “That’s gonna compromise the amount of room they have there for parking. A big part of our concern is that without adequate room for parking, and having parking on the streets – you know, Briarfield and Pine Grove. That area back there, that neighborhood behind the Schuler property already has limited access ingress and egress to get in there.”