A 120-acre housing development will occupy clearcut land between Lee Road and the back of Audubon Hills subdivision.

Developer Ronny Taylor said 101 plots for homes much like those at his adjacent Littlewood development will begin transformation as soon as city approval is garnered.

&#8220We hope to get started soon as it goes through,” he said.

Taylor, who has worked for Entergy for 29 years, said he just drifted into the real estate business.

&#8220I worked around it all my life, building these lines to the new subdivisions,” he said. Taylor started out small and got &#8220deeper and deeper.”

Taylor began Littlewood, the subdivision on Lee Road, in 2004.

&#8220I had the opportunity to get into it,” said the Warren Central High School graduate of 1977, who has a wife, a child and three stepchildren. &#8220Been lucky with it so far.”

Hidden Hills is to be the name of the new community.

The 120 acres it will sit on, 80 acres of which Taylor purchased in February from Sen. Mike Chaney, touches Littlewood and backs up to the Audubon Hills development off Porters Chapel Road.

The land was cleared in June, said Bobby Carpenter, civil engineer on the project.

The cost of one- and two-story brick homes will range around $300,000, Taylor said. They will be a minimum 2,400 square feet.

Details on utilities for the homes are still being sorted out. The plot falls partway within the corporate limits of the City of Vicksburg, but a portion lies outside, in the county.

Taylor and Mayor Laurence Leyens said a conversation on Monday touched on annexation of the whole tract.

Leyens, however, said the process would be more complicated than was originally thought and the matter is unresolved. He suggested the site falls within an area of the county that might be considered for annexation in years to come.

Leyens said he approves of Taylor’s project. &#8220I’m happy about it,” he said.

The city-county issue centers on utilities. Municipal sites are entitled to garbage collection, gas, water and sewer connections along with hydrants and fire and police protection. Zoning and building codes are also enforced.

Non-city properties use private garbage, water and sewer utilities, some of which buy services from the city but at a higher rate.

&#8220We’ve got agreements with development sites located outside the corporate limits for sewer and gas, and we can do that as long as they’re within one mile of the city corporate limits,” said Planning Department Director Wayne Mansfield.

A sewer line near Hatcher Bayou, apparently belonging to the City of Vicksburg, would serve the development, Taylor said.

Warren County has subdivision regulations requiring developers to meet standards for roads and drainage, but has no public utilities and no building code. Fire and police protection come from volunteer departments and the Warren County Sheriff’s Office.