The master plan and SmartCode were designed by a team led by Fisher & Hall Urban Design, with Lois Fisher as Director of Design, through a charrette process in February 2006. Pass Christian’s oak-lined streets and historic architecture had earned it the name “Jewel of the Gulf Coast” prior to Hurricane Katrina in August 2005.  After the storm destroyed approximately 75% of its structures, the vision of the historic architecture, traditional neighborhoods and underlying city structure guided the design of the rebuilding plan that is at the core of the Pass Chrsitian SmartCode. The design team included Ann Daigle (planner), Sandy Sorlien (code writer), Bill Wright of Balch & Bingham (SmartCode attorney), Brian Wright of Town Planning & Urban Design Collaborative, DeWayne Carver of Hall Planning & Engineering, architect Eric Brown of Brown Design Studio;, and Dede Christopher of Christopher Illustration.