The city of Jackson will continue to own thousands of acres surrounding its airport under a settlement that is expected to clear the way for economic development on what’s long been considered some of Mississippi’s most coveted real estate.

The agreement was approved by the Jackson City Council by a 5-2 vote Tuesday. It allows Flowood and Pearl, growing cities in Rankin County, to annex Jackson-owned but currently unincorporated land to the west and east of the Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport. The deal seeks to conclude a seven-year-old lawsuit in which those suburban cities sued to incorporate some of the land.

The airport is a few miles east of downtown Jackson. It is in Rankin County and is the rare example of a Mississippi city owning land outside the county where th

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