Acreage viewed from Hwy 30 northward
Gonzales’ Planning Commission unanimously recommended denial of Doug Diez’s petition to annex 55 acres into the city limits on Wednesday. Diez ultimate objective, development of a 150-160 lot residential subdivision north of Hwy 30 in between Gonzales’ easternmost boundary and Smith Tank & Steel, failed to generate much enthusiasm among four commissioners (Reece LeBlanc was absent) unconvinced by Diez’s pitch. Inexplicably without any statutory criteria to guide them, the commissioners applied their unlimited discretionary recommending authority.
“I’m looking for something spectacular,” explained Commissioner Clint King.
One more residential subdivision did not satisfy that lofty standard (and we applaud Commissioner King for demanding a project providing actual benefit to the city and its existing citizenry). And, furthermore, an additional 160 rooftops on the outskirts of town could adversely impact Gonzales’ stellar fire rating, potentially causing a spike in homeowners insurance.
“Nothing here wows me,” Chairman Scott Hughes assessed the petition and corresponding plat map, vowing to withhold support unless/until assurances can be made that no harm of any kind befall existing residents.
Objective annexation criteria nonexistent, the WOW FACTOR is as good a barometer as any.
Abutting San Francisco Street, the city’s eastern boundary, one resident objected to annexation of the acreage because of drainage concerns. The subject property “is like a lake” whenever a rain event fills nearby drainage ditches, often threatening the homes along San Francisco. Flood rating and potential deleterious effects on the drainage system was another concern raised by the commission, unassuaged by Diez’s presentation.
CAO Scot Byrd took no position on behalf of Mayor Barney Arceneaux’s administration.
The final say so is left to Gonzales’ City Council which would, if past practice followed, take up the petition at its next regularly scheduled meeting on January 8. Diez was mulling a request to delay inclusion on the elected body’s next agenda, a five-day turnaround leaving little time to address the misgivings expressed by the commission last night.
All as Ascension Parish (outside the city limits) residential subdivision development is at a standstill, one member of the parish Planning Commission having likened recently enacted development code provisions to a de facto moratorium. While more onerous traffic/drainage mitigation requirements render development more costly, it is the prohibition of new subdivisions on roads less than 20′ wide that will be most challenging to prospective developers, certain of whom have targeted Gonzales to ply their trade.
Map of all the roads in Ascension less than 20′ in width (as of June 2020)
Ascension’s Unified Land Development Code includes Section 17-4032 – Street Requirements requiring the parish Planning Commission to consider the following when deciding the fate of proposed subdivisions:
A. Density Restrictions.
- No major or minor subdivision generating 40 or more peak hour trips, as defined by ITE trip generation estimates pursuant to subsection 17-4060 D.3.e. shall be developed on any street that is less than 20 feet 1 in pavement width. The Department of Public Works will determine the average width of the road by measuring from pavement edge to pavement edge, every 50 feet between two roads that are identified in Appendix 8 of the ULDC-Major Street Plan or the Master Transportation Plan, whichever is most current.
No such impediment exists inside the City of Gonzales.
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