Gateway Farms
Delaune Estates’ preliminary plat consisting of 237 lots west of Hwy 73, south of White Road in Prairieville was approved on July 14, 2021 (the day before an 11-month subdivision moratorium went into effect. Its Final Plat was approved by Ascension’s Planning Commission last night. Also on the agenda was the first preliminary plat to be considered by the commission since Delaune Estates (three years, five months later) and the first to be considered pursuant to new, stricter development code provisions.
Gateway Farms was approved by a 3-2 vote (Commissioners Randy Clouatre, Jr. made the motion, seconded by Nicholas Miller who were joined by the last openly pro-development stalwart on the Commission, Julio Dumas. Commissioners Mark Villa and Michelle Unitas (related to Johnny, we were informed some time ago).
The proposed subdivision is located at the end of, south of LA Hwy 74 approximately 1,200’ east of I-10 (on Faucheaux Road) in Council District 9 and is zoned Medium Intensity Residential (RM). The application is on behalf of KD Development by Quality Engineering and Surveying, LLC.
The property consists of +/-32.82 acres. The applicant is proposing a subdivision containing 77 lots with a minimum size of 6,250 square feet. There are 37 lots at a 50’ width range and 40 lots at a 60’ width range. The proposed subdivision will require 1.54 acres of park space, and the developer is providing 1.99 acres of upland park space with 2.98 acres of detention. This complies with the major subdivision regulations. All of the property is within the AE flood zone with a base flood elevation of 13.0’ and existing elevations between 9.30’-12.10’. The project drains to Bayou Grand Goudine thence into New River to the east. The applicant is proposing a sewer system discharging along this route from a private treatment system. All sewer discharge permitting is subject to approval from LDH.
Commissioner Clouatre’s motion to approve the plat was conditioned upon:
- Faucheaux Road must be widened to at least 20′ from the proposed subdivision to Hwy 74, and
- A 2-way left-hand turn lane must be constructed to meet LA DOTD guidelines and Ascension Parish standards.
The latter is required because stricter Traffic Impact Analysis (TIA) were codified during the 2021-22 moratorium, prohibiting major subdivisions when roadway Levels of Service (LOS) is “D” or worse.
The development restrictions would have been even more restrictive had Parish President Clint Cointment’s proposed legislation not been amended by the Parish Council at the 11th hour.
Thus, to build on the D-rated Hwy 74, mitigation is necessary to bring the LOS below “D” (determined by the amount of time it takes motorists to travel certain distances).
“(Hwy) 74 has so much traffic, even if you add (this project’s) 80 peak hour trips, they’re not dropping it a Level of Service,” Engineering Review Agent Shawn Sherrow tried to simplify the complexities of current TIA for an unsure Planning Commission (two of its member, Max Nassar and Wade Schexnaydre, absent on Wednesday).
Traffic Engineer Rebecca Murray of Gresham Smith, hired by Ascension Parish due to another development code amendment, cautioned that “due to the proximity of Faucheaux Road to L Landry, you really can’t fit in a full left turn lane without reducing some access for other roadways.” The 2-way turn lane “also presents some operational and safety issues.” The warning did not seem to register even as Murray noted two fatalities among the accidents on Hwy 74.
Multiple nearby residents described a variety of drainage issues and flooding concerns, none of which made it into the commission’s deliberations. Planning & Development Director Eric Poche explained that the maximum three feet of necessary fill would still mean that some of Gateway Farms’ future homes would have to be pier-and-beam construction.
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