Ascension’s Parish Council, by a vote of 8-1 with two absences, rejected an attempt to rezone 7 acres on the south side Hwy 30 (abutting tracts on Clouatre Road) from Rural to Mixed Use 2. The Council ignored an earlier recommendation from the Zoning Commission, a 5-2 vote in favor of the rezone application by Greg Swanson. Neither was the majority swayed by the unbridled support of Zoning Official Lance Brock who seemed to lobby on behalf of the applicant on November 20.
Swanson, who did not speak in support of his rezone request on Thursday, submitted the following written assertion with his application:
Purpose: Our intended use of property is a barn style wedding venu (sic) w/ 5 small cabins for wedding party. Our wish is to leave the property natural as possible with extensive land scaping. A large pond drainage + retention.
But Mixed Use 2 allows…
Commercial/retail areas consist of low- and medium-density service, office, and commercial buildings and are usually positioned near highway corridors or at highly visible intersections. Commercial/retail areas require good access and often have limited pedestrian connectivity. These areas are often one-story buildings but may be multistory, mid-rise buildings with surface parking lots, ideally situated on the side or rear of the buildings.
Greg Swanson ignored the suggestion of Zoning Commissioner Wade Schexnaydre earlier this month, the longest serving commissioner advising Swanson to submit a Planned Unit Development (PUD) instead of rezoning the acreage. A PUD restricts the end use of any subject property to the plans expressed in the application. Commissioner Schexnaydre’s recommendation failed to sway five of his colleagues, setting the stage for Swanson’s comeuppance at the Parish Council meeting eight days hence.
Going from Rural (R), on a property surrounded by parcels categorized by Ascension’s Planning & Development Staff as Estate Subdivision:
Estate subdivisions have large lots of at least one acre per unit. This housing type may be in a subdivision or independently located to support smaller farming and agricultural lifestyles. Homes are detached and are typically one to two stories. As an option, this development type permits open space development, where homes are located in small lot neighborhoods, with common open space preserved in perpetuity. Estate areas have supporting retail and commercial uses at major intersections.
to Mixed Use 2 was a bridge too far for an overwhelming majority of the Parish Council members, several of whom cited persistent drainage issues in justification of their votes.
Subject property viewed from Hwy 30 looking south after rainfall.
District 4 Councilman Brett Arceneaux was the lone vote to support Greg Swanson’s application.
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