Commissioner Nicholas Miller’s motion was to deny the plat.
Dantin Bruce Development’s Ross Bruce proudly proclaimed that his firm has built over 1,000 homesites in Ascension Parish over the years, hoping to add another 115 to the total at Wednesday’s meeting of the Planning Commission. It was not to be as five commissioners, with two abstentions, voted to reject Harvest Fields subdivision preliminary plat, oblivious to staff recommendations lobbying for approval. And this time Dantin Bruce is unlikely to find a friendly Parish Council to which it might appeal the denial (who remembers Oak Grove Townhouses way back in 2017).
One of the 30 or so residents who spoke in opposition surely does.
“The Unified Land Development Code does not merely permit denial in these circumstances, it requires it when unmitigated traffic impact threatens public safety and welfare,” said Mark Tayor last night, a resident of Cotton Field Subdivision who authored former Councilman Aaron Lawler’s comeuppance back then. “Approving this plat will violate our code and put short term profit over long term safety of our residents.”
Taylor was joined by dozens of his neighbors, including his ten-year old son who also made compelling points to the commission, in the best coordinated succession of public speakers to approach the dais in our memory. Maybe that was due to having rehearsed their presentation on January 14 when consideration of Harvest Fields’ plat was deferred. Among their number, two sitting parish councilmen led off the meeting even though neither Brian Hillensbeck (District 7) or Todd Varnado (District 5) represent the Cotton Field Subdivision (District 11) residents.
Their arguments, summarized below in a reprinted piece published earlier this week, won the day.
ABOVE (provided by neighboring residents): That land falls like 5-6 feet from 18’+ down into what appears to be like 12.8′ on those few lots in blue.
Dantin Bruce Development presented several of the most controversial subdivision plats in Ascension Parish from mid-2015 through July-2021 when a subdivision moratorium went into effect through May 31, 2022. Six Danton Bruce subdivisions (totaling 601 lots), some of the most controversial presented to the Planning Commission during those turbulent times, were approved then built in north Ascension. Five years later…and another Danton Bruce subdivision plat is on the commission’s agenda on January 14.
Harvest Fields:
The proposed major subdivision is located on the West side of LA Hwy. 44 approximately 350’ south of Bertville Road. The project lies in Council District 11 and is zoned Mixed Use 2 (MU2) and Medium Intensity Residential (RM). The application is on behalf of Dantin-Bruce Development by MR Engineering & Surveying, LLC.
The property consists of +/-37.8 acres. The applicant is proposing a subdivision containing 112 lots with a minimum size of 6,250 square feet. There are 47 lots at a 50’ width range, 48 lots at a 60’ width range, 9 lots at a 70’ range and 8 lots at an 80’ range. The proposed subdivision will require 2.24 acres of park space, and the developer is providing 3.35 acres of dedicated park space with 1.97 acres of upland park space (not including detention pond of 1.38 acres). This complies with the major subdivision regulations. Approximately 25% of the property is within the AE flood zone with a base flood elevation of 14.0’ and existing elevations between 13.0’-18.0’. The project drains to Bert Delaune Lateral thence into Black Bayou to the south. 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.
One of our readers and sometime contributor shaded in the area of Harvest Fields‘ subdivision plat that lies inside AE flood zone…
- Plat map in meeting packet
- Amended by reader to show AE Floodzone in BLUE
pointing out that Ascension’s Master Land Use Plan includes:
Principle 7: Discourage subdivision development within the 100-year floodplain. Subdivision development is occurring in large areas of the parish that cannot support the intensity of this development. The allowable subdivision development should be largely restricted to the northern part of the parish outside the 100-year floodplain.
Principle 9: Within a zone allowing subdivision development, use a floodplain overlay zone to restrict development within the 100-year floodplain. This overlay zone will reduce drainage problems from development by restricting the amount of fill that can be added within the floodplain.
Harvest Fields is only the second new subdivision plat presented for consideration since the moratorium took effect on July 15, 2021 (another was repackaged after having been approved but never built). The other, Gateway Farms, saw severe conditions attached to the approval on December 11, 2024 and no Construction Drawings have been submitted in the intervening 13 months. Will it ever be built?
Those severe conditions were imposed because of the stringent mitigation (drainage, traffic, etc.) requirements added to Ascension’s Development Code during the moratorium. Affording the Parish Council an opportunity to impose those requirements was the whole reason behind Parish President Clint Cointment’s insistence on the moratorium. In fact, certain of the amendments proved a too severe and have been loosened a bit, especially those related to drainage like fill mitigation.
The climate is different than that when Dantin Bruce managed to shove through Oak Grove Townhomes …
That development caused Dantin Bruce to be cited by LDEQ for stormwater runoff violations, first in 2019 and two years later for ongoing violations. Nearby Willow Lake Subdivision bore the brunt of Oak Grove Townhomes’ failure to mitigate its drainage impact, resulting in legal action without much in the way of satisfaction.
And then there was Jamestown Crossing (1 & 2). The 2018 version of that Planning Commission, led by then Chairman Matthew Pryor, employed torturous reasoning to declare that the roadway was wide enough to meet requisite standards to accommodate a new subdivision. A dubious Traffic Impact Study was virtually ignored to adopt those two plats sited on acreage owned by former Councilwoman Teri James Casso and her extended family.
Sale price for Jamestown Crossing
None of those subdivisions could have been approved had the current Development Code been in place eight years ago, even after Councilwoman Casso negotiated a lessening of the impact.
Still, Harvest Fields’ meeting packet reveals several traffic shortcomings. Below are charts from the Traffic Impact Study:
Had the original language been adopted in May of 2022, each leg of an intersection within the TIA study area would have to be Level of Service “D” or better for subdivision preliminary plat approval. Roughly a quarter of the intersections included in the Harvest Field impact study fall below that level of service.
At least there is a Traffic Impact Study. Excerpted from the meeting packet:
“Consultant will provide after completing the drainage study after the construction plan stage” and similar responses to Engineering Review comments is implied admission that no study has been performed.
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