Event Chairman Bill Allin cited state forecasts that put St. Tammany's population at 459,000 by the year 2030, an 85-percent increase from its current count of 249,000.
St. Tammany Parish's push to attract high-tech companies and high-quality retail and residential development while preserving the parish's vaunted quality of life took center stage Thursday at a conference sponsored by a local leadership organization. Parish President Pat Brister, Parish Councilman Reid Falconer, Sidney Fontenot, the parish's planning director, and local developers and community activists took to the microphone at the Pontchartrain Yacht Club in Mandeville to lead a forum entitled "Economic Development Along the I-12 Corridor: The Promise and Pitfalls."
The event was sponsored by Leadership St. Tammany.
During his introductory remarks, event Chairman Bill Allin cited state forecasts that put St. Tammany's population at 459,000 by the year 2030, an 85-percent increase from its current count of 249,000. While that number is subject to debate, Allin said even if the growth is more modest, the increasing population could mean big changes for the parish and could present both economic development opportunities and challenges.
"What kind of development, and how will it affect our quality of life? Just as important, what can and should we, as community leaders, do about it? These are the questions we want to explore," Allin said.
Brister led the parade of speakers by discussing the parish's ongoing efforts to attract businesses, create jobs and "keep our children and grandchildren here."
While much work remains, Brister said economic development efforts thus far have produced results, noting recent studies that show St. Tammany as the only north shore parish to show consistent job growth in each of the last five years. She said sales tax collections have inched up, as have building permits for single family homes.
But, as people, jobs and money come to the parish, leaders must be mindful of how growth will impact the community, she said. "Quality of life is always on our minds."
Brister said some areas, such as the I-12 and Louisiana 59 interchange, have become congested, and we have "plans to alleviate that." But she noted there are still areas in the northern and western sections of the parish that are ideal for development. She said the parish's focus is on attracting "high tech and computer programming type jobs" rather than manufacturing facilities.
The parish president called the state's plan to close Southeast Louisiana Hospital near Mandeville "a major blow to the area." She said she hopes the state will at least keep some services the mental hospital now offers, rather than completely shuttering it, as is currently the plan. "We've got to continue to fight that battle" to keep the hospital open.
When asked what members of the leadership group can do to help spur economic development, Brister urged them to talk up the positive side of community development issues at forums and meetings, which are often dominated by critics. "We need help to talk about what is good."
Townsend Underhill, vice president of development for Covington-based Sterling Properties, gave the developer's perspective on the economic development drive, predicting that the parish could see a major boom in office space development in the coming years. He said fewer white collar north shore residents are crossing the Causeway each day to their south shore jobs and are instead working in St. Tammany offices.
Underhill said that in addition to more office space, the parish needs additional north-south thoroughfares and more crossings at the Tchefuncte River to improve traffic flow. And, he said as the population grows and the parish becomes less dependent on south shore amenities, St. Tammany will need more public gathering places, such as civic centers.
The parish might also see an increase in upscale rental properties, often wrongly considered the bane of residential communities, he said. "Renters aren't bad," Underhill said, noting a national trend toward renting rather than owning residences."People just want to be more mobile. Some folks just don't have a desire to own a home."
Leadership St. Tammany trains emerging community leaders in a nine-month curriculum designed to broaden their understanding of local government and other