A $177,000 grant from the Louisiana Recovery Authority will help St. John the Baptist Parish complete the re-write of its 1986 zoning ordinance with an eye toward discouraging future development in areas subject to flooding, Parish President Natalie Robottom told the Parish Council Tuesday. The grant awarded under the "comprehensive resiliency program," will involve a complete re-write of the...
A $177,000 grant from the Louisiana Recovery Authority will help St. John the Baptist Parish complete the re-write of its 1986 zoning ordinance with an eye toward discouraging future development in areas subject to flooding, Parish President Natalie Robottom told the Parish Council Tuesday.
The grant awarded under the "comprehensive resiliency program," will involve a complete re-write of the parish's zoning and subdivision regulations "so that the development management process is open, accessible and understandable" to residents and landowners, according to the parish's application.
Robottom said Tuesday after announcing the grant that the measure will enable the parish to recover more quickly from storm damage and reduce the amount of property subject to repetitive flooding.
She told reporters later that the measure would put procedures in place, such as emergency permitting, to enable faster recovery after a storm.
The parish has several low-lying areas along the shore of Lake Pontchartrain that are considered "velocity" zones that are highly vulnerable to coastal flooding as well as make plans to ensure "sustainable development" in areas protected by the planned West Shore Hurricane Protection Levee, which will open new areas of development for the parish.
The parish has been re-writing its comprehensive land use plan, including a move to establish parishwide goals for future land use and developing a transportation report focusing on disaster evacuation.
The parish also is investigating the demand for various types of housing.
But the grant will help the parish address what officials see as more systemic problems.
"Policies in the current St. John land use plan suggest new development to be limited in areas under-served by existing infrastructure. However, no language in the zoning or subdivision ordinances supports that policy," the parish's grant application said.
"In fact, both the zoning and subdivision ordinances include conflicting languages within and between the regulations themselves and the existing land use plan," the application continue.
Parish officials cite inconsistencies and decisions made on "political whim" that have allowed mobile homes to be placed in areas not zoned for them.
"The parish would like to have areas specifically zoned for mobile home sites with having appropriate regulations and a clear process for permitting mobile homes in non-mobile home zoned areas."
When the plan is complete, the parish will have a "comprehensive, forward-looking development management program" that will equip the parish to deal with future storms or disasters.