[StBernard] smart growth code

[Westley Annis]

This is in reply to the person who inquired about SMART GROWTH codes. I have
attended a seminar in this matter prior to Katrina sponsored by the Regional
Planning Commission. I posted a few months ago the principles of smart
growth. You could say Louisiana's communities, as have most American towns,
developed with stupid growth.
 
Duany, (remember him?) was paid supposedly $2 million to do his series of
charettes and give each community a planning book (still waiting to see if
he sends more than a handful of print copies to the parish) and a suggested
smart growth codes document.  Having read it thoroughly, it appears that the
Duany team took a generic document and substituted a few words here and
there.  Unfortunately, to truly adopt smart growth requires creating a new
community of thousands of acres as is being done around the country when
large, rural, farmland areas become suburbs to larger metro areas OR if
millions of dollars fall from the sky such that existing LA neighborhoods
could be bought out, their people and businesses relocated elsewhere until
their old neighborhood was bulldozed and re-built.  (Haven't heard of any
money flowing from DC via BR to the parish for buyouts.)
 
While I believe that there are some principles of smart growth that our
parish can adopt through ordinances and subdivision regulations, I don't see
the huge sums of money coming to the parish now, when it's needed, in order
to truly do massive redevelopment.  Also, the smart code calls for some
major changes in authority/approvals for community development. Currently,
the Parish appointment review board nominates candidates and the Parish
President chooses one for each councilmatic district and two at-large to be
your parish planning commissioners. We hear cases and move to approve or
deny various development issues and subdivision regulations. Appeals are
made to the parish council which can over-rule us.  I can say in all my
years on the planning commission, I have served with dedicated people who
want to improve our quality of life, our property values, our economic
development, and safeguard things such as no spot-zoning, greenspace, etc.
The smart code suggested by Duany follows the guideline which would create a
different review process that gives significantly more authority to the
council and virtually eliminates the open meetings and public hearing
process. I am not one to throw the proverbial baby out with the bathwater,
but your planning commissioners are carefully reading every word of the
Duany smart growth suggested code and seeking to keep the best practical
principles of the smart growth concept, while safeguarding the process that
is in our parish charter which makes developers appear in open meetings and
allows the public to speak for or against issues prior to the planning
commission granting or denying approvals.  Supposedly, our council attempted
to suspend the planning commission after Katrina, but was advised it was
illegal to do that and so we continue our charge of hearing requests for
zoning changes, re-subdivisions of property, and editing the subdivision
regulations which we started in 2005. 
 
We meet every other Tuesday of the month at the parish building, second
floor, at 4pm and anyone can attend. We had a meeting today and the next one
is July 25.
 
Deborah Keller
Planning Commissioner, At Large, East St. Bernard Parish