Apparently locals are really pissed off. But so far what they are proposing likely won't change anything.

So Livingston and Ascension had development moratoriums at some pointe over the past couple of years, often in response to a proposed neighborhood by Horton or other home builders (or even a rumor of one). I think West Baton Rouge cracked down on this at some point to write in more strict rules, but I don't think it was a moratorium. Pointe Coupee had a moratorium for about 60 days while they adopted tougher rules on sewers, drainage, and building standards.

How does this all impact home prices and economic competitiveness in Louisiana? Seems like that would make it harder for people to afford new homes?

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Under pressure over floods, traffic, here's what Livingston Parish is doing about development
LINK

Under pressure from residents upset about traffic and flooding, the Livingston Parish Council has pushed past months of disagreement to approve a battery of laws limiting the construction of new neighborhoods.

Those ordinances include: requiring developers to submit studies early in the planning process that show how their projects will affect traffic, drainage, fire protection and schools; reducing the number of lots to 2.5 per acre; and regulating development on wetlands, among others.

As the parish's population has exploded over the last decade, so has the arrival of massive neighborhoods and apartment complexes built to satisfy the influx of newcomers. Many citizens in rural areas of the parish fear their communities will be irrevocably altered for the worse if the suburban sprawl continues unabated.

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Council members have been caught between increasingly irate constituents, who fear the developments will overwhelm their roads, schools and precarious drainage infrastructure, and developers, who say they are following the letter of the law for their projects. The tension has led to heated, hours-long debates during council meetings.

To settle the issue, the council recently imposed a 60-day moratorium on major new construction, giving it time to set new rules for "responsible growth." In the meantime, members have spent weeks workshopping ways to appease both residents and developers.

Last week, they approved almost a dozen new ordinances designed to toughen guidelines for development while still allowing for growth.

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The construction industry has criticized other, significantly longer construction moratoriums in other parishes — like the one in Ascension, which lasted almost a year. Builders argue moratoriums lead to a shortage in housing and restrict the growth of the local economy.

In Livingston, developer organizations have been cautious not to be overly critical of the council in the wake of the moratorium. Instead, they have encouraged solutions that will lead to a quick resolution.

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Zito said some of the changes will positively affect everyone long-term. She pointed to new rules requiring minimum road widths — an effort to reduce traffic and make roads safer — and a new definition of wetlands that encourages conservation.

Some of the other ordinances require detention ponds to be more accesible for flood maintenance and mandate more entrances for larger neighborhoods, so all the cars don't pour into one place.

Parish Presidnet Layton Ricks lauded the council for coming together to satisfy as many people as possible amid unprecedented growth.

"The council has done a good job in trying to see into the future by enacting some ordinances that I think will make it a little more stringent on development but still allow it to develop,” he said Tuesday.

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Last year, the council passed more than a dozen new zoning categories for the unincorporated areas of the parish, though they won't be enforced until they are mapped. Council members have said they plan for zoning to be fully adopted by the end of the year.

Zoning rules were a significant change for the once-rural parish, which prided itself on its laissez-faire approach to business and property rights.

On the other hand, a laissez-faire approach to this only guarantees that local taxpayers will eventually have to cough up cash to fix the roads, sewers, and drainage issues.

This post was edited on 6/15/22 at 1:18 pm