Ascension Parish Council to hold special meeting April 27 on development code ordinances

The Ascension Parish Council will hold a special meeting April 27 in Gonzales to discuss proposed ordinances related to the ongoing moratorium on new developments.

Kendig Keast Collaborative, an implementation-based, urban planning consultancy based in Sugar Land, Texas, has been analyzing the parish's unified land development code over recent months.

Council members have been working with Kendig Keast consultants in managing Ascension Parish's growth, which has been the fastest of any parish in Louisiana over the past two decades.

During the last council meeting held in Donaldsonville, members approved of an extension to May 31 for the nine-month moratorium on new developments. It was set to expire April 17.

The moratorium was put into place June 17 last year at the courthouse in Gonzales.

Census figures reported after 2020 show Ascension Parish's population has nearly doubled since 2000. The unprecedented growth to areas south of Baton Rouge has added a total of 18 percent to the population since 2010.

The parish has an estimated population of more than 128,000 with no sign of the figures slowing.

The agenda for the special meeting includes the follow ordinances and public hearings:

• Ordinance - to amend the Ascension Parish Unified Land Development Code Appendix IV - Subdivision Regulations, Section 17-4044 - Drainage Requirements, 17-4045 - Drainage Design Criteria, 17-4050 - Servitude Revocation, 17-506 - Protection of Existing Watersheds and Conveyance Systems, 17-506.1 - Development in the Floodplain, 17-506.2 - Wetland Preservation, 17-507 - Placement of Fill, 17-5012 - Stormwater Conveyance Systems, 17- 5013 - Design Criteria, 17-5014- Drainage Servitudes, 17-5094 - Implementation of September 2019 Changes, 17-40100 - Definitions, and Attachment B. Drainage Impact Study Procedure
• Ordinance - to amend the Unified Land Development Code, Appendix II - Development Code Section 17-2082-B Fence Requirements and Appendix IV - Subdivision Regulations, Sections 17-405 - Preliminary Plat Procedure, 17-4021 - Large Scale Development, 17-4032 - Street Requirements,17-4032-B - Access and Connectivity, 17-4037 - Servitudes (Utilities and Drainage) Requirements, 17-4039 Block Requirements, and 17-4060 Traffic Impact Analysis (TIA) and 17-2011 - Definitions