| The future’s uncertain for a proposed 73-home subdivision in
Scott after a three-hour discussion resulted in the City-Parish
Council’s denial of the developer’s appeal to move
forward with the development at Tuesday’s council meeting. The council denied the appeal filed by developer, Steve Montgomery, whose preliminary plat for a 73-lot development on 14 acres had been denied by the planning commission in October. The commission denied the request, even though planning staff recommended its approval. There is an option to resubmit the preliminary plat to the planning commission, but after Tuesday’s meeting Montgomery said he was undecided about his next step. During the meeting, 26 people filled out comment cards to address the council with the majority pleading with council members to deny the request because of its impact on residents’ quality of life. Another 26 people filled out comment cards in opposition to the approval, but did not wish to address the council. Montgomery told council members that he’s made efforts to discuss his plans with the neighbors and agreed to council members’ recommendations that would address some of the residents’ concerns about traffic and safety issues. But the amendments weren’t enough to appease other council members, including Chairman Don Bertrand who repeatedly told members that there were too many unanswered questions, including whether or not there is an active gas pipeline on the property. The pipeline did not appear in surveys of the property, however neighbors familiar with the property told the council otherwise. “What I would like to see is the developer rethink his set of plans and see him go back to our staff and take another look at what he has on paper,” Bertrand said. Bertrand also expressed reservations about the number of homes planned on the 14 acres. “I think it’s very reasonable to think you can do something with 14 acres, but it doesn’t mean that you stick a home in every square inch that you can just for the sake of having all the sales that you can without any consideration of the impact,” Bertrand said. “… If we’re going to plan for our future, let’s do so wisely and not on a dollar-per-square-foot basis.” Bertrand told council members that more careful consideration will need to be given to other developments as the parish continues to grow. Otherwise, “the next council will pick up the tab. We’re doing that now,” Bertrand said. HOME |