Community feedback sought for March planning meetings

Next month, St. Charles Parish will hold public interviews for consultant teams vying for the opportunity to lead the parish’s comprehensive planning effort.

The meetings will take place on March 13 and  March 18 and will begin at 5 p.m. They will be held at the St. Charles Parish Council Chambers.

Members of the community are invited to attend and will have the opportunity to provide feedback via comment cards.

Out of 15 responses to a request for proposals issued last fall by the parish and the Center for Planning Excellence (CPEX), five firms were selected to participate in the interview process. The firms selected were Wallace, Roberts & Todd of Coral Gables, Fla., AECOM’s New Orleans office, PlanningWorks of Leawood, Kan., Fregonese Associates of Portland, Ore. and Parson Brinckerhoff of Baltimore.

Wallace, Roberts and Todd, Fregonese Associates and AECOM will be interviewed on Friday, March 13, and Parsons Brinckerhoff and PlanningWorks will be interviewed Wednesday, March 18.  For the complete agenda of each session, visit the St. Charles Parish Web site at www.stcharlesparish-la.gov.

St. Charles Parish was one of five communities chosen by CPEX last August to participate in its 2008 Louisiana Community Planning Program. The parish was awarded $100,000 in seed funding for development of a comprehensive plan, which the parish matched. CPEX staff will also provide technical assistance to aid in the planning effort.

A comprehensive plan, sometimes referred to as a “Master Plan,” provides a guide for the future growth and development of a community. It addresses several different elements such as land use, transportation, infrastructure, drainage and open space conservation.   CPEX’s Louisiana Community Planning Program was created in 2006 and encourages the adaptation of smart growth principles and the Louisiana Speaks Regional Plan.

The smart growth principles include creation of housing opportunities and choices, the preservation of open space and farmland, the development of walkable neighborhoods and encouragement of community and stakeholder collaboration. For more about smart growth, visit the CPEX Web site at www.planningexcellence.org.

The Louisiana Speaks Regional Plan is the Louisiana Recovery Authority’s long-term plan for recovery and growth in south Louisiana. To learn more, visit www.louisianaspeaks.org.

 

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