A 122-lot subdivision proposed for Luling will be considered at tonight’s St. Charles Parish Planning Commission meeting.
Company President Cliff Guidry said the Heather Oaks Subdivision calls for mostly 60-by-150-foot lots for homes with an average of 2,000 square feet. The homes will cost more than $200,000. The project is planned for a strip of land 53 acres long between the two established communities of Willowdale and Lakewood.
“Heather Drive will serve as the main access point and grand entrance. People will want to go through that road primarily,” Guidry said. “You should have a secondary access for emergency vehicles, interconnectivity and flow. The council will decide if a secondary access is needed in the back of Lakewood.”
Area residents, who have raised concerns about the project, say they’re attending the meeting, which will be held at 7 p.m. at the St. Charles Parish Courthouse in Hahnville.
With Heather Oaks, Guidry said an analysis indicated traffic would be “within reason.”
Guidry said the subdivision’s entrance will be Heather Drive, which will serve as the main access point and grand entrance, he said. Danny Hebert is the project engineer.
With approval, the project is expected to begin early next year.
Guidry earlier proposed a 200-lot subdivision called Cypress View in Hahnville, but residents opposed the project.
Parish Councilwoman Julia Fisher-Perrier said she will do what’s best for the parish.
“I feel we should and have always encouraged positive, smart growth in our community,” Fisher-Perrier said. “It is our job as the Parish Council to make sure development is done right. If this comes before us on the council we will address concerns related to drainage, traffic flow and infrastructure as a whole.
“If the project fits the criteria I feel confident that the builder will give us a product and neighborhood that we can be proud of. I look forward to hearing from the residents at the meeting and can assure them, as a life long resident, I will do what’s best for all in St Charles Parish.”
Neighboring Luling residents question the impact of the project, particularly in how it could cause heavier traffic, lower property value with smaller lots, cause drainage problems and overwhelm local schools.
“I just wonder about the impact of that many homes in such a small area,” said Denise Rocco, who lives a house away from where the development is planned. “People are already talking about selling if this project happens, including me.”
Rocco, along with Allison Prendergast of Willowdale, are among numerous area residents questioning the project’s impact on their community.
“Now I’m going to have an entrance to another neighborhood,” she said of squeezing another neighborhood between two fully built neighborhoods. “The builder is from Lafayette and I don’t think they could care less about what they’re doing in St. Charles Parish.”
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