Ascension Council expected to test new appeal process on proposed subdivisions, wading further into parish’s battles … – The Advocate

GONZALES For the first time, the Ascension Parish Council on Thursday will try out a new appeal procedure for proposed subdivisions its Planning Commission has rejected, weighing in directly on the running battle in Ascension over continued growth amid infrastructure strains and worries about flooding.

The developers of the 32-lot Hudson Cove subdivision along La. 42 in the Galvez area are appealing the commission's 2-1 decision in April to deny the project over its drainage plans and the severe flooding that happened in August in that area near the Amite River.

GONZALES Not more than an hour after being sworn into office, newly appointed Ascension Pa

The August 2016 flood inundated 6,400 homes and businesses in the parish and hit the Galvez, St. Amant and Sorrento areas that are closest to the Amite River Basin the hardest.

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GONZALESFor years in Ascension Parish, individual homes and sometimes entire subdivisio

Previously, Ascension government had an obscure, rarely used appeal process that routed denied projects to a three-member Planning Commission Appeals Board appointed by the parish president. For years the parish Planning Commission, which is appointed by the council, rarely rejected proposed subdivisions, so use of the board was equally rare. But the board got more action last year as the commission took a more assertive stance on denying projects.

In three instances last year for Brookstone in Prairieville, Camellia Cove outside Gonzales, and Oakbourne in Dutchtown the Appeals Board overturned denials by the seven-member commission despite commissioners' concerns about flooding and traffic. That last appeal board vote in December 2016 to overturn denial of Camellia Cove and Oakbourne prompted charges from a commissioner that the process was "in the tank" for developers and "stinks with the stench of corruption."

While those comments, from now former Commissioner Douglas Foster, drew criticism from the volunteer Appeals Board members and the parish administration, the 11-member council soon abolished the board and gave itself the final say instead, as neighboring parishes already do, leading to Thursday's vote.

GONZALES The Ascension Parish Planning Commission rejected subdivision plans three times i

Despite the changes in Ascension, one constant remains: Baton Rouge lawyer David Cohn, who prevailed each time before the old Appeals Board last year. Cohn is now representing the developer of Hudson Cove, which he says met all parish requirements and should have been approved in April.

For Cohn, the fight over Hudson Cove revolves around the same issue those other denied projects did: whether the commission had enough evidence of potential harm in order to deny a subdivision that otherwise met parish regulations.

One central question is: Will the decision stand up in court?

Various court decisions and an opinion from the Louisiana Attorney General's office wrote for Ascension in May 2016 note that when commissions make these types of decisions, they must do so with the understanding that, if taken to court, a judge would rule their decision through a "strict scrutiny analysis," one of the highest legal thresholds.

GONZALES Whether the historic flood that inundated an estimated 6,400 homes and businesses

Cohn said Wednesday the commission did not receive any additional information that would cross that legal bar and separate Hudson Cove from any other projects approved in past.

"It's flawed reasoning," he said of the commission's decision.

The commissioners who rejected Hudson Cove found otherwiseafter residents brought pictures of flooding in August over La. 42 and on the proposed site of the subdivision, a swampy tract near the Amite River.

Now it will be up to the council to say which side is right when members meet 6 p.m. inside council chambers at the Courthouse Annex, 828 S. Irma Blvd., Gonzales.

The appeal is one several matters on the council's agenda, which includes a $1 million software contract with Tyler Technologies and ratification of some of Parish President Kenny Matassa's top administrators weeks after his administration implemented major aspects of an organizational review of parish government. Late last fall, the council held off on the ratification votes called for in the home rule charter until the review had been completed.

Follow David J. Mitchell on Twitter, @NewsieDave.

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Ascension Council expected to test new appeal process on proposed subdivisions, wading further into parish's battles ... - The Advocate