Twenty-one attached dwelling units will be built on Heard Road at some point in the near future. With the Lake Charles City Council approving a series of items focused on the construction of the townhomes during Wednesday’s regular meeting, the project is a reality. The council’s decision was, for a few dozen Heard Road residents at the meeting, a stark reminder of the continuing growth of Lake Charles.

The council approved a handful of ordinances during the meeting, including a 2.2-acre tract of land being annexed into the city’s corporate limits, assigning the land a zoning classification of “residential” and the lot’s placement into Council District D.

The council’s approval of the ordinances came after a few impassioned speeches from Heard Road residents. Their arguments against the project ran the gamut from traffic congestion to sewage problems. The residents also presented the council with an alternative layout for the development that consisted of fewer townhomes and a petition against the project with more than 140 signatures.

Heard Road resident Jason Radford described how the neighborhood was looking to keep a standard of having single-family dwellings.

“I just want to point out that we are not opposed to growth in our neighborhood. We understand the parish and the city are growing rapidly, and we welcome new growth and new neighbors,” Radford said. “What we would like to encourage is responsible growth.”

During the meeting, councilman John Ieyoub asked if it would be feasible for the developers to cut the number of units down further from 21. The original item on the agenda listed 28 units on the two-acre plot — which was already lower than what could have been approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission.

Councilman Mark Eckard pointed out how it wasn’t unusual to see townhome developments scattered across the city in areas with varying zoning classifications. Councilman Rodney Geyen followed that sentiment by highlighting the need for the city to grow in terms of housing. He said he understood the desire for residents to want to keep their neighborhoods as they have always been, but the changes are necessary.

“With this big industrial boom in Lake Charles right now, we have homes and townhouses and places to live being built all over this city,” Geyen said. “I don’t see how we can control building homes and townhouses and yet grow. We have to have a place for people to come and stay.”

The project and its corresponding agenda items were approved unanimously.(MGNonline)