Proposed LC development draws opposition
Published 8:12 am Monday, December 15, 2014
At the Lake Charles City Council’s regular meeting on Dec. 3, a little more than a dozen local residents attended the session to speak out against a proposed development on Heard Road. The item was deferred at the meeting, providing the developer a chance to make changes to the project’s plans, but the disdain for the proposal from the Heard Road residents has yet to wane.
On the agenda for the council’s upcoming regular meeting Wednesday are a handful of items focused on the proposed development. One is a public hearing on the initial appeal of the Planning and Zoning Commission’s decision to approve a major conditional use permit to construct 28 attached dwelling units on a 2.2-acre tract of land at 3601 Heard Road. A trio of other items will deal with the annexation of the land into the city’s corporate limits, assigning the lot a “residential” zoning classification, and amending the city’s official zoning map to include the newly annexed property.
Jason Radford lives on Heard Road only a few hundred feet away from the site of where the more than 20 attached dwelling units could be built, depending on the council’s decision. He will also be serving as the spokesman for the Heard Road community at the upcoming council meeting. The slogan he said the group will use in their argument against the development is “responsible growth.”
“This is going to be an ongoing issue for our neighborhood. There’s a brand new casino less than a mile away and we’re located near a number of other unique attractions, so growth is something we expect,” Radford said. “We welcome it, to a certain extent. We welcome it if it can come to us responsibly.”
Increased traffic, possible sewage issues, aesthetic missteps and the possibility of changing the dynamic of the community are just some of the concerns the residents have, Radford said. As an example of the congestion, Radford talked about a self-storage facility nearby that features a heavy traffic flow on most mornings. Adding more than two dozen multifamily dwelling units to the area would only exacerbate the problem, he said.
“Most of the residents in this area are close to, or have retired. They’re all good people. What they’re seeking is consistency in development. That’s all,” Radford said. “My family is one of the younger families out here and we moved here because of the community. These people have spent their lives creating the neighborhood that’s here now.”
Radford said more than 40 residents are expected to attend the upcoming council meeting.