Some residents living in the Jamestown subdivision in Moss Bluff are upset that an 8-acre tract of land behind their homes off La. 378 is being cleared.

Peto Sellers and Jeff Pitre with J&P Land Development own the land being cleared, which is off La 378 on Redd Lane. Sellers said that crews began clearing brush underneath trees on Monday so the area can be mowed and kept up. The company acquired the land about seven years ago. It was zoned for commercial use at the time of the purchase, he said.

Marlene Mullenix, who has lived on Presidential Circle for the last 17 years, knew the land would be cleared eventually. She is upset, though, that Pitre and Sellers didn’t leaving a forested buffer zone and said clearing the land devalues her property.

Mullenix said that she and other homeowners wanted to buy part of the property to use as a buffer from the highway, but the $650,000 price tag for more than half of the land was too expensive. She said J&P would not split the land into separate parcels, which would be less expensive.

“They did not communicate to where we could work it out,” Mullenix said. “We knew the time would come, we just wish we would get more notification.”

Sellers said he has no immediate plans to develop the property, but that he would like to build a medical complex there because the area has grown significantly over the years.

“I have nothing submitted with the parish,” he said regarding development plans. “I would like something similar to Bayou Pines.”

John Reon with the Gravity Drainage District 8 of Ward 1 said the clearing would allow J&P Land Development to move a drainage channel that runs through the middle of the property to the north line of the tract. He said the Jamestown subdivision has a 7.5-foot drainage easement set aside on the subdivision’s south side.

Reon said moving the channel would greatly improve stormwater drainage in the subdivision, especially in the southeast corner, which is prone to flooding during heavy rains.

“It’s not any kind of drastic move,” he said. “That southeast corner is suffering greatly. I realize it’s going to take all of their privacy away, but it’s a positive move as far as the drainage is concerned.”

Sellers said he has not made any plans to move the drainage channel.

Reon said J&P Land Development will have to apply for permits from the parish, which includes a review and comment phase, before any development can begin. He said a detailed drainage plan will have to be reviewed by parish engineering officials before the channel can be moved.

Sellers said he takes pride in all of his development efforts.

“Every time I do something, I try to make it as nice and as pretty as I can.”