In the News

from the The Advocate, Baton Rouge, LA 7.6.04

Speaker to promote smart-growth policies in Baton Rouge

By Mike Dunne, Advocate staff writer

If Baton Rouge is to grow smartly, it will need to swallow some policies that caused it to gag in the past, such as connecting streets between subdivisions and encouraging more mixed use in residential areas.
Incorporating connected communities and mixing uses and densities are two of the recommendations made in a "Smart Growth" audit of Baton Rouge and its development codes and plans. Smart growth is designed to lessen the time people spend in cars and to discourage suburban sprawl.

The results of the audit will be the topic of a report to the Mayor's Smart Growth Task Force this afternoon.

Then at 6 p.m., former Maryland Gov. Parris Glendenning will speak at the Old State Capitol on the topic of smart growth. There will be a reception from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m., with Glendenning then speaking until 7:30 p.m.

It is free and open to the public.

The task force and Plan Baton Rouge applied for a grant from the Smart Growth Leadership Institute. The institute chose Baton Rouge as one of nine cities where a team of planners would visit, conduct an audit and prepare a set of recommendations.

The four-person team visited in March. It looked for instances where the parish's land development ordinances, called the Unified Development Code (UDC), is inconsistent with smart-growth policies.

"Baton Rouge can do a lot more to encourage compact development patterns," the report said in one of its recommendations. "It seems very clear that new development is not achieving historic density patterns and new mixed-use development is scarce."

The report also says: "As it is now, smart growth projects are hard to do in Baton Rouge. The UDC should be revised to make the most desirable development the easiest to accomplish."

That's not news to those who have tried. Some developers seeking to use "smart growth" principles have found barriers as they met with neighboring residents or go before the Planning Commission or Metro Council.

Richard Carmouche, who wants to build a traditional neighborhood development on the Kleinpeter Farm on Perkins Road, held meetings with neighbors to enlist the community in designing his project. When it came to connecting his streets with those in Wimbledon Estates and Oak Hills Crossing subdivisions, many residents were up in arms.

The idea of mixed-use development in a sea of residential subdivisions also set off opponents' alarms. Carmouche's project is now on hold because of the near-constant traffic jam that often occurs on Perkins Road between Bluebonnet Boulevard and Siegen Lane.

After reading the audit report, Plan Baton Rouge's Elizabeth "Boo" Thomas said, "I think there are huge opportunities." For more than two years, the Smart Growth Task Force has been asking, "What are we doing and how do we do it?"

"The great thing this report shows is we have some of the tools we need," Thomas said. "What the report makes clear to me is there are some huge gaps" between the Unified Development Code and the parish's overall development plant, The Horizon Plan.

"We don't have the rules or laws in place that mandate things should happen," she said.

Growth patterns have affected two of the topics people are talking about today: Clogged traffic and "why aren't we one of the cool cities?" The critical question is whether residents have the will to demand change, she said.

The report's recommendations center on 10 principles that define "Smart Growth," according to the institute. Here's what the report had to say about Baton Rouge's application of each principle:

• Provide a variety of transportation choices: The Planning Commission should "only approve those subdivisions that had a grid street pattern or a pattern that creates multiple connections to adjacent areas," except when physically impossible.

The report also recommends creating several different types of streets to control volume and traffic speed and to accommodate bicycles paths and bus turn-ins.

• Mixed land uses: Plan Baton Rouge's downtown plan "is a shining example of what could happen." Traditional neighborhood overlay zones or districts should be created to provide mixed-use and higher-density developments that best typify smart growth principles. It "should be used judiciously … ."

Overlay districts of zones don't necessarily change the zoning, but can dictate design requirements such as lighting, materials, height and other attributes in addition to zoning requirements. Overlay districts have been used recently by Councilman David Boneno to guide development of Bluebonnet Boulevard between I-10 and Airline.

• Create a range of housing opportunities and choices: "We recommend revising the residential zones so that a range of housing types may be built within a single zone. Consider using average densities rather than restrictions on lot sizes to allow a limited number of smaller lots, zero-lot-line homes and townhomes in lower density residential zones to give older residents options to stay in their neighborhoods when they no longer need nor are able to afford or care for larger properties."
  
• Create walkable neighborhoods: Again, the audit mentions the need for street connectivity. "No further waivers should be granted by the Planning Commission or Metro Council."
  Block sizes should be limited to a 1,600-foot perimeter or 500 feet in length to encourage more walking. "For the most part, sidewalks throughout Baton Rouge are too narrow or do not connect to places people want to travel."
  
• Encourage community and stakeholder collaboration: A grassroots organization, armed with fiscal impact studies, needs to be formed to educate the public and promote the principles of smart growth.
  
• Foster distinctive, attractive communities with a strong sense of place: The audit praised many of Baton Rouge's older neighborhoods that "contribute to a distinctive character," but said more needs to be done.

Design standards can be adopted to create well-designed neighborhoods that would attract shoppers, retailers and residents alike.

In order to build on the historic preservation efforts, ways need to be explored "to facilitate the construction of new buildings and the adaptive reuse and reconstruction of old buildings to preserve the historic patterns in the downtown area." A special committee created by the Metro Council is about to recommend a new historic preservation ordinance and a separate demolition ordinance for older, downtown buildings.

• Make development decisions predictable, fair and cost-effective: A group should be formed to review the permitting process to expedite projects that meet smart-growth principles. There should also be a streamlined review process and incentives for those who want to redevelop where infrastructure already exists. The city-parish already waives some building fees for residential in-fill construction in some downtown and midtown areas.
• Preserve open spaces, farmland, natural beauty and critical environmental areas: There are no development regulations offering protection to natural areas.
• Strengthen and direct development toward existing communities: Incentives and lower impact fees and possibly fast-track permitting could be devised "to encourage developers to build in existing communities rather than in the urban fringe."
• Take advantage of compact building design and efficient infrastructure design: "A clear development and redevelopment policy is needed … . We strongly suggest that higher-density single-family residential development be accommodated" as well as traditional neighborhood overlay zones or districts, which could be used to increase the density in existing residential zones.