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[CALL TO ORDER]
GOOD AFTERNOON.WELCOME TO THE METROPOLITAN COUNCIL ZONING MEETING THIS WEDNESDAY.
WE'RE GONNA CALL A MEETING TO ORDER.
DO WE HAVE A QUORUM? WE HAVE A QUORUM.
[1. 24-01015 RV-6-24 A Cypress at Ardendale Revocation]
ALL RIGHT.A CYPRESS AT ARDEN DALE REVOCATION OR REQUEST OR REVOKE PORTION OF 30 FOOT PUBLIC DRAINAGE SERVITUDE LOCATED SOUTH OF GREENWOOD SPRINGS ROAD, WEST OF NORTH DENWOOD DRIVE.
NO HEARING BEFORE THE PLANNING COMMISSION IS REQUIRED PER TO UDC SECTION 3.6 0.3 OVER PUBLIC HEARING.
ANYONE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM? SEEN NONE.
WILL TAKE IT TO COUNCIL MOTION TO APPROVE BY COUNCILMAN DUNN JR.
[2. 24-01016 TA-2-24 Chapter 4, Site Plans and Plats]
FOUR, SITE PLANS AND PLAT UNIFIED DEVELOPMENT CODE AMENDMENT TO REVISE SECTIONS 4.2 0.3 MANUFACTURED HOME PARKS AND SECTION 4.2 0.4.RECREATIONAL VEHICLE PARKS PERTAINING TO MINIMUM FRONTAGE AND AREA REQUIRED REQUIREMENTS.
ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM? STATE NUMBER WILL GO TO COUNCIL MOTION BY COUNCILWOMAN.
SECOND BY COUNCILWOMAN ADAMS. ANY OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES.
[3. 24-01017 PA-6-24 Florida Corridor Small Area Plan]
ITEM THREE, FLORIDA CORRIDOR SMALL AREA PLAN.THE FLORIDA CORRIDOR PLAN FOCUSES ON THE 12 MILE STRETCH OF FLORIDA STREET AND FLORIDA BOULEVARD.
HALF MILE RADIUS FROM THE PARISH LENGTH OF FLORIDA COUNCIL DISTRICT FOUR MO COUNCIL DISTRICT SIX DUN JUNIOR COUNCIL DISTRICT SEVEN ANNE COUNCIL DISTRICT NINE HUDSON COUNCIL DISTRICT 10, COLEMAN AND COUNCIL DISTRICT 11 ADAMS COMMISSION ACTION.
SEVEN ZERO OPEN TO PUBLIC HEARING.
ANYONE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM? PLEASE STATE YOUR NAME FOR THE RECORD.
UH, I'M WITH BILL BATON ROUGE.
WE ARE EXCITED TO PRESENT THE CORRIDOR MASTER PLAN WITH YOU TODAY FOR FLORIDA BOULEVARD.
BEFORE I INTRODUCE OUR TEAM TO GO OVER THE PLAN'S CONCEPTS, I WANNA GIVE A LITTLE BACKGROUND ON THE IMPETUS FOR THE PLAN.
THE FLORIDA CORRIDOR HAS LONG BEEN A DIVIDING LINE FOR THE CITY PARISH, THE MAYOR'S OFFICE, ALONG WITH BUILD BATON ROUGE, THE BATON ROUGE AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND OTHER CITY LEADERSHIP HAVE MADE THE CORRIDOR A PRIORITY OVER THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS.
ECONOMIC REVITALIZATION, SAFETY OF PEOPLE MOVING THROUGHOUT THE CORRIDOR AND URBAN DESIGN HAVE SOME OF, HAVE BEEN SOME OF THE MAJOR CONCERNS.
THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE AMAZON FACILITY AT THE FORMER CORTANA MALL SITE ALLOWED BUILD BATON ROUGE TO CREATE A NEW ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT AND TAX INCREMENT FINANCE DISTRICT.
WHEN WE ESTABLISHED THE DISTRICT, WE WORKED WITH THE METRO COUNCIL MEMBERS, THE BATON ROUGE AREA CHAMBER, AND THE MAYOR'S OFFICE TO ESTABLISH THE PRIORITIES FOR THE DISTRICT.
AT THAT TIME, THE CONSENSUS WAS THAT THE COMPREHENSIVE CORRIDOR PLAN FOR THE ENTIRE LENGTH OF FLORIDA WAS THE NUMBER ONE PRIORITY, UM, FOR THE DISTRICT BECAUSE FLORIDA IS A GATEWAY TO DOWNTOWN AND THE CITY'S MOST TRAVELED THOROUGHFARE.
FOLLOWING THE ADOPTION OF THIS PLAN, THE SUBSEQUENT PRIORITIES FOR THE TAX INCREMENT FINANCE DISTRICT ARE A COMMUNITY CENTER FOR DISTRICT SIX PUBLIC PRIVATE REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT PARTNERSHIPS TO IMPLEMENT THIS PLAN AND STREET SCAPE AND FACADE IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS, IT'S CRITICAL THAT WE'RE HERE TODAY TO ASK FOR YOUR APPROVAL FOR THIS MASTER PLAN SO THAT IT'S IMPLEMENTABLE BY ALL RELEVANT DEPARTMENTS AS A SMALL AREA PAN PLAN AS A PART OF FUTURE VR.
FINALLY, I'D LIKE TO THANK THE COUNCIL MEMBERS AND THEIR STAFF WHO'VE BEEN PROVIDING THOUGHTFUL FEEDBACK AND ATTENDING PUBLIC MEETINGS THROUGHOUT THIS PROCESS OVER THE PAST YEAR.
AND WITH THAT, I'D LIKE TO INTRODUCE OUR CONSULTANT TEAM, STEVEN COLSTON AND PERRY FRANKLIN.
AND THANK YOU MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL, UM, PERRY FRANKLIN WITH FRANKLIN ASSOCIATES, AND WE HAD THE GREAT HONOR OF HANDLING ALL OF THE PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT FOR THE FLORIDA CORRIDOR PLAN.
I DON'T KNOW IF THE PRESENTATION CAN BE PULLED UP ON THE SCREENS.
SO THE FLORIDA CORRIDOR PLAN ASKED THE QUESTION, HOW CAN THE FLORIDA CORRIDOR BECOME A MORE RESILIENT PLACE WHERE CURRENT AND FUTURE NEIGHBORHOOD ASSETS, RESIDENTS AND BUSINESSES AND, AND VISITORS THRIVE? THAT REALLY WAS THE QUESTION.
HOW CAN YOU LOOK AT A 12 MILE SECTION OF EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH, BEGINNING AT THE LEVY IN DOWNTOWN BATON ROUGE AND GOING ALL THE WAY TO THE PARISH LINE, UH, IN LIVINGSTON AND CREATE A STRATEGY, A PLAN WHERE ALL PEOPLE CAN SEE THEMSELVES REUNITING ON THAT LINE? AND THAT WAS, UH, THE CHALLENGE.
IF YOU LOOK AT THE DEMOGRAPHICS OF EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH, 80% OF
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THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE NORTH OF FLORIDA BOULEVARD ARE AFRICAN AMERICAN AND SOUTH OF FLORIDA BOULEVARD, 80% ARE NON-AFRICAN AMERICAN.AND SO THE CHALLENGE WAS SIGNIFICANT AND IMMENSE.
AND SO WE LOOKED AT THIS QUESTION AND USED THIS FOR OUR PROJECT.
NEXT, WE HAVE GONE THROUGH THE PROCESS.
THE BILL BATON ROUGE BOARD HAS APPROVED IT.
UH, THE COMMUNITY, THE CORTANA UH, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT HAS APPROVED IT.
THE BATON ROUGE PLANNING COMMISSION HAS APPROVED IT.
AND TONIGHT WE'RE BEFORE YOU ASKING FOR YOUR APPROVAL, YOU CAN SEE THE LETTERS OF SUPPORT THAT HAVE BEEN RECEIVED FOR THIS FLORIDA CORRIDOR PLAN, DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT, CAPITAL AREA TRANSIT SYSTEM, ONE ROUGE COALITIONS, BATON ROUGE AREA CHAMBER CENTER FOR PLANNING EXCELLENCE, AND THE MAYOR'S OFFICE HAVE ALL SUBMITTED LETTERS OF SUPPORT IN, UH, SUPPORT OF THIS PLAN.
YOU CAN SEE BUILDING AWARENESS.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE VERY PROUD OF IS THAT WE TOOK THIS PROJECT TO THE PEOPLE.
EVERY MEETING THAT TOOK PLACE WITH THIS FLORIDA CORRIDOR PROJECT WAS ALONG ALL OF THE COUNCIL MATIC DISTRICTS THAT TOUCH ALL FIVE OF THE COUNCIL MATIC DISTRICTS THAT TOUCH THIS 12 MILE SECTION OF EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH.
THERE'S BEEN NO OTHER PLANNING EFFORT THAT HAS BEEN MORE SIGNIFICANT AND MORE MONUMENTAL THAN THIS PROJECT.
NEXT, HERE'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE VERY PROUD OF, THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
AND THESE ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEMBERS WILL NOT NAME ALONE.
THESE INDIVIDUALS REALLY ATTENDED, REALLY PARTICIPATED, REALLY CAME OUT, REALLY CAME OUT AND SAID, OKAY, I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND THIS.
AND WE TOOK THE TIME TO MEET WITH THESE INDIVIDUALS.
THIS IS NOT THE PLAN OF PERKINS AND WILL.
THIS IS NOT THE PLAN OF BILL BATON ROUGE.
AND SO THIS WAS VERY INTENTIONAL, UH, PUTTING TOGETHER THIS ADVISORY COMMITTEE SO THAT YOU CAN SEE THIS PRIVATE SECTOR, PUBLIC SECTOR, UH, FAITH-BASED MEMBERS THAT REALLY PARTICIPATED IN THIS, UH, MORE THAN 12 MONTH PLANNING PROCESS.
NEXT, UH, THE OUTREACH EFFORTS, UH, WE WERE VERY INTENTIONAL IN MAKING SURE THAT PEOPLE COULD NOT COME BEFORE YOU THIS EVENING AND SAY, I'VE NEVER HEARD OF THIS FLORIDA CORRIDOR PLAN.
NOW, I'M CERTAIN THAT THERE'S SOMEBODY WHO CAN SAY THAT, BUT WE MADE IT, UH, BEAR, WE GOT ABOUT FIVE SECONDS LEFT.
YOU CAN SEE HERE OVER 4,000 RESIDENTS AND STAKEHOLDERS ENGAGED ACROSS THIS PROCESS.
UM, AND, AND IT'S BY THE NUMBERS.
AND WE, WE CAN STAND BEHIND THESE NUMBERS.
AND WE'RE VERY, UH, PLEASED TO PRESENT THIS FIGURE TO YOU TONIGHT.
AND NOW I'LL ASK STEVEN COLSTON, WHO'S THE PROJECT MANAGER FOR PERKINS AND WILL TO TAKE IT FROM HERE.
APPRECIATE YOU HAVING US, UH, COME BEFORE YOU THIS AFTERNOON.
WE'RE, UH, AS PERRY SAID, VERY EXCITED ABOUT THE OUTCOMES OF THIS NEXT SLIDE.
UM, YOU SHOULD HAVE ALL OF THE BACKUP AND DETAIL SUBMITTED TO YOUR PACKAGE, BUT I WANTED TO, UH, SHARE WITH YOU, THERE'S A, THERE'S A DETAILED BREAKDOWN.
WE WALKED THROUGH THE PLAN, SHARE BACKGROUND CONTEXT.
UH, THE PROCESS THAT WE WENT THROUGH AS BARRY JUST SHARED, AND, UM, GONE DEEPLY INTO THE DISCOVERY NEEDS AND, AND, AND GOT INTO SPECIFICS AROUND THE RECOMMENDATIONS, INCLUDING, UH, SIX SPECIFIC, UH, CORRIDOR AREAS, UH, UH, UH, NEIGHBORHOOD CENTERS ALONG THE CORRIDOR.
WE ALSO HAD CORRIDOR STRATEGIES, UH, ALONG THE ENTIRE 12 MAIN LENGTH, MILE LENGTH FROM THE PARISH LINE TO THE RIVER.
UM, AND LOOKED AT THOSE IN TERMS OF LAND USE, PLACEMAKING AND TRANSPORTATION STRATEGIES.
WE IDENTIFIED, UM, NEXT, UH, SIX NEIGHBORHOOD CENTER CORRIDORS.
WE'VE DESCRIBED THOSE REALLY KIND OF BEGINNING FROM THE DOWNTOWN AREA, MOVING ALL THE WAY OUT TOWARDS, UH, SHERWOOD.
AND WE HAD DEEP ENGAGEMENT AS PERRY HAD MENTIONED.
AND, AND, UH, GRETCHEN SORT OF TEED UP WITH EACH OF THE DIFFERENT, UH, ACTUALLY WITH MANY OF YOU IN YOUR OFFICES AND YOUR STAFF AS WE WENT THROUGH THE PROCESS, AS WELL AS THE NEIGHBORHOOD, UH, NEIGHBORS AND RESIDENTS OF THAT CORRIDOR.
NEXT WE WENT THROUGH A, A PRETTY, UH, HOLISTIC PROCESS OF EVALUATING EACH ONE OF THESE NEIGHBORHOOD CENTERS IS DESCRIBED HERE AND DEFINED ON, ON THIS SLIDE AND NEXT.
AND WE LOOKED AT WHERE WE COULD GET INTO OPPORTUNITY ALIGNMENT.
ONE THING I WANT TO CLARIFY, I THINK GRETCHEN AND HER TEAM REALLY, UH, CLARIFIED TO US AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS PROCESS IS WE WANT THIS PLAN TO BE VISIONARY.
WE REALLY WANT THIS TO BE THE UNITING, UH, LINE, AS PERRY MENTIONED FOR THE PARISH.
BUT WE WANT IT TO BE TACTICAL.
WE WANT IT TO BE ACTIONABLE, AND WE WANT IT TO BE IMPLEMENTABLE, AND WE WANT IT TO BE DATA DRIVEN.
SO AS A BYPRODUCT OF THAT, WE GROUNDED OUR NEAR TERM CATALYST SITES AND REAL ESTATE MARKET ANALYTICS, UM, WITH OUR PARTNERS FROM HR, A ADVISORS.
AND WE ALSO LOOKED AT MIDTERM AND LONG-TERM OPPORTUNITIES.
WE KNOW WE CAN'T ACCOMPLISH EVERYTHING THAT EVERYBODY WANTS TODAY, BUT WE KNOW THAT THERE'S AN, UH, A REMARKABLE AMOUNT OF OPPORTUNITY TO ADVANCE THOSE THINGS.
NEXT, UM, AS ONE EXAMPLE OF ONE OF OUR CATALYST CATALYTIC PROJECTS THAT, UH, AT IDENTIFIES NEAR TERM IN INTERVENTIONS AS WELL AS MET MIDTERM IS ONE, UH, SAMPLE AREA FROM THE MID-CITY, UH, VISION AREA WHERE WE SPRINGBOARDED OFF OF PLANS THAT WERE HAPPENING BEFORE LEVERAGING MOVE
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BR INITIATIVES, THINKING ABOUT PLACEMAKING, AND THEN TALKING ABOUT SPECIFIC INTRODUC INTRODUCTIONS.WITHIN EACH OF THE SIX NEIGHBORHOOD CENTERS BASED ON MARKET DEMAND AND REAL ESTATE ECONOMICS, WE IDENTIFIED THREE CATALYTIC SITES, UH, THAT YOU DESCRIBED HERE.
AND, AND I'M GONNA GO THROUGH THESE VERY, VERY QUICKLY, BUT I'M GONNA TALK ABOUT ONE, UM, KIND OF TO ILLUSTRATE WHAT YOU SEE IN MORE DETAIL IN THE REST OF, YOU'VE GOT ABOUT 10 SECONDS.
BUT, BUT ANY OF THE COUNCIL MEMBERS CAN ASK YOU, UH, TO CLARIFY SOMETHING WHICH COULD GIVE A LITTLE MORE TIME IF NEED BE.
AND I'LL GIVE YOU 10 MORE SECONDS.
WE LOOKED AT THE STITCH AREA, WHICH IS A LOCATION AROUND RENAISSANCE PARK.
NEXT SLIDE, AND THE TRANSFORMATION OF THAT, WHICH LOOKS AT STREETS, CANOPIES, AND REDEVELOPMENT.
ALONG THAT, AND THE, AND YOU CAN, UH, FLASH FORWARD TO THE, THE LAST TWO SLIDES I WANT TO JUST POINT OUT, UM, SOME OF YOU MAY ASK A QUESTION IS, HOW DOES THIS GET PAID FOR? HOW'S IT GET IMPLEMENTED? THE POTENTIAL? IF YOU CAN GO TO THE SLIDE THAT SAYS, UH, NEXT TO THE LAST SLIDE, WHICH IS POTENTIAL FUNDING SOURCES.
WE'VE WENT THROUGH A PRETTY EXHAUSTIVE EXERCISE, REALLY LOOKING AT STRATEGIES FOR IMPLEMENTATION.
SO I WELCOME, UH, ANY SPECIFIC QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS.
ANYONE ELSE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM? DEAN, I'M GONNA GO TO COUNCIL COUNCILMAN DUNN, JR.
IN THE PLAN AND SOME OF THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT THAT MYSELF, UM, GEORGE ANNE AND OTHERS IN OUR OFFICE PARTICIPATED IN, THERE WAS, UH, IN EACH NEIGHBORHOOD CENTER, A, UM, AND I MAY BE USING THE TERM WRONG, I HEARD YOU JUST SAY CATALYST SITE, BUT THERE WAS A ECONOMIC DRIVER IN EACH, EACH COMMUNITY CENTER.
CAN YOU NAME THOSE AND TALK ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF THOSE ECONOMIC DRIVERS? AND I MAY BE USING THE WRONG TERM.
ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT? YES.
COUNCIL MEMBER DUNN, WE, WE HAD, WE, WE HAD SIX NEIGHBORHOOD CENTERS THAT WERE IDENTIFIED ALONG THOSE.
EACH ONE OF THOSE NEIGHBORHOOD CENTERS HAS A SPECIFICALLY IDENTIFIED CATALYTIC PROJECT.
SO WE, WE HAVE ONE CATALYTIC PROJECT IN EACH ONE OF THE DESIGNATED NEIGHBORHOOD CENTERS, BUT NAME THOSE IN EACH, EACH CENTER.
UM, OH GOSH, OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, I, THERE WERE THREE THAT WE FOCUSED ON THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT SIDE OF THAT.
GRETCHEN, CAN YOU COME HELP AND NAME THE SPECIFIC CATALYTIC SITES? THE FIRST CATALYTIC SITE WAS IN THE STITCH.
UM, AND THAT WAS BASED ON THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.
THAT'S THE ONE I JUST BRIEFLY TOUCHED ON THERE.
THE SECOND ONE THAT WAS BASED ON E THE ECONOMICS WAS IN THE MID-CITY NEIGHBORHOOD, WHICH IS, IS VERY SPECIFICALLY, UM, TARGETED AROUND THE LOCATION OF THE BRIDGE CENTER.
AND THEN, UM, THE, THE FIRST ONE WAS AROUND RENAISSANCE, AND THEN THE THIRD ONE IS AT THE INTERSECTION, THE OLD GM SITE AT FOSTER IN FLORIDA.
UM, WHICH, WHICH WAS LEVERAGING OFF OF THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE.
UM, UH, BRE, THE RALPH INVESTMENT AND MID-CITY TOWERS, WHERE WE ACTUALLY HELD ONE OF OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT SESSIONS.
THOSE ARE THE THREE THAT ARE BASED ON ECONOMICS.
THE OTHER THREE, WHICH I THINK WAS YOUR SPECIFIC QUESTION, THE OTHER THREE ARE POTENTIAL OPPORTUNITY IN, UH, INTERVENTIONS THAT ARE MORE ABOUT PLACEMAKING AND PLACE, UH, CREATION AND ACTIVITY.
ANYONE ELSE? COUNCILMAN MOOCH.
I LOOK, I'VE BEEN GREAT WORKING WITH Y'ALL ON THIS.
I, I LOVE TO SEE IT COMING THROUGH.
I'VE BEEN TO SEVERAL EVENTS THAT Y'ALL HAVE DONE, AND I THINK THIS IS A GREAT PLAN.
I I THINK IT'S GOT A LOT OF VISION IN IT AND STUFF, BUT LET ME, I JUST WANNA ASK SOMETHING REAL QUICK.
AND I'M, I'M LOOKING AT THE, THE SHERWOOD AREA.
GIMME AN EXAMPLE OF EXECUTING THIS.
AND, AND WHAT I MEAN BY THAT, THE SHERWOOD AREA IS, I WOULD SAY IS KIND OF YOUR AREA THAT HAS A BUNCH OF OLD USED CAR LOTS, TIRE PLACES, UM, EMPTY SHOPPING CENTERS.
GIMME AN EXECUTION PLAN AS FAR AS MOVING THIS FORWARD OTHER THAN THIS IS WHAT IT'S SUPPOSED TO LOOK LIKE AND THIS IS WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE WHEN IT'S DONE AND IT'S GREAT.
I WANNA KNOW HOW WE GET THERE QUICKLY.
YOU KNOW, I KNOW AS A GOVERNMENT WE CAN'T GO IN AND SAY, WELL, WE JUST DON'T LIKE TO LOOK AT THE FRONT OF YOUR BUILDING.
AND I THINK IT WOULD LOOK BETTER IF WE BUILT THIS 40 STORY BUILDING HERE, WHICH IS A MULTIFAMILY AND, AND LIVE WORK AND PLAY AREA.
WE CAN'T JUST GO SAY, HEY, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T LIKE THAT.
SO GIVE US AN IDEA OF HOW ARE WE GONNA EXECUTE THIS TO MOVE IT FORWARD TO WHERE PEOPLE SEE THE RESULTS OF STUDY AFTER STUDY AFTER STUDY.
AND IT'S NOT JUST A FLORIDA BOULEVARD STUDY, IT'S MULTIPLE STUDIES THAT GET DONE THROUGHOUT GOVERNMENT BECAUSE YOU STUDY EVERYTHING TO DEATH.
SO GIMME A LITTLE BIT OF THAT.
ACTUALLY, I THINK THE SHERWOOD UM, THE SHERWOOD CATALYST SITE IS PROBABLY ONE OF THE BETTER EXAMPLES OF
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A FASTER INTERVENTION.SO OUT THERE WE'RE LOOKING AT COLLABORATING WITH SOME OF THE, UM, ASSETS THAT ARE ALREADY WORKING ON THE GROUND.
ONE OF THE SIGNIFICANT ASSETS THAT WE HAVE IN THAT AREA IS, UH, THE CULTURAL, THE MULTICULTURAL BUSINESSES.
AND SO THERE'S A LOT OF, UM, DESIRE FROM THE COMMUNITY TO HAVE MORE PLACES TO EAT, UM, MORE PLACES TO GO THAT ARE KIND OF OUTSIDE, KIND OF THAT A THIRD PLACE AS YOU WILL.
AND SO WE'RE HOPING TO WORK WITH, UM, THE, THE BUSINESS ASSOCIATIONS OUT THERE TO, UM, HELP DO SOME PUBLIC SPACE, UH, PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS SO THAT WE CAN IMPROVE, UM, YOU KNOW, MAYBE CREATE A PLAZA WHERE THERE'S AN EMPTY, UM, WHERE THERE'S AN, AN EMPTY PARKING LOT.
MAYBE CREATE, UM, SOME PROGRAMMING FOR A NIGHT MARKET OR SOMETHING WHERE PEOPLE CAN GO, WHERE IMPROVEMENTS CAN BE MADE TO A FACADE OF A BUILDING OR NOT PLANNING OUT THERE ANY LARGE, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, MULTI-STORY HOUSING DEVELOPMENTS OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
IT'S MORE GONNA BE TARGETED INTERVENTIONS FOR, UM, PLACES THAT PEOPLE WANNA GO.
SO IF I, AND I'M, Y'ALL HAVE A PICTURE OF IT IN HERE, I BELIEVE, UM, LOOKING AT THE, AND LOOK, I GET CALLS AND COMPLAINTS ON THIS ALL THE TIME.
UH, I THOUGHT I SAW A PICTURE OF IT.
UH, FLORIDA, I THINK IT'S FLORIDA BOULEVARD IN LITTLEJOHN, RIGHT THERE AROUND THE SHERWOOD AREA, UH, BEFORE THE SHERWOOD AND FLORIDA AREA.
I, I MEAN THERE'S A, THERE'S AN OLD, I THINK IT USED TO BE A WILCO BUILDING, IF ANYBODY REMEMBERS WHAT THAT IS.
THEY DID A LITTLE WORK ON THE FRONT OF IT JUST TO, I THINK, MAKE IT COMPLIANT SO THEY LITERALLY DON'T HAVE TO TEAR THE WHOLE THING DOWN 'CAUSE IT WAS FALLING DOWN AND SUCH.
I MET WITH SEVERAL RESIDENTS IN THE BACK, BACK THERE.
THERE'S KIND OF SOME OF THAT STUFF ALL AROUND AND THEY'RE GIVING ME PICTURES OF THE TIRE SHOPS ACROSS THE STREET AND THEY'RE JUST STACKED UP TIRES ON IN ANY OF THIS.
ARE THERE ANY INCENTIVES TO, TO MOVE FORWARD TO GET 'EM TO FASTER? I, I THINK THAT THE PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT AND YOU TAKE AN EMPTY LOT AND IF YOU GET A FEW BUSINESS TOGETHER THAT WANT TO THROW, YOU KNOW, SOME, SOME NICE COMMUNITY AREA, A PARK AREA OR DOING LITTLE EVENTS LIKE THAT, THAT'S GREAT.
BUT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT PHYSICAL STRUCTURE AND RESTRUCTURING ALL OF FLORIDA BOULEVARD AND I'M FOCUSED ON THE SHERWOOD FOREST AREA OR THAT CORRIDOR RIGHT THERE.
I KNOW EACH COUNCIL MEMBER HAS SOMETHING ELSE, BUT I JUST WANT TO HEAR SOME, SOME ACTUAL RESULT DRIVEN STUFF THAT WE CAN DO INCENTIVES TO WHERE, HEY, YOU KNOW, THIS IS KIND OF WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT.
WE NEED TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THIS.
WHAT IS IT GONNA TAKE TO GET YOU TO RIP THE FRONT OF THE FACE OF THAT BUILDING DOWN AND, AND BRING IT UP TO DATE AND, AND DO CERTAIN THINGS? YEAH, SO ONE OF THE FIRST IMPLEMENTATION ITEMS THAT WE'RE WORK, WE'RE ALREADY KIND OF HAVING DISCUSSIONS WITH THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT ON EXTENDING, UM, THE, UH, THE ZONING DISTRICT FOR THAT AREA.
AND SO WITHIN THAT ZONING AREA, WITHIN THAT ZONING DISTRICT AREA, WE'LL BE ABLE TO CREATE INCENTIVES FOR, UM, ADDRESSING SOME OF THE BLIGHT AND, UM, CONS.
DO YOU WANT OBJECT TIME MISUSE? YES, PLEASE.
SPEAKING OF THAT, UM, WE'VE HAD IT BROUGHT UP TO US BEFORE, AND AGAIN, THIS IS A MAJOR PROBLEM ALONG THIS PARTICULAR CORRIDOR.
IT'S PROBABLY IN SOME OF THE OTHERS, THE SIGNAGE THAT IS JUST, I MEAN, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT POLES THAT ARE BENT OVER AND THE FACING BLOWN OUT IT BEEN LIKE THAT FOR YEARS.
IS THERE ANYTHING IN ANY OF THIS PLAN OR STUFF THAT Y'ALL SEEN IN, IN THE STUDIES AND ALL THAT, THAT WE CAN GET RID OF THAT FASTER, THAT WE CAN IMPLEMENT CERTAIN THINGS? AND THAT MAY BE SOMETHING FOR PARISH ATTORNEY OR, OR LEGAL OR SOMEONE ELSE IN, IN CITY OF PARISH THAT CAN ANSWER THAT.
BUT THAT'S THE KIND OF STUFF THAT I FEEL LIKE IF YOU START REALLY CLEANING THAT UP WITHOUT HAVING TO SEND NOTICES TO 42 PEOPLE WAIT FOR THE GREAT GRANDKIDS AND THEIR PETS TO WRITE LETTER BACK TO YOU SAYING, YES, YOU CAN TEAR THE SIGN DOWN NOW.
UM, YES, THAT WILL BE ADDRESSED IN THE ZONING OVERLAY DISTRICT AS WELL.
THE SIGN AMORTIZATION, IT'S A MAJOR ISSUE.
UH, AGAIN, I THINK Y'ALL DONE AN AMAZING JOB.
I, I LOVE THE LOOK AND THE FEEL AND, AND ALL THESE STUDIES YOU CAN PUT OUT NICE PICTURES AND EVERYTHING ALL DAY LONG.
PEOPLE JUST WANNA SEE US GET THERE.
UH, THAT WAS ONE OF THE THINGS WITH GOVERNMENT STREET, YOU KNOW, UM, I THOUGHT IT MOVED REALLY QUICK.
UH, I KNOW IT'S DOWN TO ONE STREET, BUT THAT'S WHAT I'D LIKE TO SEE WITH FLORIDA BOULEVARD.
I, I WOULD SAY THE ONE THING, YOU KNOW, JUST UNDERSTANDING THE BUSINESS OF THE PARISH AND, AND THE CITY, IT'S THE, WE FOCUSED ON THE WHOLE FUNDING SOURCES COMPONENT OF THIS.
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YOU TO INVESTIGATE A LITTLE BIT FURTHER IN APPENDIX ONE, UM, THE BREAKDOWN OF THE DETAIL OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS AND THAT FUNDING SOURCES MEMO.AND WE ALSO, UH, SUPPLEMENT THAT WITH DIFFERENT FUNDING RESOURCES BECAUSE I THINK THIS IS ONE OF THOSE PROJECTS THAT IT'S GONNA TAKE THE VILLAGE, RIGHT? IT'S GONNA TAKE PARTNERSHIPS WITH, UH, WITH YOUR MPO, WITH THE STATE, WITH THE CITY PARISH, WITH, UM, WITH, UH, YOU KNOW, FEDERAL GRANTS AND OPPORTUNITIES OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING, PRIVATE SECTOR FOLKS, UH, PRIVATE INVESTMENT, UM, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT THAT ARE ALL GONNA NEED TO COME TOGETHER TO MAKE INCREMENTAL INTERVENTIONS ALONG THE ENTIRE 12 MILES.
UM, BUT I THINK THERE ARE SOME LOW HANGING FRUITS THAT, ESPECIALLY SOME OF THE REGULATORY THINGS THAT THINK CAN BE BACKED UP WITH ENFORCEMENT.
SO, O OFFLINE, SOME CONVERSATIONS THAT I'VE BEEN HAVING WITH, UH, THE DIRECTOR OF CHADS IS THAT WHAT Y'ALL ARE DOING HERE, HE NEEDS TO BE A MAJOR PART OF THAT FOR THE, UH, FOR THE ENTIRE TRUCTURE OF FLORIDA.
AND ONE OF THE REASONS WHY IS BECAUSE WE CAN IMPROVE PLANK ROAD, BUT THE MORE BUSES WE PUT ON THE STREET, THE MORE, UH, THEY MAY COME FASTER, BUT IT'S STILL CONGEST TRAFFIC, RIGHT? AND WE START LOOKING AT AIRLINE HIGHWAY IMPROVEMENTS, FLORIDA BOULEVARD, IMP IMPROVEMENTS, PLANK ROAD, EVEN PLAN, ROAD IMPROVEMENTS.
WE NEED TO LOOK AT HOW DO WE INCORPORATE, I NOTICE IS, UH, FARFETCHED, BUT SOME SORT OF TROLLEY SYSTEM OR SOMETHING THAT CAN GO DOWN WITHIN THE MEDIAN SO THAT WE CAN HAVE PARKING RIDES FROM LIVINGSTON PARISH PARKING RIDES FROM ASCENSION, SO THAT WE CAN REDUCE SOME OF THE IMPACT OF TRAFFIC AS THEY COME IN DURING RUSH HOUR AND OUT DURING RUSH HOUR AS WELL.
I MEAN, MAKING IT PRETTY IS GREAT, BUT HOW DO WE MAKE IT MORE FUNCTIONAL SO THAT WE IMPACT WHERE PEOPLE TRULY LIVE, WORK AND PLAY.
UH, PERRY, GRETCHEN, I WANT TO GIVE YOU GUYS AN OPPORTUNITY TO CLOSE OUT WITH ANY ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS THAT YOU MAY HAVE, UH, BEEN ABLE TO MAKE IN, IN THE SHORT WINDOWS.
BUT BEFORE I DO THAT, I WANNA SAY, UH, NO PLAN, UH, IS PERFECT.
I CAN TELL YOU, YOU GUYS HAVE MADE A A GREAT EFFORT WITH REACHING OUT TO ALL OF THE COUNCIL DISTRICTS THAT, UH, THIS CORRIDOR IMPACTS, GET OUR INPUT, GET THE PUBLIC'S INPUT, AND, UH, HAVE A GOOD FOCUS ON REVITALIZING THIS AREA AND BE A PART OF, UH, YOU KNOW, BRINGING IT BACK TO HIS HEYDAY AND EVEN SURPASSES HEYDAY.
WHAT I CAN TELL YOU, UH, FROM INVESTORS AND DEVELOPERS WHO REACH OUT TO MY OFFICE DIRECTLY OR THROUGH THE CHAMBER AND THEY PUT 'EM IN CONTACT WITH MY OFFICE, IS TWO THINGS THAT THEY BRING UP WHEN THEY'RE LOCAL OR FROM ANOTHER STATE THAT THEY SEE WAS GOING ON IN BATON ROUGE AS IT RELATES TO THIS AREA.
THEY BRING UP THE AMAZON PROJECT THAT THEY SEE AS, AS SOMETHING HOPEFUL AND PROMISING FOR THEM TO INVEST.
AND THEY SEE A, A CONCERTED EFFORT AND A PLAN BY THE CITY PARISH TO REVITALIZE THE FLORIDA AREA.
SO THAT'S A GOOD THING TO KNOW THAT THERE'S A, A FOCUS ON REVITALIZING THIS AREA AND THERE'S SOME ENERGY AND RESOURCES BEING PUT BEHIND THAT.
SO I JUST WANNA TIP MY HAT TO YOU GUYS FOR THE WORK YOU YOU'VE DONE AND, UH, THANK YOU FOR INTERFACING WITH ME AND MY OFFICE AND, AND RECEIVING OUR FEEDBACK AND CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM AND ALL OF THAT STUFF.
SO IT'S BEEN A, BEEN A GOOD PARTNERSHIP AND LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUE TO WORK WITH YOU GUYS.
UM, I DON'T HAVE MUCH TO ADD, UM, ABOUT THE CONTENT OF THE PLAN, BUT I DO WANNA JUST MAKE A STATEMENT THAT I WAS ACTUALLY REALLY, UM, SURPRISED AND INSPIRED BY THE PARTICIPATION THAT WE GOT.
I MEAN, WE DID A, A LOT OF OUTREACH AND A LOT OF DIFFERENT MEDIA, BUT THE PEOPLE THAT CAME OUT, THEY ARE VERY PASSIONATE ABOUT IMPROVING THIS PART OF THE CITY AND ABOUT BRINGING PEOPLE TOGETHER, AND THAT WAS REALLY GREAT TO SEE AND I'M, I'M REALLY PROUD OF THAT.
I I, I DON'T WANT TO, UH, COUNTERACT WHAT YOU SAID, COMMISSIONER DUNN, BUT I, I, ONE THING I WOULD SAY IS IT'S NOT OUR PLAN.
THIS IS, THIS IS REALLY, THIS HAS BEEN A, A WHOLE COMMUNITY INVESTMENT.
WE'RE A FACILITATOR IN THE PROCESS TO REALLY TEE UP AND IDENTIFY THE PRIORITIES THAT YOU AND YOUR COMMUNITY HAVE IDENTIFIED.
AND, AND IT IS, I WAS JUST SHARING A MOMENT AGO WITH, WITH THE COUNCIL MEMBER.
IT'S, UM, IT'S BEEN A REALLY DE A DELIGHT TO WORK WITH YOU.
I THINK YOUR COMMUNITY'S ROLLED UP ITS SLEEVES, LEANED IN VERY DE DELIBERATELY FROM THE, FROM THE LEADERSHIP OF YOUR COMMUNITY DOWN TO THE DAY-TO-DAY USERS OF, OF THE, OF THE WHOLE CORRIDOR.
AND, UH, IT'S BEEN AN HONOR AND, AND WE'RE THANKFUL FOR THE CHANCE TO WORK WITH YOU ON THIS.
UM, GRETCHEN, I HEAR, I SAW A FACE WHEN I SAID PARK AND RIDE WHEN YOU LOOKED AT IT, WHEN I STARTED TALKING ABOUT IMPROVING MULTIMODAL TRANSPORTATION.
SO I JUST WANT TO SEE WHAT THE PHASE WAS FOR IF THAT DISCUSSION HAPPENED AND WHAT CAME FROM IT.
YEAH, SO, UH, UH, I, WE HAD A LOT OF CONVERSATIONS ABOUT A LOT OF DIFFERENT POTENTIAL MODES OF TRANSPORTATION ALONG THE CORRIDOR, AND ULTIMATELY WE DIDN'T FIND, UM, THAT THE PARTNERSHIP WITH THE STATE, AS YOU KNOW, IT IS, UM,
[00:25:01]
IT IS A STATE JURISDICTION ROAD, UM, THAT THEY WERE AMENABLE TO ANY ALTERNATIVE MODES OF TRANSPORTATION AT THIS TIME.BUT WE HAVE, UM, MAINTAINED SOME OPEN LINES OF COMMUNICATION AND WE'LL BE CONTINUING TO TALK, TALK WITH THEM ABOUT THAT IN THE FUTURE.
COUNCILMAN HUDSON, I I WANTED TO ASK REAL QUICK ABOUT THE FLORIDA WEST DESIGN OVERLAY DISTRICT IN YOUR STRATEGIES IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY.
YOU TALK ABOUT LOWERING THE BARRIER TO NEIGHBORHOOD SCALE AND FIELD DEVELOPMENT PROCESSES, BUT IT COULD BE MY LACK OF UNDERSTANDING ON A, ON AN OVERLAY DISTRICT, BUT, BUT MY UNDERSTANDING OF, OF AN OVERLAY DISTRICT IS, IS THAT IT'S MORE RESTRICTIVE, RIGHT? SO YOU STILL HAVE TO COMPLY WITH THE UDC, BUT THEN YOU HAVE AN ADDITIONAL LAYER OF A DESIGN OVERLAY DISTRICT ON TOP OF THAT.
SO THOSE TWO STRATEGIES SEEM TO CONFLICT WITH EACH OTHER.
WHAT ARE WE DOING THERE, I GUESS IS THE QUESTION? YEAH, SO IT, IT, YOU'RE, YOU'RE CORRECT IN THAT IT, UH, THE UNDERLYING ZONING WOULD STILL APPLY, BUT IT, THE OVERLAY DISTRICT COULD HAVE INCENTIVES FOR ADDITIONAL TYPES OF DEVELOPMENT.
SO FOR EXAMPLE, UM, YOU KNOW, A DENSITY BONUS PROVISION OR, UM, UH, ALTERNATIVE SETBACKS, THINGS LIKE THAT.
I WAS NOT AWARE YOU COULD DO THAT WITH OVERLAY DISTRICTS.
COUNCIL, I'D LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION THAT WE ACCEPT THIS, UH, PLAN.
I HAVE A MOTION BY COUNCILMAN COLEMAN, SECOND BY COUNCILWOMAN ROCKA NEEDS EIGHT VOTES TO PASS.
IS THERE ANY OPPOSITION? SEEING NONE.
[4. 24-01018 Case 36-24 7570 Jefferson Highway]
NUMBER 4 7 5 7 OH JEFFERSON HIGHWAY TO REZONE PROPERTY FROM LIGHT COMMERCIAL C ONE TO LIGHT COMMERCIAL THREE LC THREE, LOCATED AT NORTH AT THE NORTHWEST INTERSECTION OF JEFFERSON HIGHWAY IN CORPORATE BOULEVARD COUNCIL DISTRICT 11 ADAMS COMMISSION ACTION.ONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM SCENE.
NONE WILL GO TO COUNCIL MOTION BY COUNCILWOMAN ADAMS, SECOND BY COUNCILWOMAN MOROCCO.
[5. 24-01019 Case 37-24 2327 O’Neal Lane]
5 2 3 2 7 O'NEILL LANE, THE REZO PROPERTY FROM LIGHT COMMERCIAL C ONE TO HEAVY COMMERCIAL ONE HC ONE LOCATED AT THE SOUTHEAST INTERSECTION OF O'NEILL LANE IN BRISTOL AVENUE COUNCIL DISTRICT NINE HUDSON COMMISSION ACTION.UH, IT'S ACTUALLY, IT WAS MOTION TO APPROVE SEVEN.
UM, DO WE HAVE ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM? SAME.
NONE WILL GO TO COUNCIL COUNCILMAN HUDSON.
SECOND BY COUNCILMAN DUNN, JR.
[6. 24-01020 SNC-2-24 North 40th Street to Willie Chase Sr. Drive]
ITEM SIX, NORTH 40TH STREET TO WILLIE CHASE, SENIOR DRIVE, PROPOSED STREET NAME CHANGE FOR NORTH 40TH STREET TO WILLIE CHASE, SENIOR DRIVE, LOCATED NORTH OF ODELL STREET, SOUTH OF JEFFERSON AVENUE AND EAST OF NORTH 39TH STREET COUNCIL DISTRICT SEVEN DEZA COMMISSION ACTION.ANYONE HERE WISHING TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM? SEAT NONE WILL GO TO COUNCIL.
SECOND BY COUNCILWOMAN ADAMS. ANYONE OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES.
WE'LL TAKE A FIVE MINUTE RECESS BETWEEN THIS MEETING AND THE NEXT.