BusinessReport.com

Two landowners are asking a judge to invalidate the rezoning of the former Ford Property on Perkins road from A-1 subdivision to a traditional neighborhood development, arguing that by rezoning the land the Metro Council violated the city-parish's TND ordinance. The suit was filed yesterday in 19th Judicial District Court by Baton Rouge attorneys Alexis St. Amant and Robert Roland on behalf of Bob Welch and Daniel Hoover, who own and live on land that is surrounded by what would be the Rouzan TND. St. Amant argues, among other things, that his clients' permission is required for rezoning, since the TND ordinance requires that the entire area be under the control of the party that's asking for the zoning change. The parish attorney's office says the fact that Welch and Hoover are in the middle of the land that was rezoned as a TND is irrelevant, because their land was not actually part of the area that was rezoned. The landowners' petition also says that in the conceptual plan for Rouzan, the commercial elements are not properly spread throughout the development as required by the TND ordinance. Welch and Hoover inherited the land from the Ford family, St. Amant says. St. Amant is a member of the Southside Civic Association and has been a critic of the Rouzan development. To read a copy of the suit, click here. --David Jacobs