After hours of discussion, during which scores of nearby residents voiced opposition to the plan, a vote on the proposed Timber Ridge cluster development subdivision was deferred for 60 days by the city-parish Planning Commission at Monday’s meeting.
Developer Arthur Lancaster plans to build 281 homes on 68.5 acres along Tiger Bend and Babin roads, setting aside 212.5 acres as non-developable green space. Another 198.5 acres, called tract B, is also being set aside as non-developable land.
Lancaster says he plans to move forward with the development as currently configured, adding he wants to meet with the homeowners between now and the next Planning Commission meeting on June 20.
Planning Commission staff is recommending approval of Lancaster’s plans, which originally called for 60 acres to be developed until he revised the plan following an environmental impact study. That change bothered Planning Commission member John Price.
Dozens of homeowners from the nearby Lakes at White Oak and the Meadows subdivisions told the Planning Commission they oppose the development, saying the increased traffic will exacerbate an already bad traffic situation on Tiger Bend Road and the potential for flooding will be worsened in the already flood prone area.
Wesley Valverde, president of the The Lakes at White Oak subdivision, says he does not see the deferral as a defeat, but understands that the Planning Commission members need time to process “the water hydrant of facts and figures” thrown at them Monday night.
“At the end of the day, with the delay, it may give the developer additional time,” Valverde says. “Part of me last night wanted an answer and a resolution. I was really kind of hoping it would be resolved last night.”
He reiterates that neighbors are not opposed to development in general in the area, but would like Lancaster to change his plans. He says by making the lots larger—the main sticking point for Valverde and other homeowners—then more trees would be saved. It has nothing to do with the price of homes, he adds.
Lancaster says he is only clearing away 68 acres and leaving 410 as non-developable land, “so the argument that we’re not saving the trees is not valid.”
He says he is frustrated at the deferral, but understands where the residents are coming from. Nonetheless, he says he plans to move forward with the subdivision plans as they are now because he has addressed every technical issue and met all the requirements as set forth by the cluster development ordinance.
The Lakes at White Oak Homeowners Association will meet on May 17. Valverde says Lancaster and his team have an open invitation to join them to discuss the development.
—Ryan Broussard
