A plan to bring dozens of new homes to the edge of Gonzales has run into an old question about the land underneath it: How much of it is actually buildable?
The Gonzales City Council voted Monday to defer a rezoning request for a nearly 36-acre property on West Orice Roth Road near Gonzales Middle School, after members raised concerns about potential wetlands and drainage issues on the site. The proposal by D. Daniels Construction would bring 68 townhomes, 18 single-family homes and future office space for the developer to the tract—but the council wants the ground studied before it signs off.
The deferral split the council 3-2. Councilwoman Teri Lynn Lambert made the motion to hold the request until a qualified wetlands delineation, any applicable wetlands mitigation requirements, and a drainage and stormwater analysis are completed. She was joined by Kirk Boudreaux and Cynthia Gray James; Tyler Turner and Eddie Williams voted no. The move came despite a unanimous recommendation for approval from the Gonzales Zoning Commission on Aug. 3.
For Lambert, the case for waiting rested on fairness to everyone involved. “I think it would be fair to everybody,” she said. “That’s what I want done. It’s for the safety of the community, for Mr. Daniels’ best interest and it’s for the city’s best interest.”
Part of her concern traces back to the property’s history. Lambert said the land was originally donated to St. Theresa Middle School as a wetlands and biology lab—and never went through the kind of vetting a conventional sale might have triggered. “This didn’t go through traditional financing, like a bank or a mortgage company, so there was no wetlands determination,” she said. “I think the safe thing to do is to table this so he can have a wetland study and find out just how much usable land he has.”
The developer’s team framed the vote as premature. Jeff Diamond of Quality Engineering and Surveying, representing D. Daniels Construction, told the council the request is only the opening move in a long approval process. “We’re not looking for a permit to construct anything at all,” Diamond said. “This is simply the first step of a long process.” He said the detailed drainage analyses, traffic studies, engineering reviews and any required wetlands permitting would all come at later stages, after rezoning—and noted that obtaining wetlands delineations and federal permitting can take two to three years on its own.
The rezoning itself asks to convert portions of the property from R-8, R-15 and C-2 to R-8, R-3 townhouse and C-2 commercial. Plans call for the 68 townhomes, 18 single-family lots as an extension of an existing subdivision, a one-acre commercial tract for the developer’s office and roughly 3 acres that would remain undeveloped.
For now, the land—and the question of how much of it can hold homes—waits on the studies the council ordered.
