The developer of the Lakes at Jones Creek, a planned subdivision that has become a flashpoint for the debate over flood risk in Baton Rouge, has submitted revised plans that he says should assuage drainage concerns.
The Planning Commission on Monday, Dec. 18, will decide whether to allow the project to move forward.
The new plans don’t remove any of the 425 planned lots. Instead, Steve Duplechain, the subdivision’s developer, says he has deepened and re-engineered detention ponds. The Metro Council earlier this year passed stricter requirements for the amount of stormwater new developments can handle, a rule that goes into effect in the spring. Duplechain says the updated plans far exceed that standard.
“That did not result in a reduction in the number of lots. We were able to engineer around that,” Duplechain says. “But we have substantially increased our ability to handle rainwater.”
Planning Director Frank Duke says he won’t be able to officially certify whether the development meets city-parish rules until possibly next week. Officials are currently reviewing the updated plans.
The controversy surrounding the development represents a larger debate that has played out in recent months over how Baton Rouge should best mitigate its flood risk. Many homeowners, worried about new developments in floodplains pushing water onto older properties, advocated for a moratorium on certain new projects in low-lying areas until the city-parish could adopt higher standards.
Metro Councilman Buddy Amoroso, who represents the area where the Lakes at Jones Creek would be located, has voiced concern over the proposed subdivision for months. Several neighboring homeowner’s associations also worry the development would increase their flood risk. After meeting with Duplechain last week and reviewing the reworked plans, Amoroso says he’s still opposed to the project.
“I’m not an engineer, but I do know that property had at least four feet of water throughout it during the August 2016 flood,” Amoroso says. “I understand that during other hurricanes … that property also flooded. This is why I believe we should wait until we have the stormwater flood study.” Â
Amoroso says he is not convinced the new plans actually increase the amount of green space because the lot count is the same. The stormwater study, by engineering firm HNTB, will likely bring further changes to the rules for developing in floodplains—including possibly increasing the freeboard level from one to two feet—and Amoroso says he wants to hold off on projects like the Lakes at Jones Creek until that happens.
Duplechain says science backs up his argument that the development has more than enough flood controls, though he suspects many will still be opposed to the project.
Plans for the 425-lot subdivision on Jones Creek Road near Coursey Boulevard were first unveiled in August. In October, Duplechain went back to the drawing board to rework the plans to increase the stormwater mitigation amid a Metro Council push to tighten restrictions on development in floodplains. Â
—Sam Karlin
