FuturEBR action might first include residential marketing study, Mid City area plan

Implementation of the proposed FuturEBR master plan may include an aggressive marketing plan to promote population growth in the city, planning consultant John Fregonese says. The Planning Commission endorsed the revamp of the parish’s comprehensive plan last night; the Metro Council will take up the plan Sept. 21. If the plan is approved, early-action items would include updating the zoning code, creating a small area plan for Mid City, and creating a marketing plan to attract more residents. Current land uses would be maintained, although new uses would be added in certain areas where appropriate, officials say. The plan seeks to create a streamlined process to promote infill development, and Mid City is seen as particularly ripe for redevelopment with infrastructure improvements and help from the East Baton Rouge Redevelopment Authority. “I think when people see how effective small area planning is, what happens to Mid City, two, three, five years after that plan is adopted, people are going to want them all over,” Fregonese says. The housing marketing effort would gather information about the types of housing and communities potential residents want that they can’t find in neighboring parishes, so the officials and developers can work to create those options. “Baton Rouge is aggressive on economic development, but passive on housing development,” Fregonese says. “I think it’s really key, both to your financial future and your transportation future, to not be passive but to be entrepreneurial.” —David Jacobs