Siding with a request from Metro Councilman LaMont Cole, the Planning Commission on Monday rejected a proposal that would have prevented developers and property owners from tearing down a house built across multiple single-family residential lots and replacing it with several smaller houses.
Planning Director Frank Duke communicated Cole’s request to the commission. Cole originally proposed the restriction at the request of Mid City residents, who are worried the trend will change the character of their neighborhoods.
But Duke said Cole had a change of heart and wanted the commission to unanimously vote against the measure because of the wide-ranging implications it would have across the city-parish.
“He has indicated that he would like to see us come up with another way that might have a more limited application. This ordinance, as written, would apply parishwide,” Duke said. “Councilmember Cole thought that was much greater, much more intense than he had anticipated.”
Mid City residents living in Hundred Oaks and Capital Heights spoke in favor of the ordinance, urging the commission to halt the practice they claimed is driven by a monetary desire.
Resident Charlie Lamar said twice last year developers purchased older homes built across multiple lots in Hundred Oaks, tore them down and replaced them with much smaller homes built on the individual lots. The proposal, Lamar said, would have preserved the character of the established neighborhood and others like it.
“Little houses on little lots is disruptive to our community and to the other neighborhoods that have them,” he said.
Proponents of the proposal said it could also boost property tax revenue for the city-parish. Realtor Jeffrey Welsh noted houses are typically replaced when they decline in value and condition over time. He said a roughly 70-year-old house located across six single-family lots off Perkins Road was sold for $500,000. The four houses that replaced it each sold at an average of $635,000, he said.
“The tax base significantly increasing is only one aspect of it. The property value of every property around it has also risen,” he said. “I would keep in mind rising property values. We’ve seen properties in Capital Heights increase from an average of $110 per foot approximately 10 years ago to now $185 a square foot.”
The commission acknowledged both sides, with commissioner James Gilmore reminding the panel about Cole’s request to come up with a proposal that would be less broad and more targeted.
Duke said he doesn’t know how to limit the proposal other than by creating overlay districts. But given the frequency of the practice across the parish, Duke said he’s inclined to agree with Cole, adding he will continue to study how such a proposal could be implemented on a limited basis.
The request will go before the Metro Council at the council’s March meeting.
—Alexandria Burris
