The city-parish Planning Commission is set to vote Monday on a zoning change that would allow for a piece of property along Nicholson Drive to become a temporary venue for outdoor concerts. Moreno Properties of Lafayette wants to turn the nearly 20-acre site into a music venue, with room for 2,000-6,000 people. The concerts would mainly be held on the Fridays before LSU home football games. Food, alcohol and merchandise would be sold on site. Plans are to hold the concerts there for three-to-five years. The Planning Commission staff has recommended turning down the interim zoning change until an overall plan for the property is developed. Moreno began assembling the property centered across from Magnolia Mound Plantation about three years ago and plans to turn it into a mixed-use development with residential, commercial and civic space. For a look at Moreno’s plans and other projects in the works for Nicholson Drive, read the Business Report cover story here.
Another zoning change would turn a vacant lot at the corner of Perkins Road and Lee Drive into a medical office space. Dr. John M. Burdine, a local pain specialist, has proposed building the 4,900 square foot office building. Planning staffers have recommended allowing the medical office building, along with a new south Baton Rouge Presbyterian Church on Staring Lane, south of Chandler Drive. A church and multi-use building would go up on the 4.8-acre site.
The commission is also set to vote on a new demolition-by-neglect ordinance. The new ordinance better explains what “demolition by neglect” means—neglect in maintaining or repairing historic landmarks or contributing structures in a historic district—and also clarifies the process for appealing a demolition-by-neglect finding.
