The Planning and Zoning Commission is set to take up this evening a request by the Baton Rouge Area Chamber to rezone a 382-acre tract at 15696 Old Scenic Highway, and will consider a separate request that could clear the way for another restaurant in Mid City.
BRAC wants the Old Scenic Highway site—owned by Texas-based businessmen Roland Kizer III and Jay Jackson—to be rezoned from from agricultural/rural to industrial. The chamber wants to include the site as part of its Certified Sites initiative, through which it identifies potential sites for large industrial, manufacturing or office developments and gets them ready for construction within 180 days. BRAC, which certifies the sites in conjunction with Louisiana Economic Development and landowners, currently lists 19 Certified Sites on its website.
Kizer and Jackson have owned the parcel for years and leased it as farmland. But Jackson recently told Daily Report that when BRAC approached them about rezoning the land, they were open to the suggestion.
The commission also will take up a request by real estate developer Geordy Waters to rezone a vacant building at 2978 Government St. from from C1, or commercial, to CAB-1, which would allow for a full-service restaurant with alcohol sales. Waters is marketing the property for longtime owner Joyce Mcintire. The building was formerly home to Southern Camera and Video. As previously reported, Waters is pursuing the rezoning in hopes of getting a restaurant tenant in the building. The Planning Commission staff recommended approval of both requests.
Also this evening, the commission is expected to again defer a final development plan for The Settlement at Willow Grove, the mixed-use project off Perkins Road between Bluebonnet Boulevard and Siegen Lane. The Department of Public Works has requested approval be delayed until the commission’s April 20 meeting as issues with power and gas lines continue to be resolved, according to a Planning Commission staff report. Approval of the final plan was deferred at meetings in December, January and February.
Also expected to be deferred this evening is a request to allow a two-story, 110,056-square-foot assisted living facility at 9394 Siegen Lane. Florida-based Concordis Senior Living wants to develop a 120-bed facility on a plot of nearly 4.5 acres. According to the agenda, the applicant has asked that the proposal be considered by the commissi0on on April 20.
The Planning and Zoning Commission convenes at 5 p.m. on the third floor of City Hall, 222 St. Louis St. See the full agenda, which includes complete staff reports and applications for all projects under consideration.
—Steve Sanoski
