The Ascension Parish Council rejected a rezoning request that would have cleared the way for a Walmart Neighborhood Market near Dutchtown High School, siding with concerns about traffic, safety and the potential impact on the area’s character.
The council voted Monday against the Ascension Parish Zoning Commission’s recommendation and denied a request to rezone roughly 22 undeveloped acres along La. 73 from medium-intensity residential to mixed-use.
The proposed development included a Walmart Neighborhood Market, gas station and pharmacy. The property sits south of Dutchtown High School, along one of the parish’s most congested corridors.
The decision reverses the Zoning Commission recommendation, which voted 5-2 in September to approve the rezoning.
Traffic emerged as the central issue during Monday’s council discussion.
Cameron Miller of Phelps Dunbar, who represented the development, acknowledged existing congestion but argued parish development requirements would prevent the project from moving forward without improvements.
“There’s no debate that traffic at the site is horrendous right now,” he said. “But I want to emphasize this development cannot go forward even if you were to grant us a rezoning without improvements documented by a traffic improvement analysis to the traffic in this area.”
He also argued that keeping the existing residential zoning could allow as many as 66 homes to be developed on the property, which would also add vehicles to La. 73.
Council member Blaine Petite represents the area and opposed the rezoning, describing the nearby La. 73 intersection as potentially “one of the worst intersections in the parish.” He said he did not believe improvements short of widening La. 73 to five lanes between Interstate 10 and La. 30 would substantially address congestion.
He also raised concerns about the mixed-use zoning designation itself. Parish staff had recommended against the request before the Zoning Commission approved it, he said, and mixed-use zoning could allow both commercial development and high-intensity residential uses on the site.
He suggested a small planned unit development, or SPUD, would give the parish greater control over what could ultimately be built.
At the September zoning meeting, Miller said pursuing a PUD would require additional upfront costs and could conflict with timelines in the developer’s purchase agreement, though he did not rule out that option.
