Monday’s decision by the Planning Commission to rezone a 60-acre tract on River Road that is the site of a proposed barge cleaning facility is raising questions about the zoning categories all along the Mississippi River in Baton Rouge from downtown to the Ascension Parish line.
The Planning Commission’s 6-3 vote to change the zoning of the proposed property from heavy industrial to commercial effectively scuttles Tubal Cain Marine Services’ plans to try to develop the barge cleaning facility on the site, which is near BREC’s Farr Park Equestrian Center and the Riverbed Subdivision. The commission’s action has also prompted other landowners in the area and city officials to look at how riverfront property is zoned.
“There is a lot of M2 (heavily industrial) and M1 (light industrial) zoning scattered around, both on the river and in between the levee and Nicholson Drive so I know we will be looking at that,” Assistant Planning Director Ryan Holcomb says. “We’re beginning to look at the map of the zoning throughout the area and having preliminary discussion on what would be appropriate.”
One tract in particular is the BREC Farr Park. It is across River Road from the proposed barge-cleaning site and was, therefore, not affected by Monday’s Planning Commission vote to rezone. However, Holcomb says BREC Superintendent Carolyn McKnight and Planning Director Frank Duke have already spoken about changing the zoning at Farr Park to a more appropriate classification.
Meanwhile, Metro Councilman John Delgado, who filed the original motion to rezone the site of the proposed Tubal Cain facility, has asked the planning department to prepare a map showing all the zoning along the river within city limits. He says he would like to see any property zoned M1 or M2 changed to something more compatible with commercial and residential development.
“This has been a good wake up call,” Delgado says. “We need to look at the entire area to make sure the riverfront is zoned for the type of commercial development we want. If you are a commercial developer you are not going to want to take the chance of developing a hotel or apartment complex next to something that could be M2 zoning.”
The Metro Council must still sign off on the Planning Commission change approved Monday. The Council will take up the issue at its meeting Wednesday.
—Stephanie Riegel
