Metro Councilman Trae Welch is seeking to reverse the Planning Commission’s decision to approve the final development plan for the first phase of Cheval Trails, developer Windy Gladney’s mixed-use development near Zachary.
Welch added an item to today’s council meeting agenda introducing an appeal of the decision. If introduced, the appeal will be taken up at the Metro Council’s zoning meeting in March, he says.
As planned, the Cheval Trails development will be built on the outskirts of Zachary in an area west of Old Scenic Highway and south of Zimmerman Road.
The Planning Commission on Monday gave Gladney the green light to move ahead with the first phase of the development, which comprises roughly 106 low-density units, despite objections from Welch and the city of Zachary.
At the time, Planning Director Frank Duke said the city of Zachary sent notice that it would not provide utilities for the development—which has been in the works for years and would have 760 houses and 25 acres of commercial development—unless Gladney has the property annexed into Zachary’s city limits.
Welch says Zachary has changed so much since Cheval Trails was approved roughly a decade ago and the area’s needs have transformed over time. While the development’s drainage study has been updated, Welch contends that other studies, like its traffic impact, have not. Gladney disputes this point, saying that all studies about Cheval Trails’ impact on the surrounding area are current.
“If Mr. Gladney had done this project back when it was approved, we wouldn’t be having this conversation,” says Welch, adding that Zachary residents would bear the brunt of the traffic and that the school district needs to be consulted about whether it can absorb additional students.
“I don’t want the traffic in Zachary to end up like the traffic in Baton Rouge,” Welch says. It would be easier for Zachary to provide utilities if Gladney annexed the property into the city limits, he says.
Welch says the development also highlights the issues that arise when planned unit developments are approved only for construction to be delayed.
Gladney has owned the property for 11 years. He says in that time he has paid taxes every year to the city of Zachary.
“It’s 100 percent about Zachary trying to take this project in its tax base from Baton Rouge— without question,” Gladney says. “They’ve had six months to review this project as submitted, and they’ve never made any other comment other than to annex into Zachary.”
—Alexandria Burris
