Proposal for elderly housing draws fire

Residents’ concern and possible land-use revisions could delay the construction of an elderly housing complex the Terrebonne Council on Aging’s Houma property.

Residents from nearby Grace and Mike streets presented the Terrebonne Parish Council and Houma-Terrebonne Regional Planning and Zoning Commission meetings with a petition requesting an engineering report on the building site, near Shady Acres Senior Center, 6512 W. Main Street.

In the latter part of November, the Council on Aging received a $4 million dollar grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to build the single-family apartment complex. However, Council on Aging Executive Director Diana Edmonson said the money wouldn’t be available until August or September of this year.

In the meantime, she’s seeking clearance from the parish to begin planning the project.

But Mike Street resident Sybil Guidry said neighbors are concerned that once the construction is built on the open land it would cause major flooding problems.

“When the Council on Aging building was built the residents were told that the land in the back of the building would be a walking trail with benches. They said the land would remain open. We support the works done by the Council on Aging and low income for the aging. It’s a worthy and a much-needed project.”

In fact, Guidry said many of the people in the neighborhood are senior citizens. “We are concerned the construction going up in the area will soon flood the homes of the people. The area really pools when the property fills with water,” she explained.

Guidry speculated the property is a flood plane and nothing could be built on it. She said the open tree property takes in massive amounts of water and rainwater runoff, and it has served in that capacity for years.

“Where is the water going to go with paved streets and the 49-unit complex,” she asked the planning commission. “I know that you [planning commission] are inclined to say that this is a drainage problem. But, the decisions the commission makes have a positive or negative impact on drainage in our neighborhood or any development.”

Ultimately, Guidry said, large construction in the confined area will only cause problems for neighboring senior citizens.

According to Planning and Zoning Commission Director Pat Gordon, the commission has started reviewing land-use maps designed to guide future growth in the Bayou Cane and Hwy. 311 corridor. Once the commission is finished reviewing and possibly changing the maps, the parish council will decide whether to approve them.

Although the Council on Aging’s expansion does not fall in the Bayou Cane/Hwy. 311 cooridor, Gordon said zoning for the housing development could fall under the revised ordinances.

For her part, Edmondson said she understands the concerns of the neighborhood but fears zoning issues could delay construction.

“We want to be an asset to the neighborhood. We want to meet with the residents personally to show them our plan and show them what we plan to do,” the executive director said.

Edmondson said the development will be built on two acres; the remaining nine acres of Council on Aging will be used as a sitting or walking area for the residents.

Planning Concepts & Strategies, Inc. President Mart Black, a planning consultant for the parish, has been tapped by the Council on Aging to formulate and present the final project.

Black said the planning commission wants to see a site plan. “They are trying to work out the problem that apparently exists with the neighborhood. We have made a recommendation to the planning commission. At this point, we still have to work out some details as to the procedures on how to package the whole thing including the ordinance(s) before they are brought to the parish council,” Black said.

Black said typically zoning grandfathers in construction. If the Council on Aging has its building permit in hand before the parish council adopts an ordinance, than it won’t have to worry about zoning, he said.

Edmonson said all work will depend on when the HUD money is deposited.

Gordon said the council has more obstacles to face because of the residents concerns about drainage and overcrowding, which is not an issue handled by the zoning commission.