Terrebonne Parish plan nears approval

A renaissance for bayou communities progressively abandoned over years of hammering from hurricanes and floods, and continued growth of upland communities already seeing marked development are drawing increased discussion as Terrebonne Parish nears approval of its 300-page comprehensive plan, an update to its 2004 master planning document.

The parish’s Vision 2030 Comprehensive Master Plan, which officials say is a blueprint for future growth and direction, was unveiled at last week’s parish council meeting. The plan is available for viewing online at the parish website, or at parish offices. Public comment will be taken when the council meets at 6 p.m., Feb. 27th.

The plan is not a regulatory document, officials said, but merely provides a map for planning. Individual aspects of the plan may require regulations, however, said Parish Planning Director Pat Gordon, who presented it to council members at their last meeting.

Expansion of zoning from Bayou Cane and northward through the La. Highway 311 corridor are recommended in the plan, a continuation of efforts already outlined – and executed – in the original 2004 blueprint.

“This report has given direction to continue that extension to the north, as well as the greater Houma area including the Village East area,” Gordon said. “I don’t think we are going to see any zoning recommended to go further south than Village East. Land use regulations would be from Village East to Thibodaux. We will not be seeing a lot of growth of regulations taking place along the bayou regions.”

But Gordon also said the bayou communities such as Dulac and Chauvin will see a resurgence of population, according to the report, despite a decline over the past decade.

“We are anticipating that the migration that has taken place over the last 10 years, migration of residents moving to the north, will stabilize. And we believe that within the next 10 years we will see an increase in population in the southern reaches,” Gordon said.

He attributes some of that to the anticipated completion of the Morganza-to the-Gulf levee system, but said other flood-control efforts the parish has completed or is in the process of completing have a lot to do with the projected trend as well.

“The elevation of Thompson Road south of Houma is not part of the levee system, but it is a huge benefit to residents along Woodlawn Ranch Road,” Gordon said. “As we go through a couple of more storms in the future we believe the damage to those areas will be significantly less/ Insurance companies will be writing more policies in Terrebonne Parish. That has been one of the problems in low-lying areas.”

Hurricane damage restoration of a thoroughfare that has seen chronic flooding was approved at the same meeting. Improvements to Island Road, which was damaged by Hurricane Isaac last year, will cost $516,470. The road links the remote Isle de Jean Charles community to Pointe-aux-Chenes.

Parish President Michel Claudet said the Comprehensive Plan not only moves Terrebonne forward, but also can help ensure that the way of life residents have come to enjoy in the past can continue.

“We have changing conditions, particularly after Hurricane Katrina, which demanded that we adjust, if we are to continue to live the life we have lived,” he said. “Land usage, elevations, all the mitigations, the retention areas, the drainage areas, all the things we need to do in order to make our parish sustainable for the future.”

He expressed support for the manner in which these issues are addressed by the report.

“We need to do these things in order to make our parish more sustainable into the future,” Claudet said. “This is how we will implement the growth of Terrebonne Parish.”