Council Adopts Envision Jefferson 2020

At their August 6, 2003 meeting, the Jefferson Parish Council unanimously adopted the Land Use and Transportation Elements of the Parish’s first-ever Comprehensive Plan. With the support of the Parish’s major business and civic groups, the Council adopted the Plan by ordinance, giving the Plan the authority of law. This strong authority requires that future Plan changes be advertised and considered only after following the established public hearing process.

The Land Use and Transportation Elements of the Plan establish comprehensive growth strategies to guide future development and redevelopment and overcome past mistakes and incompatibilities. Based on a series of Goals and Objectives, the Plan sets forth over two hundred Policies that establish a framework to guide planning and development actions in the Parish over the next twenty years.

The adoption of the Plan is a major step forward in sound development planning and comes at a time when an explosion of growth can be anticipated on the West Bank as the Huey P. Long Bridge is expanded. The opportunities for planned communities, business parks, golf communities and mixed-use areas are all more realistic with the Council’s action.

The Council, Mr. Coulon’s administration, the Steering Committee and the hundreds of citizen volunteers should be applauded for the years of hard work that reached fruition on August 6, 2003. Jefferson Parish will be a better place to live and work because of their efforts.

To view the Plan, please click here.

April 17, 2003: Draft Plan Available For Public Review

After years of work and thousands of man-hours of public involvement, a Draft of the Comprehensive Plan has been written and made available to the residents of Jefferson Parish for review and comment. A copy of the Plan with all accompanying maps has been posted to this web site. Copies of the Plan are available at both the East Bank and West Bank Regional Libraries as well as the Jefferson Parish Planning Department on the 6th floor of the Yenni Building.

At this juncture in the Plan evolution, Public Hearings have been scheduled to gather comments from the citizens of the Parish. A presentation of the Plan will be made to the Planning Advisory Board at their general meeting on May 1, 2003 at 5:00 p.m. at the Yenni Building. The Planning Advisory Board will conduct public hearings on the Plan at 5:00 p.m. on May 8, 2003 at the Gretna Courthouse Council Chambers and at 5:00 p.m. on May 22, 2003 at the Yenni Building Council Chambers.

The Parish Council will have a presentation of the Plan at 9:00 a.m. at their June 25, 2003 regular meeting at the Yenni Building. A public hearing will be conducted at this meeting.

To view the Plan, please click here.

December 10, 2002: Preferred Land Use Scenario in Development

After five public meetings, the Element Committee has developed a draft of a preferred land use plan for Jefferson Parish. Working their way through a Vision Statement and Goals and Objectives, the Committee tackled the task of evaluating alternative growth patterns. Three alternative development scenarios were prepared for Committee consideration by the Planning Team: current trends, a transit oriented development, and a neighborhood unit development. All three scenarios have been posted to this web site.

The Element Committee members reviewed and commented on the three alternatives at a working meeting in October, 2002. Little support was garnered for the “Current trends” scenario. Committee members generally supported features of the “Neighborhood Unit Development” scenario and selected features of the “Transit Oriented Development” scenario.

Following that exercise, the Planning Team produced a draft of the “Preferred Scenario” with a neighborhood emphasis supported by transit. The Element Committee critiqued that version of the “Preferred Scenario” in detail at a November meeting. The Planning Team incorporated recommendations of the Committee and has prepared a “Preferred Scenario” now posted to this web site.

This version of the “Preferred Scenario” is being reviewed in detail by the Planning Team (including the Jefferson Parish Planning Department) in preparation of a series of public workshops to be held in February and March, 2003. Exact dates will be announced soon.

August 20, 2002: Michael Lauer Joins Planning Team

The Jefferson Parish Administration is pleased to announce that it has secured the services of Michael Lauer of the firm Planning Works through the end of 2002. Mr. Lauer led the initial Element Committee meeting on May 18, 2002, making an impressive presentation on the planning process. His presentation, entitled "Jefferson Parish Comprehensive Planning: Vision to Reality" can be viewed in its entirety by clicking here. Mr. Lauer will provide technical input to the process of developing Goals, Objectives and Policies; advise on the selection of alternative growth scenarios to be modeled; assist in the writing of the implementation section of the Plan; and most importantly, lead the remaining Element Committee meetings beginning with the September 14, 2002 meeting.

Planning Works. LLC is a full-service, results-oriented, land use planning consulting firm. The firm brings a national perspective to bear on Jefferson Parish's comprehensive planning effort with its focus on growth areas - from neighborhoods to parishes, and to the other agencies, commissions, interest groups and developers operating in the same spheres of influence. The firm provides the highest quality planning services, from visioning and consensus building, to alternative growth scenarios, facility analysis and fiscal impact analysis, to policy and strategy development, to code drafting and Plan implementation.