St. Tammany News

Questions of density and single-family housing were at the forefront at the recent rezoning ordinance hearing for Planning Zone 4, the area commonly known as New Covington.

The boundaries of the area are South Jefferson Avenue, South Tyler Street, the Tchefuncte River and West 21st Avenue. Steve Villavaso, planning consultant conducting the community meetings on zoning and land use issues, reminded those in attendance this round of meetings is only phase two in the process of updating the comprehensive zoning ordinance and map for the city of Covington.

Villavaso said after this round of meetings, there will be another round of public hearings to gather input for needs and concerns block-by-block. Villavaso said the largest concern in all areas is residential density, either single family or multifamily housing.

Issues of concern for Zone 4 that had arisen in the first phase of the process included affordable housing, traffic and commercial vehicle storage, open ditches, growth management and hospital expansion, infrastructure sewer system, unpaved roads and noise.

Covington City Councilman Marty Benoit told those in attendance, "I want to hear your opinions, even if they differ from mine. I will consider your wishes."

The importance of citizen participation was emphasized by Villavaso.

"During the first phase of the process, we had input from about 900 people. That is 10 percent of the population and a phenomenal response," said Villavaso. He said that in a large city with 2,000 people participating in the process, it's sometimes only 1 percent of the population taking an interest.

Villavaso also said the process does not mean the current zoning is wrong or "bad"; when the process is complete, the zoning map may not look too different than what it is today.

Too much density is a large concern in the area. Covington Mayor Candace Watkins said the area really wants to keep growth to a minimum, keeping single family residential designations and minimizing the other uses including commercial.

Zone 4 currently has a lot of variety in zoning designations including H-1 Medical Services (St. Tammany Parish Hospital); ID-3 Institutional Education Government (William Pitcher Junior High School); C-2 Neighborhood Commercial; C-5 Office Professional; and C-4 Light Commercial in addition to a variety of residential zones ranging from suburban, single family residence, to A-4, Two-to-Four Family Residential.