The southwest phase of a two-year project to rezone more than 700 acres in St. Tammany Parish will start Saturday with a public meeting in Covington.

Adopted in the fall of 2007, parish planners approved the Unified Development Code as way to steer growth and balance new infrastructure as St. Tammany’s population continues to boom. St. Tammany is considered one the fastest growing parishes in the state.

Parcels in unincorporated St. Tammany will be rezoned according to the new code by 2010. City municipalities will not be rezoned. The meeting is 9 a.m. to noon at First Baptist Church of Covington, 16333 Louisiana Highway 1085.

“The zoning decisions made in this process will have a major impact on the future of St. Tammany Parish. I encourage all citizens to participate,” Parish President Kevin Davis said.

The southwest phase is the second phase of the project and includes the Madisonville/ Goodbee area. That area is bordered in the west by Tangipahoa Parish, Lake Pontchartrain to the south and Louisiana Highway 59 in the east.

The northern boundary then follows Louisiana Highway 36 to U.S. Highway 190 to the Tchefuncte River toward the Tangipahoa Parish border.

The parish has been divided into five areas for the purposes of rezoning: South Central, South West, South East, North East and North West. The entire process is expected to continue through 2009.

The South East area rezoning plan was already presented to the public and should be sent to the Parish Council for adoption in early 2009. The next area for rezoning will be Southeastern St. Tammany, including the Slidell/Pearl River area.

The project Web page is www.stpgov.org/ departments_ planning_rezoning.php. Questions or comments about the rezoning process may be e-mailed to rezoning@stpgov.org.