Despite an impassioned plea from Covington Mayor Candace Watkins, the St. Tammany Parish Council on Thursday overturned a Zoning Commission denial for a zoning change and conditional use permit so a private company can build a work release facility near the St. Tammany Parish Jail in Covington.

Even though the proposed facility will be on a one-acre parcel of land outside Covington city limits north of Champagne Street and west of North Columbia Street, the Covington City Council passed a resolution last week opposing any zoning change to the land.

Northshore Work Force LLC, the company that wants to build the facility, had asked the Zoning Commission to change the zoning from Light Industrial to Institutional and grant a conditional use permit for the 8,800-square-foot facility that would house non-violent prisoners serving the last year of their sentences. The commission denied both requests. Watkins said the requests were incompatible with Covington’s master plan, though Northshore Work Force attorney Jeff Schoen said it is compatible with the parish’s 2025 master plan.

Watkins said the area was supposed to be a mixed-use zone, and the St. Tammany Parish Jail satisfies the institutional part of the mixed-use zoning. She also contended the site borders on what she called a “high-crime” area in Covington that the city wants to revitalize.

“This particular use of this site is not appropriate for either the city or the parish plan,” Watkins said.

Schoen said the facility, which will eventually house 270 work release inmates, will be operated under the guidelines of the Louisiana Department of Corrections and the St. Tammany Sheriff’s Office. The building will have a security fence, security cameras and trained security guards.

He said the inmates will be required to work full-time during the day and return to the facility at night. They cannot own cars and will be tested for drugs.

Watkins was concerned the facility would want to annex into the city, but Schoen said the company has no intention of requesting annexation.

However, Covington Councilwoman Francis Dunn, who represents the area near the proposed facility, said the mere presence of the building is bad for the community.

“Just because it is not in the city doesn’t mean the city won’t be affected,” Dunn said.

Habitat for Humanity St. Tammany West Executive Director Maureen Clary said she doesn’t think the facility is appropriate because her organization is building houses near the site.

But Schoen said aerial photographs show the work release site would be far enough away from any residential area, including the Habitat for Humanity project. Most of the council was not swayed by Covington’s arguments.

Councilman Richard Artigue said Sheriff Jack Strain had approved of the facility. Plus, the Sheriff’s Office has a work-release program in Slidell, and it has not caused any problems for the community.

Sheriff’s Office spokesman George Bonnett concurred.

“We have never had any issues with the inmates in and around the area,” Bonnett said.

Councilman James Thompson said the site is appropriate for a work release program.

“Where else should it be but next to the jail?” questioned Thompson.

The council voted to override the Zoning Commission’s denial of a zoning change, 12-0, with one abstention and one absence. The same vote overrode the Zoning Commission’s denial of a conditional use permit for Northshore Work Force LLC.

Councilman R. Reid Falconer abstained because he is on the board for Habitat for Humanity, and Councilman Gene Bellisario was absent for the vote.