Ascension officials attend event on ‘smart growth’
GONZALES — Ascension Parish President Tommy Martinez attended a “smart growth” conference earlier this month in San Diego, Calif., that also included a visit with an undisclosed industry eyeing the parish.
The New Partners for Smart Growth conference was held Feb. 2- 4 at the San Diego Sheraton Hotel and Marina, the conference website says.
The conference had a variety of speakers on smart growth, a style of sustainable community design, and offered tours of model projects in San Diego.
Martinez, who left Feb. 2 and returned Feb. 5, said he still believes some smart growth tools could be used in areas awaiting growth and development on both the east and west banks of Ascension.
He said that while those communities may incorporate affordable housing, he disputed the concept is about bringing in low-income housing to Ascension.
He said the idea is to create self-sustaining communities that “you can actually do everything you want in the community.”
Planning Director Ricky Compton confirmed he also went to the West Coast conference.
Martinez said he was encouraged by his industry-hunting side trip in San Diego.
“I will tell you it was good, positive trip, and I am glad I went,” he said.
Martinez said the unnamed company is seeking local tax breaks for an Ascension project, noting it is one of several new undisclosed projects seeking breaks from the parish.
Smart growth became a hot-button term in 2009 and 2010 in Ascension Parish as parish government sought to revamp its master plan for handling future growth.
The effort failed amid criticism of smart growth concepts built into the plan, including the creation of denser, so-called “walkable” communities with a variety of uses.
Planned-unit developments also have drawn fire in Ascension because they are viewed as levers to boost density over existing zoning allowances. A stalled recommendation last year by Planning and Zoning Commission members now removed from office would have done away with PUDs.
Martinez said he would like to work with the newly seated commission members to improve the parish subdivision ordinance and see changes to the PUD law to include more public input and explanation of projects.
PUDs and similar developments seem to work in other communities, he said.
“If you just go say, ‘We’re going to do a PUD,’ that scares the hell out of people,” Martinez said.