ERIK SANZENBACH / L’Observateur / April 29, 2000

LAPLACE – Finally.

After nearly a year of hand-wringing, disputes and controversy, the St. Johnthe Baptist Parish Council gave developers preliminary approval for phase two of the Plantation Oaks subdivision in Garyville.

For the past year developers have been trying to get the council to give them permission to map out the area north of the present Plantation Oaks development and find out if phase two is feasible.

Carl Monica, one of the developers of Plantation Oaks, has always maintained that giving preliminary approval doesn’t mean the land will be developed. Allthat preliminary approval does is give the developers the right to survey the land and draw up preliminary plans.

However, several residents of Plantation Oaks don’t want any more development in the area because they fear more houses would cause even more flooding to an already soaked subdivision.

Part of the problem is the Kansas City railroad line that stopped drainage from Plantation Oaks to the north side of Airline Highway.

The former parish administration of Arnold Labat didn’t want to give preliminary approval if flooding did occur for fear of litigation by the developers and the residents.

The fear of court action was realized when developers Monica and Anthony Nobile filed suit against the parish.

The present administration under president Nickie Monica was able to negotiate with Kansas City railroad and get it to agree to let the parish place two large culverts under the tracks on the west side of Louisiana Highway 54 allowing water to drain off into the Hope Canal on the north side of Airline Highway. Under the agreement the railroad company will shut down thetracks for six hours so the parish work crew can install the culverts.

Councilman Allen St. Pierre, who represents the area in question, said addingthe culverts will make a big difference.

“No drainage project is a complete fix,” St. Pierre said, “but the work at theKC tracks will definitely help out the situation.”This issue has been placed on the council’s agenda seven times, and it was tabled six times. But Tuesday, on the seventh try, parish council attorneyBarry Landry said there is no reason not to give preliminary approval to the development. He reported that parish engineer, C.J. Savoie said that thepreliminary approval would not affect the drainage in the area.

Landry said, “I see no legal basis to deny the developers to develop this property. It is my legal recommendation that there is no legal basis to rejectit.”Council Chairman Duaine Duffy called for a vote on the ordinance and it passed unanimously.

“Motion passes,” said Duffy as he banged down the gavel.

“I never thought I would hear that phrase,” said a pleased Carl Monica.

Remy Amadee, an outspoken critic of the subdivision, was out of town for Tuesday’s council meeting and a letter stating his objections to Plantation Oaks was submitted to the council.

St. Pierre was relieved by the resolution to the issue.”We need growth in Garyville,” St. Pierre said. “This should never have beendenied from the beginning.”

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