The document summarizes findings from stakeholder interviews for a comprehensive plan for Pointe Coupee Parish. Key points included residents liking the rural character and sense of community but disliking issues like education, roads, and lack of jobs. Residents wanted a plan that encourages proper growth while maintaining quality of life and rural character. The document outlines work to develop guiding principles on topics like growth, land use, transportation, economic development, and the environment.

1. Pointe Coupee Parish
Comprehensive Plan
Civic Leader Research Findings
Presentation to Support Committee
May 21, 2008

2. Agenda
 Logo discussion
 Summary of Stakeholder Interviews
 Guiding Principle work session (Hands on
work session to prioritize key citizen values)
 Review and correct base map
 Discussion, Questions & Comments

3. Discussions – April and May 2008
21 discussion groups and calls
32 participants

4. What do you like the most about
living in the parish?
 Rural ambiance; small town; simple life
 Cozy, laid back feel
 The people
 The water – rivers and lakes
 Sense of community
 Have lived here all my life and can’t imagine
living elsewhere
 Love the land – open spaces here
 Feel safe

5. … We have a beautiful parish – rich in soil and a lot
of love… we need to try to preserve it

6. What do you like the least?
 Education system
 State and parish roads
 Littering
 Resistance to change
 Territorial attitude

7. Biggest threat to quality of life?
 Education system
 Drugs
 Change without direction
 Uncontrolled growth, loss of rural ambiance
 No skilled workforce
 No jobs to keep young people in parish
 Financial instability
 Infrastructure needs, especially sewage
treatment
 Rules are not enforced

8. Biggest hopes for parish planning
process?
 Cohesive plan that is fair to all
 Job opportunities for people in the parish
 Plan that encourages proper development
& maintains character
 People come together to get this plan done
 Protect natural beauty and agricultural uses
 Make decisions that result in the most good
for most people
 Provide affordable housing
 Need to come together in the middle and
compromise and find out where need to be

9. Biggest hopes for parish planning
process?
 Come up with a plan for smart growth, a plan
that is safe – that our people may grow old with
– safe environment, healthy environment, take
care of children, health needs, get young people
back here for economic development and growth
and plan for future
 Plan that is usable and practical - don’t want
something so far out there that it is not usable –
people want things to remain as is

10. Biggest hopes for parish planning
process?
 That the residents both native and non native see
the potential for growth. And that we see with
planned growth we can preserve the quality of
life that we hold so dear
 Growth is going to happen whether we want it or
not, but citizens should have a part in shaping the
growth and not let it hit us over the head,
unprepared

11. What will make the plan most
successful?
 Involving all the people; having good
public input
 Address the needs of all the people in the
parish
 For people to realize this is a plan for the
future and is not something that is being
forced on us – and that plans change,
grow, and get molded along the way

12. Biggest obstacle for the plan to be
successful?
 Not getting community buy-in
 Short sightedness - failure to follow through
 Focus on individual interests rather than the
betterment of entire parish
 People not coming together – continue
fighting with each other
 Everyone won’t agree with plan – can’t make
everyone happy
 Selfishness

13. Priority focus areas
 Rural ambiance; small town character
 Jobs
 Retain agricultural lifestyle
 Bridge impacts
 Sewage issues

14. Most significant or important
issue facing the parish today?
 Education
 Properly regulated growth
 All residents having opportunities for jobs
 New industry to provide jobs
 How to grow while preserving our good things
about quality of life
 Bridge
 Growth – having good growth
 Be prepared and have plans for changes that
are coming
 Services needed for low income population
 Flooding

15. Best economic asset to build on?
 Agriculture
 Location
 Land
 Mississippi River and False River

16. What kind of growth?
 Growth in existing towns and communities
 Maintain rural ambiance
 Industrial
 Services and retail

17. Where do you want the growth?
 Primarily around existing towns and villages
 Around Audubon bridge
 A few say all over
 Along state highways

18. Changes: The new bridge
 Positive, encourage growth and provide
better access
 Positive, will connect with eastern parishes
 Crime may increase
 People may move to other parishes

19. Areas where new development
should not occur?
 Farms and agricultural lands
 Environmental areas

20. Are you concerned about any
environmental issues?
 No
 Sewage/solid waste issues
 Derailments
 Potential for visual clutter

21. Is there a racial division in the
parish?
 Yes/No
 We need to be the same and the parish will
be better for it
 There is but not a sharp division
 In some instances people are treated
differently
 Economic division is a sharper division
 Long term/new residents division

22. Property rights
 We need to keep what we have, keep our
property rights intact – not do away with these
rights… we are under too much control now – we
need permits for everything.
 People should have the right to do what they
want on their property – have own resources –
should be allowed to do what want.

23. Property rights
 We need equity in our land use and regulatory
structures
 People do not want a repeat of Hospital road – with a
hodge podge mixture of uses, and no consistency
 Property owners want to know that their land is
protected from noxious uses that can come in adjacent
to them
 There should be some type of regulations – it is not
right for neighbors to bring my value down – should
have some type of protections in place

24. Dreams for future
 Educated, productive children; productive education system
 Like to see planned growth with good jobs for all citizens
 Businesses that can employ people produced by our education
system
 Business opportunities that can enable children to come back to
the parish after educated
 Lots of green space - for recreation and for agriculture
 More public access to natural resources and attractions that we
do have here
 Structured growth that appeals to the people but maintains the
historic nature and the setting that we have now – which can
happen with careful planning

25. Guiding Principle Work Session
Livable Community - Growth
 Retain the rural small town feel of our parish.
 Focus new housing and jobs in existing developed areas
already served by infrastructure.
 Focus new housing and jobs in the area around the new
bridge.
 Encourage new homes and jobs throughout the parish.
 Provide quality housing and schools for people working in
the Parish, Baton Rouge and other surrounding areas.
 Encourage investment throughout the parish.
 Do not change the parish.

26. Guiding Principle Work Session
Livable Community – Land Use/Housing
 Protect and maintain agricultural uses.
 Provide attractive and safe neighborhoods and commercial areas in which to
live, work and visit.
 Develop more residential areas like we have today.
 Provide more opportunities to shop for basic needs in the parish, perhaps
even regional scale retail.
 Allow for a larger variety of housing options – in both style and size.
 Focus smaller lot and multi-family housing toward existing hubs of activity.
 Design new residential areas with ‘personality’ so that residents may
experience a sense of community and place.
 Ensure that the parish has adequate housing supply at the right cost to meet
the demands.
 Protect what we have and plan for the future by using planning tools such as
subdivision and zoning regulations and strategic investment in infrastructure.

27. Guiding Principle Work Session
Livable Community - Transportation
 Properly scale streets to fit their surroundings to ensure
safety and attractiveness.
 Direct new development toward areas where there is
adequate roads to accommodate growth.
 Provide safe and efficient access to Baton Rouge and
surrounding communities.
 Provide safe and convenient access to housing, jobs,
shopping, and services in all areas of the parish.
 Provide alternative transportation services for people
without cars.
 Provide more trails and bike paths throughout the parish
for all residents.

28. Guiding Principle Work Session
Prosperous Economy
 Attract new industry to the parish and provide quality jobs for parish
residents.
 Encourage entrepreneurs and plan for a variety of jobs for parish
residents.
 Center economic development opportunities around the new Audubon
Bridge.
 Explore economic development opportunities that capitalize on the
Parish’s unique river and lake location.
 Capitalize on the quality of life, natural beauty, diversity, cultural assets
and uniqueness of the parish to attract new business.
 Provide infrastructure – transportation, water and sewer - to encourage
future growth.
 Enhance our town areas and expand retail and services in them.
 Promote scenic recreation opportunities.
 Develop training programs for the parish workforce.

29. Guiding Principle Work Session
Healthy Environment
 Preserve the natural beauty and open space of the parish.
 Promote development that contributes to cleaner air and water
and preservation of natural resources.
 Provide access to parks and open space for all residents and
locate new parks and open spaces throughout the parish.
 Provide adequate sewer facilities to existing and new
development.
 Make it easier to walk to places – provide more walkable
connections from homes to services.
 Reduce dumping and trash in the parish.
 Improve the water quality of False River and protect this
important asset.
 Eliminate affluent into our waterways.

30. Guiding Principle Work Session
Opportunity and Equity
 Increase the amount of affordable housing in the parish.
 Accommodate a variety of housing types to appeal to people at all income levels,
in a variety of locations.
 All residents should have equal access to quality housing, jobs, education and health
care.
 Strive for greater engagement in government and other civic activities for people
of all ethnicities and cultures.
 Maintain quality civic activities, from schools to parks for all parish citizens.
 Develop a mechanism for ongoing citizen education, involvement and input into the
parish decision making processes.
 Establish and consistently implement equitable land use regulations, policies and
procedures.
 Improve the educational system.
 Provide public access to the False River.
 Upgrade existing housing.
 Prepare a plan that is good for all parish citizens; raise the quality of life of all
citizens.

31. Base Map
 Review &
discussion

32. Next Steps
 Guiding principles
 Opportunities and constraints
 Development types and scenarios
 Parish workshop
 Small area workshop
 Strategies
 Comprehensive Plan Draft
 Implementation

33. Thank you!
Questions/Comments?