Zackman

I read that article a few times and I still don't completely understand what points the author was trying to make. The section you highlighted seems to be his key point, but after reading it again I'm still not sure what points he was trying to make. Whatever happened to the Urban Design Overlay Districts and Growth Centers plan? I know here in the Southdowns area some of the neighbors were working on it back in late 2004 early 2005 and it just seems to slipped through the cracks. What about the Horizon Plan? By the way, Spinosa lives just on the other side of Southdowns on Lake Shore Drive and is a member of the Southside Civic Association (woman interviewed in the article said he lives far away). How's that for irony.

The wife and I went to Perkins Rowe again this Sunday. We did the movie and dinner date thing and had a great time. We hung out near the back entrance of Barnes and Noble and listened to the people as they passed by. Without exception everyone commented on how great this development is for Baton Rouge. It was really a lot of fun. This was our fifth visit to Perkins Rowe and every time we are very pleased with the development and the reaction we hear from people who are visiting for the first time. This is such a great development for Baton Rouge.

The maximum agreed to density is not to exceed 750, versus the original 800 plus 10% or 880. Here is a link to the Final Rezoning Ordinance. As one former Southside Civic Association (SCA) board member told us in 2004 when we tried to get them to just hear a presentation about smart growth "Why would I want to walk somewhere when I can just get into my car and drive." Those of us that walk or jog must fend for ourselves, which is not always easy. The few sidewalks in the area are really too narrow for two to walk abreast. I've found Baton Rouge to be a very conservative city and Southdowns is one of the most conservative neighborhoods. You have to understand that the SCA only exists for two things; One, to keep all residences single family and Two, A1 development only. Commercial or multi-family building is not acceptable. What has amazed me is that there are only about 100 active members, but they have managed to stay in "power". Those who brought new blood into the board where voted off or quit in disgust in the Fall of 2004, when only a few dozen residents didn't like the idea of the board being educated about smart growth (remember the two SCA golden rules). Whew, once I get started it's hard to stop sometimes Southdowns has a lot of really good people and I usually like living here and yes I and others are all for Rouzan.

I have been "lurking in the shadows" for sometime reading the posts about Rouzan. I live in Southdowns and I along with many of my neighbors have supported Rouzan since day one. That's why we started the for-rouzan.org website. To the best of my knowledge only about 120 Southdowns, Pollard, etc., residents are opposed to Rouzan in any shape or form (primarily do to the commercial aspect). Most residents in the area think its too dense, and this is going to be the biggest obstacle to the final design proposal. Most residents don't understand that a TND needs some density to work properly. I fear that Rouzan will be so watered down in it's final approved design that we in the surrounding area will not get the full benefits of a TND. It nice to know that there are many others in the Baton Rouge area that support this type of development. The Southside Civic Association will fight tooth and nail to minimize the Rouzan development and may throw out the baby with the bath water in the process.