Garden City apartments again up for approval

A real estate developer wanting to build a controversial housing development in Garden City was granted preliminary approval to move forward with the plan by the St. Mary Parish Planning and Zoning Commission at their meeting yesterday.
Lloyd Harris was granted approval to begin the process of developing an apartment complex in Garden City that has come under fire in the past. And the vote was close. The chairman of the commission broke the tie after other members deadlocked on the measure.
There was vocal opposition from one member of the audience. Shannon Wade of Garden City said the community has already been down this road.
“We’ve been through this before,” Wade said. “I’m here to voice my opposition to this apartment complex in Garden City. Garden City does not have the infrastructure to handle this.”
Wade also brought up another point about the ramifications of bringing in additional families to the Garden City community. Wade said additional families with children could be a burden to an institution that he said parents in the area want to stay the same and also can’t afford to expand at the moment.
“This also involves the Centerville school district,” Wade said. “The school district can’t handle more kids. So, you are putting in jeopardy families that have moved here with the intentions of going to a small school. For myself, when you are making a decision on buying a home, schools are one of the biggest things to take into consideration. Now, someone else is making the decision for us? It’s not fair.”
The 168-unit apartment complex had also caused contention among residents nearby who said, not only would the modern building disrupt the serene nature of their historic plantation-style surroundings, but the project would be a burden on sewer and road infrastructure as well as law enforcement.
Initially, the project was denied by the parish council after community opposition including almost 350 signatures on a petition was received last June.
The project was approved after Harris filed suit claiming discrimination. Harris then failed to move forward on the project and his preliminary approval expired which is why he had to refile and the matter was again brought up Monday before the commission.
Harris had no comment for the Banner-Tribune and referred the matter to his attorney. Harris said he would have his attorney contact the Banner-Tribune for comment but his attorney had not been heard from at time of press.
While some commission members hesitated to grant the approval, others stressed this was a preliminary measure and Harris would still be subject to several inspections including the state fire marshal to insure the development met with code and that infrastructure was up to the task of supporting the complex.
The motion to approve the measure was suggested by commission member Danny Lipari and seconded by Jimmy Wiley. The third yes vote was from Barry Druilhet.
The no votes came from Deborah Tabor, James Bennett Jr. and Kimberly Saucier. The tie was broken with a yes vote from commission chairman Paul Gil.