By ROBIN SHANNON

L’Observateur

RESERVE – With images of cityscapes and rural areas in and around St. John the Baptist Parish flashing across a projector screen, Reserve residents, along with some government officials, expressed opinions on whether or not the images should be a part of the real future of the community.

The exercise was one of several elements of a community meeting related to St. John Parish’s comprehensive land use plan regarding the development of the parish for the next 20 years. A handful of residents showed up at the meeting along with Parish President Natalie Robottom, several council members and various department heads.

“We are taking an existing parish land-use plan that was done about three years ago and expanding on it to include elements related to transportation, housing, historic preservation and hazard mitigation,” said Tim Jackson, senior research associate for UNO, which is working with the parish to develop the comprehensive plan.”

Jackson said the community meetings, which continued yesterday in Edgard and will resume next week in Garyville and LaPlace, represent the fourth phase of the parish’s plan. He said the other phases mostly involved research on population demographics and how land is used throughout the parish. The plan is being financed by a $315,000 grant from the Louisiana Office of Community Development. The parish is also using a more than $174,000 grant from the state’s “resiliency program” to help fund the portion of the program tied to how the region bounces back from a disaster or other event.

“A major theme will be resiliency,” Paige Braud, spokesperson for the parish, said. “We want to prepare the community for long-term sustainability. In St. John, resiliency will be incorporated into an update of the development management practices. The locations and types of current and future land uses will be evaluated for their susceptibility to hazards and natural disasters.”

In addition to the image survey, which included 40 slides, attendees gathered in small groups where discussions on parish issues continued. Residents complained about blight and talked about ideas for restoring historic properties and maintaining the parish’s small-town feel. They also discussed a need for more comprehensive public transit and offered opinions on what to do about traffic issues in the community.

Jackson said the meetings next week will follow a similar pattern, and residents from all parts of the parish are encouraged to attend at least one. The next meetings will be held Feb. 6 at the Garyville Library, 111 Front St., and Feb. 7 at the St. John Community Center, 2900 U.S. Highway 51 in LaPlace. Both meetings begin at 6 p.m. and will last about an hour and a half.

More information about the land use plan, including links to previous phases, can be found at the parish’s website, www.sjbparish.com/zoning_index.