Covington commissioners approve amended conditional use and site plan for hospital parking garage with heli-stop after split public debate

Covington zoning commissioners voted to approve an amended conditional use permit and a related site plan that allow St. Tammany Health System to construct a five‑story, approximately 400‑space parking garage with a rooftop helistop and a skybridge connecting the garage to the hospital campus. The commission took the votes during its zoning meeting after more than two hours of testimony from hospital representatives, neighbors and city staff. "We have submitted a full and complete traffic impact study," said Jeff Shane, an attorney with Jones Fussell representing Saint Anthony Health System, adding that the hospital also provided drainage, landscaping, lighting and elevation plans that staff had reviewed. Shane said the city council’s earlier appeal decision required construction of a westbound right‑turn lane on West Eleventh Avenue, traffic‑signal adjustments and directional signage; he estimated those conditions could add roughly $600,000 to the project. The hospital told commissioners it relocated the skybridge footprint and moved the garage connection from the third to the fourth floor to avoid needing a variance for bridge footings, which triggered the amended conditional use submittal. Why it matters: the project would alter traffic patterns and the viewscape immediately adjacent to a residential neighborhood and requires city approval because the skybridge and helistop are treated as conditional uses under the zoning code. Supporters, including hospital attorneys and staff, emphasized improved patient access and pilot safety from a deck‑level heliport. Opponents — several Covington residents and neighborhood representatives — said the garage location will increase traffic on local streets, change the character of adjacent neighborhoods and could slow patient transfers because patients would go from aircraft to elevators rather than ground‑level transfer. Resident Matt Hardy said the hospital’s traffic study understated peak conditions and urged a broader review with the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development. Several residents asked the commission to delay approval pending release of the hospital’s longer‑range campus plan or to require additional conditions tied to location, height and traffic mitigation. City planning staff and the city engineer reported that the hospital’s revised submissions addressed code requirements. Staff said they had reviewed and cleared drainage, lighting, signage, landscape counts and building elevations submitted with the amendment. The commission approved the conditional use permit in a 4–2 roll call vote (Commissioners Boone, Swartz, Bullock and Hudson voting yes; Commissioners Celestine and Duvick voting no). The commission also voted on the site plan in a separate roll call; commissioners recorded mixed votes during that motion (roll call recorded in the minutes) and the chair proceeded to accept the site plan vote in this meeting. The chair reminded attendees that appeals of the conditional use decision may be filed to the City Council. Commissioners and staff said the hospital controls operational measures — for example, employee parking rules and garage access — that could limit peak congestion if the hospital chooses to manage who uses the garage and when. The hospital said it will relocate or reconstruct a catch basin as part of the work and that supplemental traffic and drainage work will be coordinated with the city engineer. The project packet included a full traffic impact study taken while school was in session and counts for morning and afternoon peaks; the hospital said the study modeled full garage occupancy. The developer and hospital representatives said directional signage at Polk Street and Eleventh Avenue will be installed to route some southbound traffic onto alternatives to Tallis/Tyler streets. Several residents asked the commission to require an indexed lease or compensation for lost tax revenue where air rights or private use of public land occur; staff said air‑rights servitudes and any compensation terms are legal/contract matters separate from the conditional use and site‑plan approvals. The commission closed the hearing after public comment and moved to votes. The record contains written comments and multiple public speakers opposing the site location and calling for further review. Next steps: the hospital may proceed with permitting and the city will coordinate construction details, including the right‑turn lane and signal modifications identified by council conditions and the traffic study. Appeals to the City Council are possible for the conditional use decision.