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Commission approves rezoning for Holy Family Academy campus on Airport Road with traffic and drainage study requirements
Summary
The Planning Commission approved rezoning of a 26.28‑acre property on Airport Road from L‑1 to EV‑1 (primary education) for Holy Family Academy. Commissioners and neighbors emphasized that traffic, water and septic issues must be addressed in later engineering and planning stages.
The St. Tammany Parish Planning Commission voted to rezone a 26.28‑acre tract on Airport Road from L‑1 (large‑lot residential) to EV‑1 (primary education) to allow Holy Family Academy to relocate its campus from downtown Covington.
Attorney Jeff Shane, representing Holy Family Academy, said the private school plans modest enrollment growth — the campus currently has approximately 250 students and proposes a target under 300 — and will phase construction and implement traffic and drainage mitigation. Shane said the school has considered start and pick‑up times to avoid peak traffic and that the site plan includes stacked car arrival lanes and a driveway alignment that could tie into Hardhat Drive across Airport Road.
Neighbors and other speakers raised traffic and utility concerns for Airport Road and urged careful engineering review. One resident, who lives on Airport Road, said he sees dangerous morning congestion at the Ronald Reagan Highway/Highway 25 corridor and warned that additional school traffic could worsen safety risks. Commissioners and staff said any construction would require parish review of a traffic impact study, drainage design, and water/sewer solutions; DOTD and parish review would be required for any necessary state roadway changes.
Why it matters: the rezoning permits a private K‑12 campus in a location that will require off‑site and on‑site traffic and drainage mitigations. The commission approved the change while noting that subsequent site‑specific studies and permits must demonstrate compliance with parish and state requirements.
Commission action: Commissioner Robert moved to approve; the motion carried after discussion about traffic timing and mitigation. The commission recorded support and asked the petitioner to continue community outreach and provide required engineering studies at the planning stage.
