St. Tammany planners deny Pine Ridge Estates concept plan after traffic, drainage and design concerns

The St. Tammany Parish Planning Commission denied concept-plan approval for Pine Ridge Estates (agenda item 12), a proposed subdivision on the north side of U.S. Highway 190 west of Pen Mill Road in Covington.

The denial followed public comment, technical discussion and several commissioners’ objections. Christina Gould, a Pen Mill Road resident, told the commission the development would worsen local traffic and described the proposal as “a hot mess. Traffic.” Developer representative Paul Marrone said the project team is working with the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development and “expects a final decision out of DOTD before too long.” He added that full engineering — including hydrology and final pond sizing — would come at the next stage if concept approval were granted.

Commissioners raised three recurring concerns. First, commissioners and staff flagged a stormwater routing issue: several lots (noted by staff as lots 60–66) drain toward a single 25-foot conduit that then feeds the proposed detention pond. Commissioner Robert said that configuration created a “choke point” and asked that the alignment be adjusted so water flows perpendicular into the main 45-foot drainage easement. Second, multiple commissioners and a resident cited traffic and safety on Highway 190 and Penn Mill Road; the commission heard that the project would require DOTD-mandated intersection improvements, possibly including turn lanes and a future signal. Third, commissioners criticized the project’s layout and open-space design, saying much of the project’s green space is concentrated in a detention pond rather than active, accessible amenity areas near homes.

Staff explained that the concept-plan stage reviews lot layout and general compliance with the Unified Development Code (UDC), not final engineering. Marrone and the applicant said that full engineering and hydrology work — including possible expansion of the west-side pond and consequent lot reductions — would follow concept approval. Commissioners said those later changes would not allay current layout, drainage-alignment and aesthetic concerns.

After discussion, a motion to deny concept approval for Pine Ridge Estates carried. The commission advised the applicant that engineering changes would be required for a future resubmittal and noted that DOTD approvals would also be needed for the Highway 190 access work.

The project team and local residents were told the applicant could appeal the planning commission’s decision to the parish council. The commission’s denial does not itself bar the developer from returning with a revised plan or from appealing to the council.

The commission’s decision leaves the Pine Ridge concept at an earlier stage: any new submittal must address drainage routing and alignment, DOTD traffic requirements, and the commission’s requests for more distributed green space and clearer emergency/ingress-e.gress arrangements.