St. Tammany postpones Folsom rezoning after hours of public comment; community meeting ordered

The St. Tammany Parish Council on an unspecified August meeting night voted to postpone for one month a zoning change for about 20.81 acres near Highway 25 and Bennett Bridge Road in Folsom. The applicant had asked to rezone the property from ML (multifamily low) and HC‑2 (highway commercial) to S‑2 (suburban residential), a downzoning the petitioner said would reduce potential development from roughly 183 apartment units to an estimated 60–75 single‑family lots.

The applicant’s representative, Catherine Muir of Jones Fussell (representing petitioner Paul Marone), told the council the request is a “true down zoning” that would “convert [the site] permitted for apartments and highway commercial uses and convert it entirely to single family residential.” She said the site is outside the floodplain (flood zone C), has central water and sewer with capacity, and that any traffic or drainage improvements would be reviewed during future subdivision and DOTD review.

The proposal drew extensive opposition from residents who live along Highway 25 and Bennett…