Metro Council defers Delmont (Plank Road) Economic Development District after extended public hearing

A Metropolitan Council meeting on Nov. 12, 2025, opened with a lengthy presentation from Deidre Douglas Robert, president and CEO of Build East Baton Rouge, on economic development districts and a proposed Delmont (Plank Road) Economic Development District. Build EBR described a strategy of pairing infrastructure investments (Move EBR roadway and bus-rapid-transit work) with targeted façade grants, property coordination and rolling RFPs to attract private reinvestment along Plank Road.

The presentation highlighted recent grant wins — including $140,000 from the Delta Regional Authority to support planning for Plank Road and Scenic Highway — and emphasized that EDDs can reinvest a share of new local revenue back into a corridor for sidewalks, lighting, façade work, and job-creation programs. "When infrastructure meets place making, people return and businesses follow," Douglas Robert said, summarizing the authority’s role as an EDD administrator.

Public comment was sharply divided. Students, residents and civic leaders described the corridor’s long-term disinvestment and urged the council to approve tools that would fund local improvements and public-safety partnerships. "We deserve safe, well-lit spaces," said Southern University student Kai McFolling, urging support for the EDD as a community investment. Several business and nonprofit representatives — including the Baton Rouge Area Foundation and the Louisiana Chamber Foundation — said they would offer technical support and financing tools.

Opponents and some council members pressed for stronger accountability, clearer statutory compliance and protections against what they described as "double taxation" on low-income residents. Public commenter Penny Mae Landry asked whether EDDs deliver measurable returns: "Is there a report that shows the money invested and the return on that investment?" she asked. Council members debated board composition, whether the council or an appointed board should have authority to levy the sales tax, and how the district would meet legal tests (often referenced as the Cabello/Cabela test) for showing a public-purpose return on investment.

Police data presented to the council underlined safety concerns in the corridor: Chief T.J. Morris said the Plank Road area generated thousands of calls for service year-to-date, including robberies and shots-fired incidents. Supporters argued EDD-funded improvements could reduce blight and crime; critics warned that design and oversight features must be tightened before any taxing authority is put in place.

After hours of testimony and council debate, Councilman Mote moved to defer the ordinance and rewrite the governance structure so the board initially functions in an advisory role and to allow the council to review the cooperative endeavor agreement (CEA) that would govern operations and oversight. The motion to defer carried. Council documents indicate the ordinance will return to the council for further consideration with a revised board/CEA approach.

What happens next: Council members said staff and the ordinance sponsors will draft a substitute ordinance and CEA that address board composition, reporting requirements, quarterly reporting, and how tax levies would be implemented and reviewed before funds are spent. Supporters said the delay will allow additional outreach and details on performance metrics; critics said they would continue to press for strict oversight and clear fiscal baseline calculations.