Planning commission gives conditional final approval to Promised Land Unit 3

The DeSoto Parish Planning Commission voted to grant conditional final approval for Promised Land, Unit 3, after staff recommended approval with conditions and the applicant agreed to complete several outstanding items.

A staff reviewer told the commission they had reviewed the plat and recommended approval but noted that property corners had not been set and asked that those corners be established before the plat is finalized with signatures and recording. The commission enumerated contingencies that must be satisfied before the parish will accept the road: lot staking (property corners), correction of silted ditches and erosion control, installation of required signs, and provision of a maintenance/performance bond (staff said a 25% maintenance bond is required before parish acceptance of the road).

The applicant said most items could be finished quickly and asked the commission not to let sign procurement alone delay filing; the applicant said he had already paid for signs but that timing was sometimes out of his control. “I don't wanna be delayed on us being able to sell property,” the applicant said, urging the commission to allow filing of the plat while contingencies are cleared. Staff and commissioners agreed that the parish would not accept the road into its inventory until the contingencies and the bond were in place, but that the plat could be filed and proceed to the police jury for a later acceptance vote once conditions were satisfied.

Commissioners offered an alternate motion for final approval conditioned on the lots being staked and the listed site work being completed; the motion was seconded and called for a vote. The chair announced the motion carried, with one member recorded as abstaining. The commission directed that one engineer’s signature be withheld until the contingencies were met and that the developer or engineer provide required as-built letters in accordance with the plans prior to parish acceptance.

Next steps: the plat will be filed so it can be placed on the police jury agenda, but the parish emphasized the police jury will not accept the road into parish ownership until the contingencies (stakes, silt control/ditches, signs and performance bond and required signatures) are satisfied.

Clarifying details from the meeting: commissioners referenced a 25% maintenance bond requirement; staff recommended retention of engineer signatures until the work is completed; commissioners discussed that signs and stop bars shown on Unit 2 construction drawings may not yet be represented on Unit 3 plans. The commission asked the applicant to report back on the status and ETA for signs by the following Monday.