In order to promote business in Old Mandeville and unincorporated Mandeville in St. Tammany Parish, the St. Tammany Parish Council amended a zoning designation from 2009 which originally gave a block on both sides of Highway 59 the NC-4 (Neighborhood Institutional District) zoning.  This zoning allowed small commercial businesses to establish locations in these areas.  These types of businesses included dance and music studios, weight loss studios, learning centers, churches and day care centers.  While these types of businesses have popped up all around Highway 59, and business is booming, the problem began with new home buyers and home sellers trying to conduct “residential business” in this same area.  Highway 59 from Lake Pontchartrain to Abita Springs has always featured a mix of residential and commercial properties.  So, when the real estate market in St. Tammany Parish began to become active again, home buyers and sellers alike were stymied by their mortgage companies and banks who would not issue a loan on the land that was zoned NC-4.

The reason for the lack of lending was because of the zoning.  A bank would not lend money to a residential location in the NC-4

zoning because it had a commercial designation.  Because of this, the residential property in this area became essentially worthless.  The St. Tammany Parish Council amended this detrimental mistake in a quick and efficient vote on March 6, 2014, without any discussion.  They voted to approve the new language describing the NC-4 zoning to include residential properties in this zoning.  This would make it so that a zoning of NC-4 would include residential properties as well as commercial properties.  Normally a measure approved by the Council takes 15 days to become active, however, the Council waived the waiting period and made the measure immediately active.  Banks, lenders, buyers, and sellers will now be able to immediately push through any loans that were outstanding before the Council put it to a vote.

Even though the immediate cause for concern for the vote by the St. Tammany Parish Council was the area around Lafitte St. south of Florida Street on Hwy. 59 in Mandeville, Louisiana, apparently, the problem exists for the NC-4 zoning in many other parts of St. Tammany Parish as well.  This vote was crucial to freeing up the commerce of residential buying and selling all throughout St. Tammany Parish.  Hopefully with this vote, residential real estate will once more thrive in St. Tammany Parish.

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