Conway Project Approved by Gonzales Planning Commission | Ascension

Some residents attended the packed special meeting of the Gonzales Planning and Zoning Commission Conway Multipurpose Complex objects to the developer’s request to build 281 additional lots, citing Homeowners Association rules and property values.

Conway is divided into two areas: The Village at Conway and the Preserve at Conway. Conway’s developer, Southern Lifestyle Development, asked the commission to approve the Conway Phase Three Village plan, creating 122 lots, and the Conway Phase Four Preserve plan, creating 159 lots.

The Planning Commission approved both plans in two separate 4-1 votes, with Commissioner Kemlin Lomas casting the sole vote against both.

Jeff Valle, speaking on behalf of Southern Lifestyle Development, noted that the plan to create a total of 950 single-family lots was approved in 2015. This number has been revised to the current 929 plots, he added.

Tuesday’s hearing followed about two years of tweaks to the original plan, Valle explained.

“From a development perspective, it was decided that the village in Conway needed to be expanded,” he said, adding that this influenced the plan for the Conway reserve. “…And so, two years ago, we were working on pre-approvals…to get here, which is ultimately a request for pre-approvals for our last two phases of development.”

Some of the changes Valle outlined included the creation of a green corridor between the reserve and the village maintained by the HOA, as well as changes to road map after feedback from residents.

Participants protest against HOA rules

This is not the first time the community has faced controversy over its often flooded roads. last year. But much of the disagreement voiced at Tuesday’s meeting stemmed from a rift in the community that Conway Village resident Amber Ferchaux likened to different “classes.”

“For me, my house should be brick… it’s a whole style. There’s a whole code about what I can and can do with my house,” she said. “Conway Reserve has no such restrictions. But essentially they are building this new division in our midst.”

Other residents mentioned similar complaints during the meeting, fearing property values ​​would decrease due to the construction of homes with less stringent HOA rules.

Ferchot, 40, also said Reserve members pay about $65 a month and Village members pay about $96 a month. She told the commission she fears reserve members could outnumber village residents, giving them a voice to dominate the HOA and change the rules.

Commissioner Rhys LeBlanc asked Vallee if he could address these issues.

“I know this is not the place for an HOA discussion and I don’t want it to devolve into that because that’s not what this board is about,” he said. “But it was brought up. I didn’t know if there was a way to solve this problem now or in the near future, because it is a real problem.”

Valle said he doesn’t think now is the right time to discuss the topic, but noted that there are “many ways to decide… to prohibit some kind of hostile takeover.”

“There’s no way to solve this problem right now, and I don’t think now is the right time for us to commit resources to solving it,” he said. “…But when we know exactly how many houses there will be in the reserve village…we will deal with it.”