Could impact future developments on Sucette Harbor, Port Marigny properties
MANDEVILLE — A proposed zoning ordinance scheduled for introduction Thursday would create a new overlay district aimed at preventing future high-traffic development along the Monroe Street corridor, a move that could significantly affect the redevelopment potential of some of the city’s largest remaining undeveloped properties — including the former site of the controversial Sucette Harbor proposal.
Ordinance 26-27 would establish a Monroe Street Corridor Low-Traffic Overlay District, applying to certain planned development and marina-zoned properties located south of Monroe Street between East Causeway Approach and Lamarque Street. Rather than changing the underlying zoning of those properties, the ordinance would impose new limits on the intensity of future development based on projected traffic generation.
The proposal is sponsored by District II Councilman Kevin Vogeltanz.
According to the ordinance, the purpose of the overlay is to protect public health and safety by limiting future developments that would worsen traffic congestion, reduce levels of service at intersections, slow emergency response times during peak traffic periods and further strain parking availability throughout Old Mandeville and along the city’s historic lakefront.
Unlike the city’s existing overlay districts, which generally regulate environmental protections, architectural design or historic preservation while leaving permitted land uses largely unchanged, the proposed Low-Traffic Overlay would directly restrict development intensity by establishing a traffic-generation threshold.
Specifically, the ordinance would prohibit any residential, commercial, marina or mixed-use development expected to generate more than 0.50 vehicle trips per acre during the morning or afternoon peak hour, as calculated using the Institute of Transportation Engineers’ Trip Generation Manual. The ordinance creates an exception for one detached single-family home on a minimum one-acre lot, reflecting what the proposal describes as a preference for very low-density residential development.
Existing lawful developments would remain legal as nonconforming uses.
Based on city’s traffic study
The proposal relies heavily on findings from the city’s Monroe Street Corridor Traffic Study completed in April 2025 as part of the Mandeville Thrives 2045 Comprehensive Master Plan.
According to the ordinance, the study found one Monroe Street intersection already operates at the worst possible Level of Service rating of “F,” while another currently operates at Level of Service “E.” The ordinance also cites projections that seven intersections within the corridor are expected to experience failing traffic conditions by 2044 without improvements.
The ordinance specifically identifies the former Mariner’s Village property and the former pre-stressed concrete site as the two largest remaining undeveloped tracts south of Monroe Street.
Revisiting the Sucette Harbor debate
Although the ordinance never mentions Sucette Harbor by name, its practical effect could reshape the future of the property where the controversial mixed-use development was proposed several years ago.
The former Sucette Harbor proposal envisioned a large waterfront development on the Mariner’s Village site that included residential, commercial and marina components. The project generated years of public opposition before ultimately being rejected by the City Council, leading to extensive federal litigation between the developers and the city. That litigation was later dismissed in federal court, and related legal disputes have since largely concluded.
The new overlay would not rezone the property. However, by limiting future developments based on projected traffic generation, it could significantly narrow the range of projects that could be approved on the site under its existing planned development zoning.
Vogeltanz said the proposal is intended to preserve the character of Old Mandeville while ensuring future development reflects the capacity of the surrounding transportation network. “This ordinance is about protecting what makes Mandeville special,” he said. “Monroe Street isn’t an interstate or four-lane highway, and our residential lakefront isn’t a blank canvas for high-traffic, high-density developments.”
He emphasized that the ordinance would not rezone property or eliminate development rights for affected landowners. Instead, Vogeltanz said it establishes a standard that future planned district and marina developments south of the Monroe Street corridor must remain compatible with the area’s traffic capacity, public safety, parking availability and residential character.
The ordinance also states that developers could not evade the overlay’s restrictions through subdivision or rezoning of covered property. In addition, it would prohibit the city from issuing permits or variances that conflict with the overlay’s requirements.
Vogeltanz said the proposal is intended to protect residents as well as those who work, attend school or visit the lakefront. He said limiting high-traffic development would help reduce future congestion, improve emergency response times, lessen the risk of traffic accidents and preserve parking in Old Mandeville and along the historic lakefront.
Comprehensive plan cited — and criticized
The proposed ordinance also directly addresses one of the redevelopment concepts included in the recently adopted Mandeville Thrives 2045 Comprehensive Master Plan.
The ordinance criticizes the illustrative Appendix E concept for the approximately 15-acre Mariner’s Village property, which depicts a mixed-use development including single-family homes, apartments, a hotel, restaurant, retail space and mixed-use commercial buildings.
According to the ordinance, that illustrative concept would generate an estimated 96.88 vehicle trips during the morning peak hour — approximately a 5 percent increase in peak-hour traffic on Monroe Street — and therefore represents a level of development the council finds incompatible with preserving Mandeville’s low-density character.
The proposal states that encouraging lower-density residential neighborhoods within the Monroe Street corridor represents the best balance between protecting property rights and addressing traffic, emergency access and public safety concerns.
If ultimately adopted, the ordinance would add a new Section 7.6.5 to the city’s Comprehensive Land Use Regulations Ordinance establishing the Monroe Street Corridor Low-Traffic Overlay District.
Proposed ordinances are introduced as a legal formality to comply with the state’s Open Meetings Law, and they are not subject to debate or voting at the time of their introduction. However, the measure could potentially be debated and acted upon during the July 23 meeting.
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