John Guidroz

The Calcasieu Parish Planning and Zoning board voted 6-3 Tuesday to grant a rezoning request that would allow a 211-space temporary mobile home park on the former Pine Shadows Golf Course property. Several residents who opposed the request said adding hundreds of new homes would worsen an existing traffic problem in the area.

Black Lake Land and Oil Co. LLC is requesting to rezone 215 acres of property at 750 Goodman Road in northeast Lake Charles from single-family residential to mobile home park. The request goes before the full Police Jury for final approval at 5:30 p.m. Thursday.

Gerard Stolar, FEMA Region 6 official, said the agency would lease the land from Black Lake Land and Oil through February 2022, with an option for an extension. Construction could start by June, with mobile homes installed around early September, he said.

Once the need for temporary housing ends, FEMA must return the site to its original condition, unless the property owner wants to petition to keep it in place or develop it in some other way, Stolar said.

Lonnie Thomas, who lives on the 4200 block Opelousas Street, said two-lane, dead-end Goodman Road has traffic problems at its intersection with Opelousas Street that get worse when crashes occur.

“Everything is backed up,” he said. “To add this many homes there would be a disaster. We don’t want to see these homes in this community.”

Stolar said FEMA cannot commit to any improvements along the intersection. However, officials want to hear from the community on possible remedies to make the development more acceptable.

Stolar said FEMA group housing sites are an option of last resort, with the agency preferring to put temporary units on private property or at commercial sites. Many of the dozens of properties FEMA sought for group sites had environmental issues, he said.

Stolar said FEMA understands the concerns residents have about the development. Similar rezoning efforts on Goodman Road encountered strong public opposition. The planning board and Police Jury in 2016 rejected a request to rezone for a 680-space mobile home park.

“We realize this is an important decision for the community and a sensitive decision,” he said.

Each mobile home will vary from one-bedroom to as many as three, with up to 1,000 residents living at the site, Stolar said.

Voting to rezone were Sharon Galicia, Keith Dubrock, LaSalle Williams, Jake Porche, Art Little and Genelle Hyatt. Lutricia Cobb, Carl Vincent and DeAnn Winey were opposed.Black Lake Land and Oil Co. LLC is requesting to rezone 215 acres of property at 750 Goodman Road in northeast Lake Charles from single-family residential to mobile home park.

Special to the American Press