Ascension Parish’s rapid growth over the past several decades has had mixed impacts. Development pressures—combined with much of the parish’s land being located in flood-prone areas—have revealed issues with land use, housing, wastewater, transportation, and stormwater management systems.

Recognizing the need for coordinated planning, parish leaders commissioned the Ascension Parish Master Land Use Plan to coordinate needed improvements and to provide a framework for future parish investments over the next 20 to 25 years. The planning team held four sets of workshops and open houses and provided other opportunities for public input, including surveys and online comment forms.

For the future, parish leaders, residents, and stakeholders want to ensure that the parish keeps its high quality of life and stability, while gaining more good jobs and diverse housing options to retain the community’s young workers. Guided by this vision, the plan concentrates on how land is developed or redeveloped, the types of housing available, recreation and open space needs, and how to create a stronger economy.

It builds on previous plans and also incorporates recommendations from other plans currently under development, including how to improve transportation and how to better manage stormwater.