Baton Rouge Metropolitan Council Approves Plan Baton Rouge 3 and Zoning Items (June 17, 2026)
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Baton Rouge Metropolitan Council Zoning Meeting — June 17, 2026
The Baton Rouge Metropolitan Council held a zoning meeting on Wednesday, June 17, 2026, with a quorum present. The council consolidated items 2 and 3 for one vote, then considered Plan Baton Rouge 3, the downtown small area plan. All items were approved without opposition.
Consent Calendar / Items 2 & 3
- Future EBR Transportation Element Amendment, Major Street Plan: approved reducing the right-of-way shown as 125 feet to no less than 100 feet for the Burbank Drive segment between Milford Avenue and West Parker Boulevard. Planning staff recommended approval based on more detailed review and determinations from the Department of Transportation and Drainage that the reduction was appropriate.
- SPUD 126 LLC Collective Student Housing: approved rezoning from General Residential A4 to Small Planned Unit Development (SPUD) for high-density multifamily residential or commercial use on property north of Burbank Drive and east of Milford Avenue. Planning staff certified the request.
- Developer representative Charles Landry was present to answer questions; no public comment was offered on these items. The motion was seconded by Councilwoman McComey and passed with no objections.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Eric Dexter, Vice President of Civic Leadership Initiatives at the Baton Rouge Area Foundation, spoke in support of Plan Baton Rouge 3. He recounted the success of Plan Baton Rouge 1 and 2, citing $3 billion in combined public and private investment over two decades and more than 80% implementation of Plan Baton Rouge 2's 104 proposals. He said Plan Baton Rouge 3 targets more than $1.5 billion in early investment, over 5,000 new jobs, $37 million in additional annual tax revenue, and tripling downtown's residential population over the next decade. He emphasized that the plan was built through surveys, public meetings, workshops, and stakeholder interviews, and urged approval.
- Laura Caning, Senior Vice President of Marketing Communications for Visit Baton Rouge, expressed support for the plan on behalf of the parish's destination marketing organization. She praised the riverfront focus and the proposed redevelopment of the Raising Cane's River Center, including an adjacent headquarters hotel and convention center. She noted Baton Rouge is one of the largest U.S. cities without a dedicated convention center with an attached hotel, and that cities such as Savannah, Waco, Rochester, Tulsa, and Mobile are investing in downtown convention centers. She said the plan would improve downtown's overall visitor experience.
Discussion Items
- Plan Baton Rouge 3 is a small area plan for downtown Baton Rouge's historic core, generally bounded by the Mississippi River on the west; Oklahoma Street, Nicholson Drive, and Myrtle Avenue on the south; the Canadian Pacific Kansas City Railroad Corridor on the east; and Choctaw Drive, adjacent rail spur, and the North Third Street and Elon Street Corridor on the north. Planning staff recommended approval.
- Councilwoman Cole spoke in support, saying the plan represents continued momentum, partnership, and investment, and that successful implementation must include all districts. She made the motion to approve; a seconding council member seconded, and the motion carried without opposition.
Key Outcomes
- Items 2 and 3 were approved together by voice vote with no objections.
- Plan Baton Rouge 3 was approved by voice vote with no opposition.
- The meeting adjourned after the votes.
Meeting Transcript
Good afternoon. Welcome to today's Metropolitan Council zoning meeting on Wednesday, June 17, 2026. We'll officially call this meeting to order. Justin, do we have a quorum? We have a quorum. All right, Council members. Um, there has been a request to move items two and three to take them together before we get to item one. And so we're going to go straight to item two at this time. Um, item number two, future EBR Transportation Element Amendment, Major Street Plan to amend the comprehensive plans so as to amend the major street plan by reducing the right-of-way with showing 125 feet to no less than 100 feet up for the segment of Burbank Drive between Milford Avenue to West Parker Boulevard. Um Planning Staff Findings recommend approval based on reviews of the area in a greater level of detail, considering determination for the department transportation and drainage that the reduction of right away with will be appropriate. We'll open up um public hearing this time for the item. Do we have any public comment? Charles Landry up here as the representative of the developer if you have any questions. So item three is where we read it. So Spud 126 L L V Collective Student Housing to resonate the rezoned a general residential A4 to small plan unit development for a high density multifamily residential development or commercial on property located north of Burbank Drive, East of Milford Avenue. Planning staff findings, the staff certifies the proposed request. We'll open up the floor to public hearing at this time. All right, we'll move to council. So move. All right. Second by Councilwoman McComey. Any objections? Motion passed. Thank you. Appreciate your courage. All right, item number one. Uh Plan Baton Rouge three, small area plan. The plan focuses on the downtown, downtown historical core of Baton Rouge, generally bounded by the Mississippi River on the west, Oklahoma Street, Nicholson Drive, and Myrtle Avenue on the south, the Canadian Pacific Kansas City Railroad Corridor on the east, and Choctaw Drive and adjacent rail spur and standing toward North Third Street and Elon Street Corridor on the north on the north, returning to the Mississippi River. Council District 10 Coleman plan planning staff findings. The planning commission staff recommends approval. We're going to open up public um hearing at this time for the item. Any public comment? State your name and who you are. Eric Dexter 574, Silver Bill Lane. Um I am the uh vice president of civic leadership initiatives at the Baton Nigeria Foundation. I've had the pleasure uh as uh being the project lead on this project. And I just wanted to take a few moments, one to thank you again, Chairman, uh, and rest of the council members for uh walking this journey with us over the last uh year and a half, two years as we've developed this plan. Um I just wanted to say here in Baton Rouge, we love our sports. Um, even so much so we decided to hire and elect a coach to be our mayor. Uh but you don't build a dynasty in one season in sports. You establish a system, you trust the process, you let the results accumulate over time. That's exactly what this community did with Plan Baton Rouge 1 and 2. More than 25 years ago, Plan Baton Rouge 1 helped to reimagine a downtown that experienced decades of disinvestment with the renewed focus on downtown at the heart of our region. A decade later, Plan Baton Rouge 2 expanded the vision, prioritizing connectivity, housing, transportation, and a stronger relationship with the Mississippi River. It worked. Together, those plans led to $3 billion in both public and private investments over two decades. That's not a coincidence. That's the compounding power of clear community-backed plan executed over time. Those plans catalyze the downtown Greenway, North Boulevard Town Square, Galvez Plaza, the Shaw Center for the Arts, new residential high-rises like the Heron Downtown and 525 Lafayette, and a hotel market that simply didn't exist before. That transformed downtown from a place people left at work at the end of the day into a place where people increasingly choose to live, work, visit, and invest.
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