Photo via Visit St Bernard

The final draft of the St. Bernard Parish Comprehensive Plan was released Friday, seeking to provide a guide for the Parish to attracting more middle- to upper-income residents and new businesses.

The 116-page plan is intended to guide future redevelopment in the parish.

The Comprehensive Plan is an official, public document that helps guide the direction and type of growth that meets the needs of the community.  It helps local residents, developers, officials, and parish staff make sound land use decisions.

According to St. Bernard Parish, the plan is intended to be an evolving visionary document that responds to and reflects the values of a community over time.   Expressed with a land use map and through policies, it coordinates, and sets the stage for, other parish plans like capital improvement plans, road plans, and utility plans.

One item outlined in the plan is that St. Bernard seeks to compete for two key demographic groups:  middle and professional class families, and upwardly mobile low to moderate income families.

To that end, the plan proposes to improve  “quality-of-life amenities” and encourages redevelopment in specific, centralized areas.

Some specific items in the plan include creating more walkable and bicycleable community centers, smaller neighborhood retail, creating green space alongside canals, and creating community gardens as well as small commercial agriculture operations.

You can check out the entire plan here.