Future Land Use Plan Categories

Agricultural/Rural (AG/RU)
Single-family homes on large rural lots are predominately located in the northern part of the Parish. A few small stores provide limited goods and services, and most residents get to employment and shopping by car. Because homes are spread out and far from urban centers, the municipal cost of providing services and infrastructure is comparatively high.

Agricultural/Rural land uses make for an auto-oriented environment. Pedestrian design is minimal because buildings are not typically set back from the roadway. Residential development should be encouraged where it can be served by nearby community-serving amenities.

Commercial (C)
Commercial areas primarily function as service and job destinations. They currently serve many Baton Rouge residents on a daily basis and consist of corridors with key areas commonly located at the intersection of major roadways, where businesses are easily accessed by car. The frontages of major roads such as Airline Highway, are examples of a commercial areas. Buildings in these areas typically stand one to five stories with offices, restaurants, and a range of shopping. While the Commercial area may contain a mix of uses, activities tend to be located on separate parcels.

In addition to jobs and services, Commercial areas may include multi-family housing in low- to mid-rise apartment buildings. Parking is plentiful in these areas because uses are predominately car-oriented. Since there is a significant amount of retail, it’s important to have quality landscaping and pedestrian-friendly design. For large shopping centers, this may involve the addition of public plazas or other features that serve as community gathering places.

Compact Neighborhood (CN)
Compact neighborhoods are distinguished from residential neighborhoods by lot size and the degree of connection to nearby land uses. Compact neighborhoods are designed with an emphasis on smaller lot sizes, narrow street width, on-street parking, and high connectivity to adjacent land uses within a primarily single-family residential context.

While this plan category is and will be composed mostly of single-family residential, it may also include live-work units, townhomes, one- to four-story multi-family developments, and neighborhood scale office and commercial at intersections or along primary streets. Density is at least 8, but not more than 20 dwelling units per acre. Existing compact neighborhoods include Istrouma, Spanish Town, and Beauregard Town.

Downtown Core (DC)
The Downtown Core thrives as a dynamic, regional hub for business, tourism, retail and entertainment. It serves as the center for municipal and state government, and feature arts and performance venues, convention facilities, and attractive historical tourist destinations. Many residents will work Downtown, where high-quality office space and an efficient transit system will enable a rich diversity of businesses to attract great talent that serves clients, visitors and residents.

Generally, land use will be permissive within the Downtown Core while building form and design should subject to greater scrutiny. Many buildings will be multiple stories, providing space for a range of commercial activities, offices, retail, professional and personal services, rental and ownership housing (often on upper floors within a mixed-use building). Civic uses that contribute to the cultural richness of the region will include libraries, schools, religious institutions, and facilities for the arts, among many others. Any light manufacturing should produce no nuisances such as noise, light or odor.

Drive-through facilities should be discouraged, along with other auto-oriented building forms and site designs. Transit connectivity is greatest in the Downtown Core, allowing people to get around with less dependence on personal vehicles. Parking should be located on street or at the rear of buildings. New commercial surface parking lots should be limited in the Downtown Core; however, surface parking should be a transitional use. For example, revenue from a publicly-owned surface parking lot could provide funding for the construction of a parking structure.

Newly-developed, high-density apartments, lofts and townhomes further support a true urban neighborhood. These downtown residents add to the street life, support a robust restaurant and night-life scene, and enjoy easy access to urban parks, plazas and the Mississippi Riverfront.

There should be easy access to Downtown by transit or car. Visitors arriving Downtown via regional rail or from the airport should enjoy easy connections to local transit. Commuters from outlying neighborhoods should easily reach Downtown via bus, bike, walking, rail or car.

The Downtown Core will be the most pedestrian-oriented district within East Baton Rouge Parish, with buildings that meet the sidewalk and street-facing storefronts with prominent entrances, numerous windows, and interesting facades. Buildings of one to twelve stories should be permitted by right, with additional stories permitted by discretionary approval.

Employment Center (EC)
Employment centers will range in character from the Health District – a cluster of hospitals, research facilities, and medical offices in the southern part of the parish, where pedestrian design should be encouraged – to the Airport, with a focus on transportation-related industries and other manufacturing and distribution businesses, where large parcels make vehicle access paramount.

Employment Centers are primarily business districts that host professional and support jobs in a range of service-oriented fields that benefit from being close to one another. Hospitals and medical offices, office complexes, with multi-family housing options and other commercial enterprises bringing many people to one place will be a natural fit for pedestrian-friendly, mixed-use Employment Centers. Located near highways and transit stops for easy access, employees and customers will enjoy attractive and convenient pedestrian connections to and within the district. Both the Health District and the Airport are regional employment areas that feature convenient access to multi-family housing.

Industrial (I)
Industrial areas are for manufacturing, processing, storing and distributing raw or extracted materials. Building form will be largely determined by building use, and vehicle access will often be a priority. Factors such as heavy vehicle circulation, large land parcels and widely spaced buildings typically limit pedestrian activity in industrial districts. However, infrastructure such as a complete street grid and safe intersections should be provided where possible. Industriplex and Choctaw Drive are both Industrial areas.

Institutional (INST)
Institutional areas include publicly-owned schools, universities, government buildings, and police and fire stations. Depending on the specific use and adjacent land uses, institutional areas may be served by varying levels of pedestrian infrastructure. For instance, university, government, and medical campuses should be pedestrian-friendly places, and may be served by transit and nearby housing for employees, students and visitors. Alternately, neighborhood schools may have varying degrees of urban form depending upon the surrounding intensity of land use. In addition to the many public schools, the State Capitol is a prominent institutional area.

Mixed-Use (MU)
Mixed-Use areas link major mixed use, employment and retail centers throughout the City-Parish. Encouraged building forms include a mix of commercial buildings, up to five story mixed-use buildings, and adaptive reuse of warehouse or large commercial buildings. These corridors will include some mixed-use condos and apartments for people who want to live in an active, accessible area. Large format retail (e.g. “big box”) and office parks should be permitted subject to discretionary review, while tower buildings more than five stories, industrial and warehousing buildings should be discouraged.

While the majority of people will still travel by car, some areas may have dedicated bus and bike lanes. The community design within Mixed-Use should be comfortable for pedestrians, and the infrastructure should include sidewalks, street trees, crosswalks and ideally, on-street parallel parking.

Neighborhood Center (NC)
Neighborhood Centers are small-scale, one- to three-story mixed-use areas intended to serve nearby neighborhoods with retail, dining, and services. They provide employment, entertainment and housing options such as apartments, condominiums and townhouses, with small lot, single-family homes near the edges. Live-work units also are encouraged.

In multi-story buildings, retail will often occupy the ground floor, with offices or housing in the stories above. Such centers may take the form typical of “main street” commercial areas, and a wide variety of allowed uses can include restaurants, retail stores, small groceries, personal and professional services, private and civic offices. Customers who drive can park once and walk to a number of destinations because of the pedestrian-oriented building form and design. Auto-oriented uses and drive-through buildings should be discouraged and new surface parking lots limited. Industrial uses should not be allowed.

Office (O)
Office areas are characterized by activities conducted in an office setting that focus on the provision of goods and services, usually by professionals. Office areas provide professional and personal services with one to four floors in height permitted. While the majority of the building area will be used as office, other uses such as retail, live/work, and multi-family residential uses are allowed. Office areas will be accessible primarily by car, but should be comfortable for pedestrians in the Urban/Walkable Character Area. Examples of office areas are Jefferson Highway and Goodwood Boulevard.

Parks and Open Space (OS)
East Baton Rouge Parish has a strong network of existing green spaces, such as Bluebonnet Swamp, Waddill Wildlife Refuge, Magnolia Mound, City Park, and neighborhood parks, that will be joined by new parks and open spaces. Parks and publicly-owned open spaces – whether conservation areas, preserved wetlands and nature trails or a system of well-designed parks for organized sports, festivals and concerts – encourage a healthy lifestyle with easily accessible recreation. Parks and open spaces should be spread throughout the City-Parish and centrally located within neighborhoods, ensuring that all residents can easily access them on foot, by bike or car. Depending on the adjacent land uses, parks may be served by varying levels of pedestrian infrastructure.

Properties given the Open Space Plan Category will be publicly-owned, or designated for a public purpose. They are areas that the City-Parish has decided to protect and not allow any development. These will most often be cemeteries, conservation areas, wetlands or other sensitive natural areas.

Regional Center (RC)
Regional Centers are the most intense mixed-use areas for large-scale employment, retail, and civic or educational uses. These areas attract workers and people from around the region and are located along major transportation corridors. As the largest centers, they draw from a five- to 10-mile radius market area. Parking is provided on street or off street in shared facilities such as garages or lots. Some Regional Centers may include a parking management district. Perkins Rowe / Mall of Louisiana (at Bluebonnet) are examples of centers with a regional draw.

Buildings may be multi-story, mixed-use buildings that support a high level of pedestrian access. Buildings of two to seven stories should be permitted, with additional stories permitted subject to discretionary approval. Compact or urban residential options and civic uses such as schools, libraries, community centers, and city-parish services can also be found in Regional Centers. Buildings more than seven stories, car-oriented buildings and uses (i.e. drive-through businesses), industrial and warehousing uses do not fit in a Regional Center.

Residential Neighborhood (RN)
This category includes predominantly single-family homes. Streets should include bike lanes and sidewalks, as appropriate. Some residential neighborhoods may be auto-oriented because of large lot size and existing discontinuous street networks. New residential neighborhoods should be located within proximity to existing or new amenities that encourage the “20-minute neighborhood” concept for easy access to daily needs.

In addition to a variety of single-family housing types, residential options such as “mother-in-law” suites, and garden homes may be permitted. Uses such as live-work units, neighborhood scale office and commercial at intersections or along primary streets, private schools, and religious institutions, should also be permitted subject to review. Density should be less than 8 dwelling units per acre. Neighborhoods such as Old Goodwood, Kenilworth, Melrose, Southern Heights and Riverbend all fall into this plan category.

Urban Neighborhood (UN)
Urban neighborhoods consist of housing and retail districts where people both live and work in mixed-use residential areas. Urban neighborhoods are primarily pedestrian-oriented and may be served by local transit. Buildings, whether entirely residential or mixed-use, are oriented to the street. Many are near the Downtown Core but they may be located near major job centers, and universities.

Multi-story mixed-use residential buildings are interspersed with townhomes, multi-family housing, “mother-in-law” flats (also known as accessory or garden suites), live-work units, and compact single-family housing. These neighborhoods include urban retail areas and open spaces such as plazas, fountains, and pocket parks. Density should be more than 20 dwelling units per acre. Existing urban neighborhoods include Suburb Gracie and the Suburb Swart.