The Mandeville City Council has appointed a new member to the city's Planning and Zoning Commission, ending months of discussion over the makeup of a panel that will help chart the future of how land will be developed in future years.
During its final meeting of 2024 on Dec. 19, the City Council appointed Pat Rosenow to the commission. An administrative law judge for the U.S. Department of Labor, Rosenow was among three "well-qualified" candidates seeking a seat on the seven-member commission.
Council members acknowledged that the appointment took on special significance because the commission will have the final say in the implementation of a comprehensive land use plan that will guide land development in the city for decades to come. Rosenow's term will run from Jan. 1 through 2031.
Attorney and former City Council member Ernest Burguieres and Shawn Potter, who has served on the city's Parks and Parkways Commission and works as director of Institutional Research at Tulane University, were the other two candidates.
The selection process for the appointment began in September. There was division among council members as to who would be the best choice, although in the end Rosenow was appointed by a unanimous vote.
While council members said they believed all three candidates would be excellent choices, they differed somewhat on whether it was important that the new member reside in council District 2, which encompasses central Mandeville. Of the three hopefuls, only Rosenow lives in that district.
Council member Cynthia Strong-Thompson first moved to appoint Potter to the post. She argued that Potter, who resides on the western side of the city, would help even out the commission, which currently has only one member from west of Causeway Boulevard.
That motion failed by a 2-3 vote.
District 2 Mandeville council member Kevin Vogeltanz then offered a motion to appoint Rosenow, which was approved by a 5-0 vote. Vogeltanz and about a dozen members of the audience who addressed the council on the issue argued the commission needed a representative from District 2.
Two of the most contentious land use issues in recent years -- the proposed Port Marigny mixed-use development and controversial Sucette Harbor apartment hotel plan -- both would have been built on the Mandeville lakefront in District 2.
"I think the people of District 2 deserve a seat at the table," Vogeltanz said.
Earlier in the meeting, council chair Scott Discon announced that council members had attended a training class on applying Robert's Rules of Order -- a set of guidelines that detail parliamentary procedure for running meetings. The rules are designed to help maintain order, protect the rights of all participants and ensure meetings stay on topic.
He said council meetings will be tweaked to bring them in line with the procedures. The changes include limiting comments from the public to three minutes with no exceptions; requiring that all comments be addressed directly to the council and not to other audience members or city staff; and establishing a period at the start of meetings for the public to address the council.