LAFAYETTE, La. (The Daily Advertiser) – A group of residents in the Bendel Gardens neighborhood are petitioning against a proposed student housing complex along Pinhook Road.

Organizers will be going door to door over the next few weeks in an effort to collect signatures before Lafayette Consolidated Government’s Zoning Commission meeting on Aug. 8, Bendel Gardens resident Becky Hawthorne said.

A New Orleans-based developer has not yet bought the vacant, near-13-acre lot at 1500 Pinhook Road, which is adjacent to the Hilton Double Tree Hotel, but the deal could close in October, Hawthorne said.

The development is reportedly a 600-room, 213-unit complex for college students.

Those opposing the project say Pinhook Road is not ready for additional traffic.

“The problem that we have with it primarily is the traffic issue,” Hawthorne said. “Pinhook is already such a nightmare and this is going to dump in another 600 college students. It will be dangerous for them. They are providing 380 spots for parking spots for 600 college students, which is insane.”

The development was originally supposed to be reviewed by LCG’s Planning Commission on July 13, but was withdrawn. Owner Lodging America at the Vermilion River and its developer, new Orleans-based Strategic Development of Louisiana, resubmitted a proposal on July 7 to be reviewed at the next Planning Commission meeting, according to Mayeaux Surveying.

Carlee Alm-LaBar, LCG Zoning and Development director, confirmed that the project will be reviewed during the Aug. 8 meeting.

The meeting will include a public hearing will be held 5:30 p.m. at the Planning, Zoning & Codes Auditorium located at 220 West Willow St., Building B.

“We want to get the word out there, because it’s going to impact Bendel Gardens, but at the same time, it’s going to be a negative impact on anyone who travels Pinhook Road on a daily basis,” Hawthorne said.