An 81.5-acre land plot east of Military Road near Pearl River was rezoned Tuesday night to create a subdivision with a minimum of 5-acre lots.

The St. Tammany Parish Zoning Commission unanimously approved petitioner Toby Lowe’s request to rezone the area from Planned Unit Development, or PUD, to A-1 suburban district, paving way for a 14-homestead construction project.

Lowe, acting with land owner Oak Island Corporation, originally sought and was granted the PUD designation to build 162 lots with an average size of 9,100-square-feet, less than one-fourth of an acre. But as the nation’s economy slumped, so did the buying prospects. Only about 14 lots now generated interest in buyers who sought larger homesteads.

So Lowe asked to scrap the PUD and rezone the land to A-1 in order to build those lots larger.

The Zoning Commission staff recommended the new zoning because the parish’s 25-year future land use plan designates the area as a conservation area.

Five-acre lots would allow land, flora, fauna and water to appear naturally, the staff wrote in its report.

It’s unclear if and when the remainder of the area will be developed into the 5-acre lots.

In other zoning news, commissioners rejected a request by AT&T to erect a 165-foot cellular tower on the land of South Seas restaurant off Gause Boulevard in Slidell.

The tower did not meet setback requirements and would be an eyesore for passersby, commissioners said.

“As much as we need cell phones, the location for this one is not appropriate,” said Commissioner Dale Mackie, who motioned and was granted the project’s rejection.

Attorney Jeff Schoen representing AT&T argued the tower would be partially hidden by an 8-foot fence and in case of a catastrophic event would break away and fall into pieces within 45 feet of its base and within the petitioner Phillip Yee’s land.

It would not, he said, crash down in one piece, falling in a 165 feet radius.