The Livingston Parish Planning and Zoning Commission's March 10 meeting was a lengthy affair overflowing with promising infrastructure plans and extensive debates on rezoning efforts in both rural and urban areas.
Planning
The first and most notable item on the planning commission's agenda was the announcement of an upcoming development spanning 35 acres in the southeast quadrant of Buddy Ellis Road and Juban Road. The project will be a "mixed-use development featuring 149 single-family detached cottages, a clubhouse, and commercial area along Juban Road," according to Jeff Diamond of Dantin Bruce Development.
Commissioner Kathy Long said she is "hopeful it will live up to… some of y'all's previous projects," while planning department staff recommended moving the project to its next developmental phase. The commission voted unanimously to approve the request.
Another heavily debated item was the request to approve a site plan for a new Entergy tower.
Steve Irving of the Land Development Council for the parish explained the amended ordinances governing tower construction, noting that while the amendments were intended to reduce the number of waivers the commission had to consider, they also introduced a complication: federal law dictates that "no matter how bad an idea these towers are, if you turn it down you have to write down a judicial reason on why you turned it down." As a result, if a tower site plan meets the required criteria, construction can proceed without a waiver.
Kiley Price, representing Entergy, told commissioners the under-90-foot support tower would be built on an existing Entergy site and "is considered critical infrastructure to better serve the surrounding area." She added that the tower will only ever be "utilized by Entergy for their use and no additional carriers will be added moving forward."
After discussion, the commissioners voted unanimously to approve the tower site plan.
Four minor planning requests followed.
First was a preliminary site plan for On the Geaux Buildings. Thomas Johnson of Alvin Fairburn & Associates, LLC explained that the site previously housed Denham Springs Inspection, a car inspection station. Jenny Kauiate, registered agent and CFO for Denham Springs Notary and registered agent for OTGB, explained the pivot: "Not that long ago the governor came out and said he was going to be voting against inspection stickers, so we figured for the long run that probably wasn't financially a great business to get into and decided to use the second property for the sale of portable buildings."
The site plan seeks to reduce the impervious area on the lot by nearly 600 square feet so that one building can serve as a central store while sheds and moveable structures are stored on the remaining site. The commission voted unanimously in favor, with the planning department's full approval.
Rudy Sinco of McLin Taylor Engineering then presented the next two requests — a preliminary site plan for S&E Heating & Air and a final site plan for MHP (Mobile Homes Period), LLC.
For S&E, the plan seeks to consolidate two tracts — one already containing a company building — into a single lot, with a new building to be added onto an existing slab on the north end of the property. Because the request does not increase existing impervious area, drainage exemptions were immediately granted by the commission.
For MHP, the request involves a waiver for a fence around the property. Under current planning and zoning ordinances, fences must be made of wood, brick, or masonry; all other materials require a waiver. The property owner expressed a preference for a gabion fence made of decorative metal panels, prompting the waiver request. The commission voted unanimously in favor of both.
The final planning item was a request from Landon Wolf of McLin Taylor for a DIS exemption on the final site plan for Live Oak Elementary School. The request also covers the removal and relocation of an existing playground and a minor increase in impervious area tied to a proposed new building. With the planning department's continued approval, the commission unanimously approved the request.
Zoning
The most time-consuming item of the evening was a request by property owner Chris Connerly to rezone his property from agriculture (AG) to residential 2 (R2).
Connerly said he hopes to "create three single-family residential lots along the highway frontage, each approximately 16,000 square feet, for potential future home sites including possibly for my family and my children." He noted that a majority of the surrounding land consists of federally delineated wetlands, leaving only a 1.1-acre high knoll available for construction.
Though Connerly came prepared with detailed examples showing his request met all listed zoning guidelines, some commissioners pushed back.
Commissioner Brady Wax noted that "the last time we talked about spot zoning and putting R2 right in the middle of AG, it certainly posed an issue. The other issue, I think, is that most of the other residents in that area voted in the last elections to stop this type of small lots — that's why they voted for implementing zoning."
Commissioner Brian Clemmons agreed, saying "the [zoning] lines are not clear or concise across the parish, but at the same time we had to draw the lines somewhere… the law tells us what we need to have is a compelling reason to change [zones] and 'because I want to' doesn't qualify as a compelling reason."
Other commissioners were more open to the change. "Things change in this parish," said Commissioner Gerland Burns. "[The land usage] can change and we can change with it — we're not locked into something on the future land use map."
Commissioner Wax remained firm, making clear he was "not in favor of setting the precedent that we are changing AG to R2 with a third of an acre lot in an area that is mostly AG and R1."
After more than thirty minutes of discussion, Connerly summed up his position plainly: "I definitely need three lots and I've got one acre to put them on."
The commission ultimately voted to deny the request. Commissioner Burns cast the lone dissenting vote and asked why the commission moved to deny rather than approve — a question that went unanswered.
Next, Sheila Rancher asked the commission to rezone her property back to a commercial classification after discovering it had been mistakenly rezoned at some point without her knowledge. Rancher and her husband purchased the lot as commercial property in 2007 and held onto it as an investment, only to find during a recent listing that it had been reclassified as residential 1 (R1) rather than commercial 1 (C1).
Livingston Parish Council member Erin Sandefur noted that the maps used as reference for the area had since been overturned by a federal judge and cautioned Rancher that any offer received on the property while it carries mixed zoning could trigger a two-year hold on future rezoning requests.
Commissioner Clemmons echoed the concern: "I think Mrs. Sandefur is correct in saying that if we grant you this, we will, to a small extent, tie your hands for the future. I really, honestly believe that you're probably better off not submitting this request at this point in time… if you want to sell it then the next person will have more [zoning] flexibility without tying it up for the next year or two."
Rancher was unconvinced, arguing that "a developer wanting to do commercial" would be unlikely to purchase a lot zoned R1, leaving that rezoning work to fall on him. The commission ultimately voted unanimously to approve her request.
Four minor zoning requests wrapped up the meeting.
Chad Lane requested a rezoning from commercial 1 to residential 2, explaining the property had been incorrectly classified during the parish's zoning process two years prior — a type of error the zoning department commonly refers to as a legacy issue. Surrounded by correctly zoned R2 properties, Lane's request was quickly and unanimously approved.
Jonathan Hughes followed with a request to subdivide an acre of his property to give to his daughter when she turns 18. A majority of commissioners voted in favor; Commissioner Clemmons dissented.
Finally, Huston Stewart asked to rezone two residential 4 properties to residential 1 so that single-family mobile homes could be placed on the one-acre tracts. Livingston Parish Council member Joe Erdey expressed support, telling the commission he had visited the property earlier that day and found "flat land with no structures, no barns, nothing" that would be a "hindrance to approve this" request. The commission voted unanimously to approve both and shortly after called the meeting to a close.
