Land Use & Zoning - Regular Meeting

motion part of the green first and second. That's   how we'll get the motion. Kind of  like some game show. Yeah. Family be Yeah, that will start beeping like crazy. I'm I'm going home. My head hurt too bad for all that. Just so y'all know, Who's the eggs first?

What's up, bro? You understand? I don't like to teach you that   right now. You're not the time. You  You are, but you got to use your own. Um, ready? All right. Uh, we're calling the the  zoning board uh meeting to order. Um, Monday,   April 20th, 2026 at 5:30. Uh everybody please  stand for uh foration and pledge of allegiance. Lord, we just ask you to watch  over our meeting today. Lord,   keep us in the right business set of mind to  just look over the business of the city. Lord,   we ask you to watch over our city as we grow  and as we come into the election season, Lord,   just keep everybody focused toward the future and  the success of our city, no matter the outcome. We   ask these things in your name. Amen. Amen. Pledge  allegiance to the flag of the United States of   America and to the republic for which it stands.  One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty   and justice for all. Roll call. Mr. Dy, Miss  Allison here, Mr. Mr. Brazelle here, and Miss   Carol. All right. I need a motion for the approval  of the minutes of previous meeting. All right.

Um, can you sure? Well, I did.  You did? Yeah, it was Troy. You were right. I did. I was  I got him. I was moving along   there. That's one strike. All  right. So now I need a a vote. We got a new voting system today. So  yeah, bear with us, please. We're uh   we're learning. All right. So now I need a motion  for approval agenda. Well, hang on. Now vote. All right, we have a motion. Uh, please vote. All right, we good. I'm left-handed. I  need this on the other side. All right. All right. First item up  is resolution granting a variance to   Clark Benton 11:30 Lorettto Avenue  to allow for accessory structure   to be taller than the primary  structure. Can I get a motion? All right, we have the motion. Is   uh the applicant here? Okay. Can you come to  the mic, sir, and state your name and address? Hi. Good afternoon, Clark Benton. What's your  address? 11:30 Lorettto Avenue. Okay. So,  

what what are you what are you wanting  to do? I'm wanting to put a uh like a   man cave building in the backyard.  A man cave? Yeah, like a theater. Is that accurate location? Yes. Yeah. Um, this  tree is now removed though. It's no longer there. Now, how far along are you on this project? Are  you just getting started? Yes. Okay. You haven't   proceeded to get any permit or anything like that?  No permits or anything like that. I've just got   drawings made. Okay. I mean, Could you build it  shorter? Um, not really. It's what's what's why is   the requirement to be so high? Well, the primary  reason is or thing that's wrong is this house is   uh two on four slope, so it's very shallow  and it's not very tall. Um, and then I need an   interior height for projector and all that sort  of stuff to make it the theater. There it is. So, a little background information. Right now,  the uh the primary structure is sitting at about   uh 11'4 in um where the proposed building  uh would be um 13 135. Yes. Um that's a um   a building with 9 foot walls and a six on 12 roof  um which it comes out to be a 135. So he would be   asking for a 2ft 1 in variance above what? Yeah.  I didn't see the size of the building anywhere. It's just the height. Um what size is the  building? Is it 18 by 28 is the primary  

building and then a little porch on the the end  of it which is 123 by 16. So you'll be able to   uh require all the setbacks. Correct. Yes. And  including the the main structure. Correct. Okay.   As long as he fits all the mainru structure and  sets back and doesn't have any variances for that,   I don't have a problem with it. It's only two  foot higher and that's a low lowlying roof line.   So I don't have a problem with it. Does any other  board members have a question for the applicant? Thank you, sir. Appreciate  it. Does anybody else from   the audience wish to speak on this item?  All right. Hearing none, please vote. Well, hang on. Let me push the vote button. You got to vote. You have to vote,  too. I didn't vote. I thought I did. Got it early. All right. Motion passed. All right. All right. Now, we're for Oakland public  comment. Does anybody wish to speak? All right. Hearing none, we'll  move on to the land use meeting. Um, roll call, Miss Mr. Dy here,  Miss Allison here, Mr. Oblong here,   Mr. Brazil here, and Miss Carol's absent. All  right. Now, I need a motion for the approval   for the minutes of the previous meeting. All  right. We have the motion clear. Please vote.

All right. Motion pass. All right. Clear. Motion for approval agenda. Please vote. Got it. All right. Uh, first item up is a resolution  granting an exception to Flam Flamingo Investments   LLC, 1100 Lori Lane to allow for living in  a business district for mobile homes. Uh,   is the applicant present? Can you please come to  the mic and set your name and address, please?   Timb 3207 Crian and Lane Lake Charles. Okay.  And uh exactly what do you So exactly what do   you want to do? I had a mobile home park  there before Hurricane Laura and replace   it with a mobile home park. Okay. Is  there any questions from the board?   I got a question for I guess I want to make sure  I'm I've looked at it right. Are there three   trailer parks in that area? Yeah, there's three  on I'm surrounded by trailer parks. Yes. So you   you got one on one side and one on the back side  and one other side too. So yours is the only one   on Lori Lane which is uh the frontage dock there,  right? Yeah. Only one at the frontage on what's   the other post? Mhm. Yes. Uh the one to the that  you see to the south, it actually came before the   board uh about two years ago. Um and I believe for  the same exception, I believe you guys passed it,  

but it failed at at council. Okay. But there's  still trailers in that pole. Correct. There there   are there are a few. Okay. And what's the first  one north of his? What is that? Post oak or no?   There's one north and one south cuz when I drove  through there the one north I own the one north   too. Those four north is yours. Those four  that are there. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. These right   here have four here and four here. Okay. That's  what I wanted to understand. Okay. Thank you. What kind of Still paying property taxes on it too  for a mobile home park. They won't take it off.   Okay. What kind of stipulations  you looking at putting on? I've   got to follow the ordinance for the  CS offer. Okay. But do you have any   certain stipulations you you going to add  to that? No. Do what they want me to do. Is is your plan to go back exactly how you had  it or? No, it can't go back that way. Okay.   Okay. That's kind of what I want to understanding,  too. It was like added on to many times before I   had it, you know. Okay. I want to understand is  is that I understand that all the property was   destroyed. Mhm. 50% of the usage, the buildings,  not the property. State that correctly. So, what   is he allowed to go back and put there at this  moment without uh the the lot sizes this thing?   Well, what he would be allowed to put back  there right now is anything that is permanent   in business district. Correct. Without  the exception of living in a business,   but we've discussed that trailer parks  are really in a business, but this isn't   a business structure like on Elizabeth Street.  We allow a trailer to be in a business area. So,  

it's two different apples and oranges really.  Okay. I just want to understand. So at this   point, because of the storm and because he  didn't go back within the year's allowance,   he has to have an exception to put anything. I  get that. So if we allow him to put anything,   what is it? 40 is it 48, 900? What's the  square footage on the lot? Says, I want to   understand what he would be allowed to put back  if we decide to to go forward, but allow him. bear with me because I know it's not the square footage  he has now. Yeah. No, you're talking about   density wise. Correct. Um, so bas so basically if  he had 20 mobile homes in there at the beginning,   what does he got like 8 n 10 today according to  the square footage? Do we know that at this point?   So based on the linear footage of frontage,  right, he would be allowed 11. 11. Okay,   that's what I want to know. Thank you.  Any other questions from the board? All right, hearing none. Uh, thank you, sir. Okay.  All right. I do have a few people to speak. Um,   I guess, uh, Cindy Walker up first. Oh, I  didn't I didn't know what Mark to speak.   I was in opposition. Nope. I chose the role  of pile. Thank you very much. Um, everybody   that's going to speak, we do typically do three  minutes uh for public comment per speaker. Um,   you can seed your time to somebody else and  I, you know, if you seed it to one person,   I can give that person six minutes. I'm going  to be I do have a clock and it will be a little  

bit of a hard stop once we hit the timer. So,  all right. Uh, sorry about that. Janet Dagles, please state your name and address. I'm Janet Dagel and I'm a resident Gilmore  Acres, 2039 Louise Street. And first,   I would like to state that I'm not against any  development that promotes our city in a positive   light, helps it grow. I've been a resident  here for 40 plus years in Gilmore Acres,   but it's my humble opinion that by granting  this exception to this section of property,   it will not promote our city positively. I base  that opinion on the current trailers in that area   and ones that previously existed. I travel post  oak from Maplewood to drive uh Maplewood Drive to   Highway 90 frequently, especially with all the  construction on Maplewood Drive right now. Uh,   but I have need to go that way a lot. I've seen  furniture that was discarded by those mobile   homes that our city must remove. It's taxpayer  dollars go to remove that city that it's just   when they vacate the trailer or when they decide  they're done with it, they throw it out there.   We have a parishwide free city disposal  that if the uh renter can't do that,   then the land owner should make arrangements to  do that at his cost, not our taxpayer dollars. Um,   and it should be in a timely manner. It shouldn't  a mattress shouldn't sit there, a desk, a bed,   um, other things that have been there. Um, I sat  in the city council meeting 3 or four years ago   and I think it's four, but when the same issue  was denied and I must ask, what has the property   owner done to improve the land in question and  the current park that he owns now that will  

promote our city? There's no uniformity in the  existing park and there was none in the previous   park that was proposed. If the city decides to  grant this exception, what guarantees will the   land owner give us as a city that we won't have a  repeat of what was? What level of accountability   will he have? My daughter lives in South Lake  Charles in a trailer park. Every road is paved.   Every trailer has skirting on it. Every trailer  has landscaping. Uh, and when a renter moves in,   he or she is required to dispose of trash or risk  losing their deposit that they have made. And   before a person is allowed to move a trailer in  or rent one that the owner, the land owner owns,   they have to go through a background check.  She was so excited when she was approved,   but she had to wait. Uh, will processes like  this be in place and who will be responsible   for making sure that these processes are upheld?  more tax dollars probably. Um, but if it's to for   the benefit betterment of our city, then it's  okay. Um, I understand the owner does not live   in sulfur, and I have no opposition at all to him  investing in the development of our city, but will   he adequately monitor the park? Will he ensure a  neat, clean, crime-free area? Am I time? Complete   your thought. Um, that's three minutes. Um, man.  I'll take Cindy's minutes. Um, I just because it's   just all based on what was before and previously  in the area of the crime free in that time. Um,   between 20 I'm trying to think it was the five six  years prior to him being denied. There were over   585 calls to that area. I remember looking up that  information and finding it. I we just can't have  

that back. and my neighborhood backs up against  it, protect my property value. And my question is,   why are we considering an exception that may  not promote our city? And at some point, we've   got to quit granting exceptions that don't help  our city grow positively. Thank you. Thank you,   ma'am. And we do have those. And uh All right.  So, Robert Bowden. Oh, or Robin. Sorry. Yeah. Quickly, you forget. I kept um my name  is Robin Bodwin. I live at 2046 Louise.   Um in Gilmore Acres. My home backs up to my  back fence line is on Post Oak. Um I pretty   much agree with my neighbor Janet. Um, a  lot of neighbors um, honestly just don't   have time to come to these meetings. Um, they  have other things going on in their lives. So,   we show up. Um, we the majority I can tell you  the majority of residents that I've spoken to,   and that's probably about 10 or 15 people,  are vehemently against this this exception. U,   we don't want to go back to the way  it was. Um, there was so much um,   crime in our neighborhood. We don't have that  anymore. You know, the trailer park's gone.   We don't have that anymore. Um, and we're  enjoying that. We don't want that back. Um, we just we just don't want that back. We were made  promises that there were going to be background   checks and there was going to be skirting and the  landscaping and everything would be kept up and   the trash would be picked up and it wasn't.  It just wasn't. Um, uh, promises were made,   they weren't kept. Um, assurances were made,  they weren't kept. Um, quite honestly, we are,  

um, once bitten, twice shy, and, um, I'm very  much against this exception, and I would hate to   see that come back in. Thank you. Thank you. All  right. I do have two that wish someone else. Thank   you. I have two, just for the record, I have two  that do not wish to speak, but are in opposition.   Um, anything else from the board? Austin, in our  uh comprehensive plan, are we addressing any of   these issues to come up with a higher standard  for people that want to develop those parks? Uh,   yeah. So the idea that we're presenting  is is not having a specific district   uh for this type of development but um having an  an an overlay. So a mobile home overlay district.   So you'd have an underlying district which then  you can have an overlay where uh those standards   um can be negotiated in a sense um to where you  know all the mobile homes markets that we have   um even if there's mobile home district right now  are non-compliance. They're not they don't comply   with with our ordinances, right? Um the only one  that could potentially do it is is Cumberland   stays just north of the traction with it because  they have the space to everybody else doesn't have   the space to be able to accommodate that plan.  So it doesn't make sense to have an ordinance to   where existing developments can't comply with  it. So, uh, the idea with the overlay is to,   um, you know, allow some wiggle room in there, but  also protect us, as Miss Miss Janet was saying,   to pro protect the interest of everybody else.  So, we have nothing really in place or even   planning to protect 11 mobile homes in there  with tight standards even at this time is what  

I'm asking. Yeah. Till we get our overlay  districts. Yeah. Thank you. Anybody else? All right, we're going to call the vote. I need  a motion and a second. Oh, do we have that? Yeah, we did when I first come up,  right? I don't think you did. Otherwise,   I wouldn't have I wouldn't have  been talking. I thought you did,   too. I think I did. But do it again.  Yeah, I think I cuz I think I did. Yeah, still say no. All right. No, but you got to push the vote button. Are  you having fun yet? Okay. You got to   push hard apparently. Yeah. Watch  for it to come up on the screen.   All right. Uh now we're at public  comment. Does anybody wish to speak? Oh yeah. Motion f. Oh yeah. Thank you, Miss.  So the public hearing for that item will be on   uh Monday, June 15th instead of next month. So  just so y'all know at the city council meeting. Anything else I need to Hey, Dad.  Other than uh now we're at public   comment. Does anybody wish to speak?  All right. Hearing none. Meeting is

sir. What? I don't want to go.