Michael B. Cooper

The agenda for the meeting included the Call to Order, Roll Call, Appointment of Alternate, Announcements regarding procedures for appeals and public speaking, and the Election of Officers. The main substantive items involved three variance requests before the Board. Case No. 2026-4536-BOA sought a variance to reduce the required 8-foot opaque fence along the west side of a property in a Medical Office or Clinic District. Case No. 2026-4546-BOA requested a variance to reduce front and rear yard setbacks from 40 feet to 35 feet in a Planned Unit Development Overlay due to lot shape hardship. Case No. 2026-4551-BOA requested variances in an Industrial District to reduce the required rear landscape area from 35 feet to 10 feet and to remove two live oak trees, citing constraints from a drainage servitude. The agenda also included sections for Old Business, New Business, and Resolution.

The agenda for the St. Tammany Parish Planning & Zoning Commission meeting includes several proposed amendments to the Unified Development Code (UDC). These amendments focus on updating regulations for Solar Farm uses, clarifying minimum regulations for Gas Stations in certain Highway Commercial Districts, adding prohibitions for billboards near interstate interchanges, reorganizing and clarifying regulations into a new section for Waterway Buffers, and revising planting requirements for new subdivisions with over 25 lots. Additionally, the agenda covers two Revocation cases (REV26-03-002 and REV26-03-003) for road portions, several Minor Subdivision requests, and multiple Resubdivision requests. Old Business includes a request for Right-of-Way entry and street name change for the Manor Street and Robert Street/Robindale Subdivision.

The meeting agenda primarily involved Zoning Change Request Cases requiring review and recommendation before Parish Council action. Specific cases included requests to rezone parcels from NC-2 to HC-1, R-2 to L-1, HC-2 to L-1, L-1 to L-2, and an amendment to a PUD for new single-family residential lots. Another case involved rezoning from L-2 to HC-2. The staff reports detailed findings, existing and proposed zoning designations, compatibility analysis with adjacent areas, and consistency with the Comprehensive Plan goals such as reserving corridors for commercial uses and promoting a variety of housing types.

The primary discussion focused on Tammany Utilities Operations, including PowerPoint presentations detailing projects, improvements for TU East and TU West, decommissioning projects, and progress towards regionalization goals. Public comment highlighted numerous concerns from residents regarding water quality, specifically high chlorine levels allegedly causing health issues in families and pets, sewer backups, and lack of adequate notice for water advisories. Staff and LDH representatives addressed the concerns, confirming sanitary tests showed water was safe to drink despite some room for improvement in chlorination procedures. Recommendations made included conducting an audit of Tammany Utilities, posting daily test results online, implementing auto-dialers, and considering SCADA integration to re-establish public confidence. The Chairman announced that monthly meetings would commence to address these ongoing issues.

The committee meeting involved a review of the Monthly Finance Reports, which included the HR Staffing report, the Budget-to-Actual report, and the Sales Tax Collection report. Key discussion points centered on reviewing proposed Finance Ordinances and Resolutions scheduled for the subsequent Parish Council Meeting on November 04, 2021. These ordinances primarily concerned amendments to the 2021 Grants Budget, the 2021 Capital Improvement Budget across various Capital Assets and Sales Tax Districts (including Animal Services Facilities and the Justice Center Complex), and amendments to the 2021 Operating Budget. The committee subsequently moved to refer all finance Ordinances for Adoption to the full Council.