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Council tables UDC changes for group living after residents raise enforcement and notice concerns
Summary
The Hammond City Council on Tuesday tabled an ordinance that would revise definitions and add specific use standards for group living and care facilities in the Unified Development Code after residents and some council members said they need more time to review revisions and to resolve enforcement of existing group homes.
An ordinance to revise the Unified Development Code (UDC) definitions and establish specific use standards for group living and care facilities was tabled by the Hammond City Council after lengthy public comment and council discussion.
The measure, presented by city planner Frankie Legault, would replace outdated and unused definitions and add clearer rules about group housing and group living. Legault told the council the Planning and Zoning Commission recommended adoption but that a corrected chart and a revised attachment had been posted late and not all council members or members of the public had had adequate time to review the final proposed language.
The issue drew sustained public input from residents and council members who said the city needs to resolve alleged problems with existing group homes before changing where new facilities may be allowed. "We have three of them in KIPP area," Councilman Wells said during public comment, pressing the administration to locate and, if warranted, enforce codes against allegedly problematic houses. Deborah Swinson, secretary of the Woodbridge subdivision HOA, asked where the public could obtain copies to review and urged the council to delay action. Boo Hammond told the council a revised document had been circulated to some council members but not hyperlinked to the posted agenda.
Ron Matthews of the Planning and Zoning Commission said the commission’s work focused on clarifying terminology and creating a regulatory framework so the public and staff could consistently apply state and federal law. Legault and Matthews said the Planning Department had inventoried changes and identified a technical error in the RS‑11 reference that needed correction (they said the correction was to replace an incorrect citation with the Louisiana Revised Statutes abbreviation).
Council members agreed the public should have more time to review the corrected attachments and that staff should post the final proposed version on the city website and make printed copies available at the next meeting. Matthews and Legault recommended taking the item to the council’s scheduled work session so commissioners, planning staff and the public could review the revisions together; council staff said a planning work session is scheduled for Nov. 6 and the Planning & Zoning Commission will meet Nov. 13. The council then voted to table the ordinance.
Why it matters: Council members and residents said the central concern is enforcement of existing group homes and clarity about where different types of group living may locate. Supporters of the rewrite said the changes are intended to bring local rules into compliance with federal and state nondiscrimination law while giving staff a clearer regulatory framework based on metrics such as number of residents, floor area, and parking requirements.
The council asked planning staff to post the corrected draft on the Planning Department web page, to provide printed copies at the next meeting, and to bring the issue back after the work session and additional review.
