Calcasieu Parish planning board approves rezoning of WM Perkins Road site for industrial development

The Calcasieu Parish Planning and Zoning Board on March 18, 2025, voted to rezone roughly 39 acres on the 400 block of WM Perkins Road in Ward 4 from mixed residential (R-2) to light industrial (I-1) to allow warehouses, storage yards, parking and potential future workforce housing. The motion, made by Latricia Cobb and seconded by Janelle Hyatt, passed on a roll-call vote with 10 board members voting yes and one member recorded as abstaining.

Staff recommended approval with conditions, citing the project’s consistency with the character of the area and a multi‑phase development plan. The board attached conditions including adherence to the site plan on file, inward-oriented exterior lighting, a runoff management plan unless a waiver is granted, stormwater best-management practices, possible requirement of a traffic-impact analysis, a letter of no objection from Consolidated Gravity Drainage District No. 1 West, and permitting subject to approval by the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) and the Louisiana Department of Health and Sanitation.

Developer representative Steve Belshi described a three‑phase plan that he said would include climate‑controlled warehouses and a smaller, separate area described as emergency or “workforce” housing. "It's not worker housing for somebody to come in. It's not a man camp," Belshi said, describing the housing as emergency quarters intended to support re‑start operations for large industrial plants after storms. He told the board the design would include sleeping quarters for about 48 personnel and climate‑controlled storage space of roughly 25,000 square feet per unit in the northern portion of the site.

Nearby property owner Mitchell Perkins, who said his family owns adjacent land, told the board he was not opposed to industrial growth overall but objected to the proposed park‑and‑ride element and to increased traffic access on U.S. Highway 27. "The DOT of Louisiana probably will never ever approve that much traffic coming out of that property," Perkins said, citing safety concerns and prior denials for similar access at the same corridor.

Board members asked staff and the applicant detailed questions about traffic mitigation, overlay‑district rules and the sequence of approvals. Planning staff clarified that rezoning is a first step: if the applicant seeks workforce housing inside an industrial district, the owner must later apply for an exception from this board to allow that use. Staff also said that DOTD review and any required traffic‑impact analysis would determine required mitigations such as turn lanes before a development permit could be issued.

Action: Motion to approve rezoning was made by Latricia Cobb and seconded by Janelle Hyatt. Roll call votes recorded in the transcript: Janelle Hyatt — yes; Art Little — yes; Jake Porsche — yes; Kirk Smith — yes; Carl Vincent — yes; LaSalle Williams — yes; Diane Whining — yes; Sharon Galicia — yes; Latricia Cobb — yes; Keith Dubroque — yes. The chair did not cast a vote in the recorded roll call. Outcome: approved.

The board’s approval does not authorize construction; the developer must comply with the listed conditions and obtain any required state and parish permits, including DOTD approvals and, if pursued, a separate exception for workforce housing.