Planning commission agrees to try three‑minute public‑comment practice, formal vote planned next meeting

The Livingston Parish Planning and Zoning Commission agreed at its Sept. 4 meeting to adopt, informally for tonight, a three‑minute time limit on public comments and to place a formal rule on a future agenda for a recorded vote. The chair said the interim practice would be applied while staff draws up formal language for commission action.

The change was proposed by a commissioner who asked that the commission consider aligning its public‑comment time limits with other parish bodies: “Most of the other parish boards commissions have a 3 minute limit per individual,” the commissioner said after asking that the item be added to the agenda. Several commissioners said repeated trips to the microphone were prolonging meetings and supported limiting each speaker’s time to keep lengthy agendas to a reasonable duration.

Parish legal counsel told the commission it has authority to set procedures for public comment provided rules are applied non‑discriminatorily: “You have you have a right to control your procedures, so you can make a rule that applies to people that speak as long as you don't apply it in a discriminatory way,” the attorney said.

Commissioners discussed exceptions and enforcement. Several members said developers’ initial presentations should not be strictly time‑limited; one commissioner said developers should be afforded adequate time to present their projects and to answer commission questions. The chair told the room she preferred establishing the practice tonight and returning with formal language at the next meeting for a vote: “I think what I might be most comfortable with is tonight, we've established this with the group that's here, and then perhaps at the next meeting, make it more formal, and we can put it on the agenda and actually make sure that it's, composed properly and take a vote,” the chair said.

The commission did not adopt a permanent rule at the Sept. 4 meeting. Commissioners said that if the commission intends to rigidly enforce a limit it should be formally adopted; otherwise the chair may exercise discretion to advise speakers of a three‑minute guideline. The commission indicated a plan to return the item to a future agenda with proposed language so members can vote on a standing rule.