Calcasieu Planning and Zoning Board approves exception for three borrow pits on Highway 108

The Calcasieu Parish Planning and Zoning Board on Aug. 19 approved an exception to allow three borrow pits totaling approximately 38 acres at 3621 Highway 108 West in Ward 4, planning staff said.

Planning staff recommended the board grant the exception with conditions intended to limit environmental and engineering impacts, including adherence to the site plan on file with the Division of Planning and Development, compliance with a specified section of the parish code, and a requirement that excavation be completed within five years of the borrow-pit application or upon completion, whichever comes first, the staff presentation said.

The staff presentation said the excavated areas are intended to be converted to private ponds after mining is finished. The approval is conditioned on: allowing the division director or designee to authorize technical adjustments to the site plan; requiring any deviation beyond the submitted borrow-pit application to undergo further review by the Division of Engineering; honoring a letter of no objection from the Consolidated Gravity Drainage District No. 1 West Calcasieu; and providing a runoff management plan unless the Division of Engineering approves a waiver.

There was no public opposition at the meeting. LaSalle Williams, a board member, moved to approve the exception, and Janelle Hyatt, a board member, seconded the motion. Chair Julia Dickerson called for those in favor; the board recorded no opposition and the motion passed.

The item was brief: planning staff presented the recommendation, no audience speakers appeared, and the board voted to approve under the stated conditions. The board announced its next regular meeting for Sept. 26, 2025.