Wise Road rezoning pulled as commission and residents weigh family-partition alternative

The commission opened a public hearing on case 25-44 (Wise Road, parcel 0535633A), a request to change zoning toward R-1.5 so the owner could create three home sites. Neighbors presented a signed petition opposing R-1.5 because much of the road is currently zoned R-1 and residents said they bought based on that expectation.

Speakers including landowners and long-term residents said they were not opposed to the property owner building three homes for family members but expressed concern that a permanent R-1.5 designation could pave the way for future higher-density development. Jeremy Glasscock and others told commissioners their intent was to keep the property in family hands and to build homes for retirement, not to develop a subdivision.

Commissioners and staff discussed a possible “family partition” or family-partition ordinance as an alternative that would allow property transfers to descendants without changing base zoning. Several commissioners said past versions of such measures had been abused in other parishes to create trailer parks, so the parish legal team and ordinance committee must vet any new rule carefully. Planning staff noted that a family-partition approach would not be categorized strictly as a zoning change and could be available even if a rezoning were denied.

Given the conversation and residents’ requests, the applicant (Jeremy Glasscock) asked that item 7C be pulled to allow time to pursue the family-partition option and to let staff consult legal counsel. The commission granted the request and removed the item from the evening’s votes. Commissioners asked staff and council members to explore a family-partition ordinance and to communicate with the neighborhood on next steps.