Livingston Parish committee reopens minor‑subdivision rules amid drainage and floodplain concerns

The Livingston Parish Ordinance Committee on Sept. 3 reopened public hearings on a proposed ordinance to change the rules for minor subdivisions and resubdivisions, focusing public attention on drainage, floodplain mitigation and protections for family land transfers.

Supporters and critics said the draft ordinance addresses an ongoing “loophole” in which multiple minor resubmissions allow large cumulative development without detailed drainage review, but they warned that some provisions could burden older landowners or small-scale family transfers.

Committee members, planning staff, representatives of Drainage District 1 and residents discussed several changes under consideration: lowering or changing the lot-count threshold that triggers detailed studies, requiring drainage documentation at permit stage, tying certain reviews to federal floodplain requirements for projects of a specified size, and adding family‑partition exceptions.

“This ordinance absolutely goes a long way to help preserving those those things as well,” said Jamie Seal, a surveyor with Quality Engineering and Surveying, who represented Drainage District 1 and urged tighter…