Council approves family-partition frontage variance for Jenkins property after extended testimony

The Tangipahoa Parish Council adopted Ordinance 25-22, granting a variance to minor-subdivision frontage standards to allow a family partition of a parcel owned by the Jenkins family (assessment number 6210058).

Surveyor Ross Kenshin and family members explained the request to the council. Kenshin described a 40-foot private strip and said the Jenkins parcel "actually has 168 feet of frontage on this 35 foot servitude" and that the application is a family partition rather than a commercial subdivision. He explained parish requirements for frontage and private-road agreements used to protect maintenance responsibilities.

Kate Jenkins, speaking for the family, said she and her wife hope to move next to her parents to provide care after a recent family medical event: "My dad recently had a heart attack... I wanted to be able to take care of my parents when they got older." Debbie Jenkins added personal and community-service context about the family's ties to the area.

Planning staff and council members discussed legal and technical limits: a 125-foot frontage requirement for division or an older, grandfathered servitude for exceptions. Some council members raised concerns about setting a precedent, while others emphasized family continuity. Ultimately the council adopted the ordinance by roll call: 6 affirmative, 3 no's and 1 abstention.

The planning commission had voted to deny the variance at its July 8 meeting; council members and staff noted the lot was created in 1997 and described prior family-partition practice. The adopted ordinance will be published in the parish clerk's record.