Ordinance committee backs removing Live Oak Acres from mobile-home waiver list, sends measure to full council

The Livingston Parish Ordinance Committee at its meeting considered an ordinance to amend Livingston Parish Ordinance 18-17 (Chapter 125, Section 125-137) to remove Live Oak Acres from the parish waiver list that allows mobile homes in otherwise restricted subdivisions. Councilwoman Sandifer presented the proposed ordinance and the committee voted to send it to the full parish council for introduction and a subsequent public hearing.

The measure would add language stating, "notwithstanding prior waivers or actions of the Livingston Parish Council, Live Oak Acres subdivision is hereby removed from the list of named subdivisions that can allow mobile homes." Councilwoman Sandifer said attorneys had prepared and reviewed the draft: "I had our ADA, Mr. Chris Moody, write an ordinance to remove them from the waiver list," and she said she had received opinions from "Mr. Moody, Mr. Irving, and Mr. Maley." The committee chair gave the proposal a favorable recommendation and a committee member moved to send the ordinance to the full council; the motion was accepted and the item will be scheduled for council introduction.

Residents of Live Oak Acres, who said the subdivision was established in 1953, told the committee they sought the change after a recently placed mobile home on a half-acre lot. Lynn Ray, a Live Oak Acres resident, described long family ties to the neighborhood and said the subdivision's covenants originally prohibited trailers: "Our original covenant state trailers were not allowed," she said, and she described efforts to verify how covenants had changed in 2003. Ray said some title signatures in the 2003 covenant update were not valid and that the waiver list had overridden residents' covenants without broad notice.

Randy Ray, another resident, asked whether waivers were indefinite. A committee member said the waivers in question were issued without a time limit: "From my knowledge, it was an indefinite waiver to allow any mobile home to be pulled into that subdivision," the member said. Residents expressed particular concern about rental mobile homes and about the proximity of the new unit to neighboring homes; one resident said the new unit was placed near a driveway and visible from an adjacent bedroom.

Committee members emphasized that the proposed change would not require removal of existing mobile homes. Councilwoman Sandifer read from legal guidance in the record and told residents the next procedural steps: the committee will forward the ordinance to the full parish council for introduction; if introduced, the ordinance will be scheduled for a public hearing and final vote (the committee referenced a public hearing date of June 26, 2025). The committee chair said the June public hearing would be the opportunity for residents to make final remarks to the full council.

No roll-call vote tally was recorded in the transcript at committee; the committee moved and accepted the recommendation to send the ordinance to the full council. Committee members encouraged residents to attend the introduction and the public hearing and to submit speaker cards if they wish to comment; they also offered to provide copies of the parish-wide waiver list to interested residents.

The ordinance as drafted affects only the listing on the parish waiver list and does not rezone property or alter subdivision covenants directly; committee members described the change as using the same ordinance authority that originally created the waiver list to remove a subdivision from that list. The transcript includes legal counsel references indicating differing prior legal advice about risk of litigation, and committee members acknowledged last-minute legal guidance sometimes affects agenda timing and whether items are acted on at a particular meeting.

Next steps: the ordinance will be introduced at the full parish council meeting (introduction date presented to the committee as the committee's next council meeting). If introduced, a public hearing and final council vote are scheduled for the June 26, 2025 public hearing referenced in committee discussion. Residents were advised to attend both the council introduction and the June 26 public hearing to present comments to the full council.