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Votes at a glance: St. Tammany Parish council approves six zoning items, postpones one for community meeting
Summary
The council approved several zoning requests (including small‑scale residential and neighborhood commercial rezonings), approved a rural overlay for a small dog‑kennel operation and postponed a contested Folsom rezoning until after a community meeting.
At the same meeting, the St. Tammany Parish Council considered seven agenda zoning items. The council approved six items and postponed one (the contested Folsom rezoning) for one month to permit a community meeting and additional staff follow‑up. Key outcomes:
- Item 1 (House Creek Road, 5 acres): Approved. Existing R‑1 with Rural Overlay to R‑1 + Manufactured Housing Overlay (MHO) to allow placement of a manufactured home. Petitioner: Bailey Burris; owner Tommy Galloway. The owner and nearby residents noted existing manufactured homes in the area. Motion carried.
- Item 2 (agenda index 20‑25‑42‑16‑zc): Postponed indefinitely earlier in the meeting and then formally recorded as postponed indefinitely after audience input. The item was noted to fall inside an existing parish moratorium; staff and a petitioner requested postponement so the parcel can be removed from the moratorium before the council takes up the case.
- Item 3 (Highway 25/Bennett Bridge Road, Folsom, 20.81 acres): Postponed for one month for a community meeting. (See separate article for full coverage.)
- Item 4 (117 Highway 1077, Madisonville, 2.84 acres): Approved to rezone from L‑2 (large lot residential) to NC‑2 (neighborhood commercial). Petitioner/owner: Jonathan Varnado and Megan McCaslin. No public opposition was recorded on the item.
- Item 5 (Pen Mill Road/Pruden Road area, 5.037 acres): Approved to rezone from R‑1 (rural residential) to L‑2 (large lot residential). Petitioner: Fergie Gonzalez; owner: Yasi Gonzalez Zepeda. Applicant said the change would allow minor subdivision into half‑acre parcels to accommodate family housing.
- Item 6 (Shifunca Drive/Russo Drive, 0.62 acres): Approved R‑1 plus Rural Overlay to allow a small, indoor kennel limited to small dogs (25 pounds and under). Petitioner/owner: Lauren Verret/Fontenot. The petitioner described a 456‑square‑foot indoor kennel with at most nine kennel spaces, appointment‑only pick‑up/drop‑off windows and no day‑care service; neighbors supported the limited, home‑based operation but one neighbor voiced concern about long‑term commercial conversion. Staff noted animal‑establishment permitting and drainage/parking rules would apply at a later permitting stage.
- Item 7 (Ninger Memorial Road at Highway 21, Madisonville, 4.32 acres): Approved to rezone from CBF‑1 (community‑based facilities) to L‑2 (large lot residential) so the owners could build a single‑family residence; part of the parcel fronts an existing cemetery.
Procedural notes: Multiple items were approved by motion and carried by voice vote or roll call as noted on the record. For items with public opposition (notably the Folsom item), the council used postponement to require a community meeting rather than deciding the rezoning at that time. For the kennel overlay (Item 6), staff explained that rural overlay zoning allows small home‑based operations but that larger or commercial kennel operations would require full commercial permitting, parking, drainage and other site improvements.
A detailed record of motions, seconds and outcomes is below.
