Council grants one-time residential exception for 3417 Maplewood Drive

The Sulphur City Council voted Oct. 14 to grant an exception allowing residential use of a property at 3417 Maplewood Drive for the named occupant, Jessica Cart. Property owner Ron Cart told the council he purchased the building years ago, operated small businesses there and now seeks to convert it back to a single-family residence to house his daughter.

At the public hearing, Cart said the building is “one building, one residence” and that utility companies have agreed to consolidate meters. Council members probed how the exception would be applied in the future and whether the zoning classification itself was changing. Council member Mister Lofton and others clarified the action was an exception limited to this property and occupant, not a rezone: if the named resident moves out, the property would revert to business zoning and would require a new exception or rezone to return to residential use.

Council amended the drafted language to limit the exception to the named occupant and voted to approve the amended ordinance. The roll-call vote was recorded as carried; a detailed tally was not specified in the meeting record.

Why it matters: The council’s change preserves the city’s policy of keeping business corridors intact while allowing narrow, case-specific relief for property owners who demonstrate a particular need. For the property owner, the vote will allow his daughter an immediate place to live without pursuing a full rezone.

What’s next: The city will record the ordinance language limiting the exception to Jessica Cart; any future change of occupancy would require a new application to the council or a formal rezoning request.

Speakers quoted in this article are drawn directly from the council record. Vote details were summarized from roll-call statements in the public record; explicit tallies were not provided in the transcript.