Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Temporary Housing topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Planning board approves four‑trailer exception for Southside Assembly church with multiyear limit after neighborhood protests
Summary
After neighbors raised concerns about noise, drainage and a potential de facto trailer park, the Calcasieu Parish Planning and Zoning Board approved a zoning exception allowing Southside Assembly of God Church to place four FEMA trailers on its property for temporary housing, subject to a four‑year limit and return review.
Pastor Max Dukes said his church would accept four donated FEMA trailers to provide temporary housing for people displaced by the storms and later repurpose the units for church activities. "There's no rent involved," Dukes said, adding the church would be responsible for insurance and upkeep and that the trailers must be available to qualifying people under FEMA rules for about a year.
Neighbors at the meeting described long‑running problems with noise, fireworks and property upkeep on church grounds and warned the trailers could become tightly packed and fall into disrepair. Annette Schroll, who lives half a block from the church, told the board she was opposed because of noise and crowding: "There is almost no way you can get 4 trailers in that little small area without them being bumper to bumper." Ray Spencer said his understanding was that the trailers would be 60 feet long and cautioned that the church’s plans could set a precedent: "You're gonna have 60 foot trailers that are gonna be crammed into a small area."
Board members pressed the pastor and staff for limits and enforcement steps. After discussion the board proposed and adopted a time‑limited exception: placement of four trailers only, for a four‑year exception period, with the requirement that the church return to the board for extension if it wished to keep them longer. The board then conducted an electronic roll and the chair announced the result: 11 in favor, none opposed. The motion included standard staff stipulations.
The board’s action is limited to land‑use approval; several neighbors emphasized ongoing concerns about drainage and access for emergency services. The board directed that the case return for review after the stipulated period and that the church comply with any building, health and drainage requirements in place for temporary housing.
