Planning commission asks parish council to consider zoning changes to promote data centers and alternative energy

At a meeting of the Natchitoches Parish Planning Commission, the body voted unanimously to ask the parish council to consider zoning amendments to allow data centers and alternative energy plants.

The motion — moved by the chair (Speaker 3) and seconded by the commission’s clerk/staff reader (Speaker 4) — followed a presentation by Matt Johnson of the Rapides Area Planning Commission, who said his agency now serves as the building official for Natchitoches Parish and had identified a statutory limit affecting administrative approvals.

“We found out that the Louisiana Revised Statutes, chapter 33, section 113, says unless you have 150,000 population you cannot waive public hearings for certain small subdivisions,” Johnson said. “So we put a moratorium on those administrative waivers until the legislature acts.” He told commissioners Rapides had been operating under an administrative waiver practice and that the office paused the practice after the discovery and while Senate Bill 172 is considered.

Commissioners discussed whether existing parish ordinances would need amendments to permit heavy industrial uses listed in I‑2 zoning — the category mentioned by staff — for data centers or alternative energy facilities. The chair said the commission could ask the parish council to draft and decide any specific ordinance language.

Johnson described operational changes his commission is pursuing to speed permitting: online applications, preliminary AI‑assisted reviews with human quality control and pre‑drafted review memos to streamline staff review. “It can make things move a little faster,” he said, while emphasizing that final decisions would remain under human review.

A roll-call vote on the motion recorded all members present voting yes; the chair confirmed the motion passed. The commission did not adopt ordinances at the meeting itself; it sent a formal request to the parish council to consider any zoning amendments necessary to promote data centers and alternative energy projects.

Next steps: the parish council will receive the commission’s request and decide whether to draft, amend or hold public hearings on any proposed ordinance changes.