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Commission calls public hearing on new 'vehicle storage' zoning definition after tow‑yard owner urges distinction from junkyards
Summary
Planners voted to introduce language defining "vehicle storage (limited)"—a state‑licensed, temporary tow‑car storage use distinct from junkyards—and set a public hearing for May 21 after testimony from Richard Marie of Marie's Record Service, who urged the parish to separate storage yards from auto‑salvage rules.
The Planning & Land Use Commission voted to introduce and set a public hearing for a proposed zoning amendment that would create a distinct "vehicle storage (limited)" use in the parish code, after the owner of a long‑operating tow and storage business described how state regulation and business practice differ from a traditional junkyard.
Planning staff said the draft would create a definition for "vehicle storage facility (limited)," describing a state‑licensed yard used to store wrecked, towed or impounded vehicles temporarily while they await return to owners, repair, sale or transfer to a scrapyard. The definition would require a seven‑foot screen fence, limit storage to temporary durations tied to legal process, and exclude on‑site crushing or used‑parts sales.
Richard Marie, a third‑generation owner of Marie's Record Service, told commissioners the business regularly stores vehicles at state direction for police and insurance investigations and is inspected annually by the Louisiana State Police. "A storage yard is not an auto salvage operation," Marie said. "It's vehicles coming in, vehicles going out. We don't crush on site." He said the lack of a clear definition currently forces some lawfully operated yards into "junkyard" classifications that carry different rules.
Commissioners debated where the use should be permitted and how much public notice should apply. Staff proposed treating the use as "planning approval" in C2 (general commercial) so nearby owners would be notified, making it a permitted use in I2 (heavy industrial) and considering whether I1 (light industrial) should require planning approval or be permitted. Commissioners raised environmental questions such as fluid leaks and screening requirements and asked staff to add clarifying language explicitly excluding salvage/crushing from the storage definition.
The commission voted to call a public hearing for Thursday, May 21 at 6 p.m. and instructed staff to circulate a revised draft that clarifies exclusions and proposed permitting rules for I1 and I2.
