Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Home Occupation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Commission tables decision on notary operating from a Douglas Drive home after neighbors cite traffic, safety concerns
Summary
The Terrebonne Parish Planning & Land Use Commission heard neighborhood objections to a home-based notary at 421 Douglas Drive, including reports of frequent strangers, multiple vehicles and disturbance to an elderly resident. The commission voted to table the request to May 21 so the applicant can appear and staff can clarify notary licensing exemptions and enforcement options.
The Terrebonne Parish Planning & Land Use Commission on Thursday paused consideration of a request to operate a notary business from a single-family home at 421 Douglas Drive after neighbors described sustained traffic and safety concerns.
Marilyn Bro, a resident at 422 Douglas Drive, told the commission she and her 93‑year‑old mother have lived across the street for decades and said the new business has produced frequent strangers, vehicles idling in the street and people standing in yards. "This isn't a quiet home office," Bro said. "I counted seven different vehicles from 5:40 to 6:40 p.m." She asked the commission to deny the home‑occupation request because the volume of customers, she said, exceeded what is reasonable for the residential block.
The hearing combined public comment with a staff reading of the parish zoning ordinance's home‑occupation definition, which limits such businesses to activities "carried on solely within the main dwelling" by residents, incidental to residential use, and without outside employees. Planning staff told the commission that notaries are sometimes exempt from the parish occupational‑license routing that would otherwise flag a home‑business application, which in this case delayed staff's notification.
Commissioners and staff debated how to respond. Several commissioners floated conditional approvals that would limit hours, require staggered appointments, and require all client parking to fit in the driveway rather than the street. Others warned those conditions could be hard to enforce and risk creating inconsistent precedent across future home‑occupation applications.
"If we start dictating how much traffic a person can have for a home business, what's the point of having a home business?" one commissioner said, noting that some home occupations by nature attract more clients.
The commission closed public comment and voted to table the item to May 21. Commissioners asked staff to research why notaries appear to be exempt from the parish occupational‑license process in some cases and to prepare enforceable condition options for members to consider when the applicant is present.
The item will return to the commission's May 21 meeting with the applicant expected to appear and with staff recommendations on conditions and any clarification about licensing or sales‑tax exemptions.
