Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Zoning Ord Updates topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Planning commission forwards three zoning ordinance updates — setbacks, land-use table and definitions — to city council
Summary
Morgan City Planning Commission unanimously recommended three ordinance updates to the city council: a corner-lot rear/side-yard orientation option, an updated commercial/manufacturing land-use table (including non-permitted designation for data centers), and supporting definitions; commissioners discussed tavern/bar distinctions, tattoo and vaping uses, and how changes will affect commercial corridors.
The Morgan City Planning Commission voted unanimously to forward three ordinance updates to the city council, recommending changes intended to clarify permitted uses and provide flexibility on corner-lot orientation.
Jake (staff member) summarized the three linked proposals: Ordinance 26-10 would amend residential zone tables to allow single-family corner lots to select which street frontage is treated as the rear versus side yard to provide design flexibility; Ordinance 26-11 updates the commercial/manufacturing land-use table to add, remove and clarify a range of uses; and Ordinance 26-12 adds or refines definitions that support those land-use changes.
Key substantive changes discussed include adding a non-permitted designation for data centers in industrial zones for now (staff said that larger or specific data center proposals could come forward later with explicit size and performance standards), making parks and plazas permitted more broadly, permitting tattoo shops in manufacturing zones, disallowing vaping/smoke stores, and distinguishing between a ‘bar’ (alcohol-only) and a ‘tavern’ (restaurant plus alcohol) for conditional-use treatment in certain commercial zones. Commissioners discussed how proximity to churches and state separation rules could constrain tavern approvals in some locations.
Jake told the commission he had included these items after several months of revision: “I did add data center since there’s been so much talk on that, and I have it as a nonpermitted use,” he said, noting the commission could later fine-tune the ordinance language or add conditional allowances in specific zones.
Commissioners generally praised the cleaner formatting and clarified definitions. They discussed placement of taverns on Commercial Street where churches exist and noted state separation distances govern whether an alcohol-serving tavern would be allowed. With no public comments submitted, the commission voted to recommend approval of each ordinance to the city council.
The votes forward the three ordinances to council as positive recommendations; next steps are council review and possible public hearings at the council level.
