City of Thibodaux Zoning Review - South Central Planning ...

Thibodaux Zoning Review 2010RecommendationsComprehensive Plan and Zoning UpdateThe City of Thibodaux’s Zoning Ordinance was adopted in1979 with some minor revisions made in 2008. Of all comparableareas, the City of Thibodaux has the oldest ordinance byfar. The City of Hammond revised their entire zoning ordinancein 2007. The cities of Ruston and Pineville made revisionsto their ordinances in 2005 and 2008 respectively. Like tryingto wear a pair of old shoes from 1970 the City of ThibodauxZoning Ordinance no longer fits. Obviously the city has grownand its needs have changed since the last zoning revisions. Theissues that are creating challenges for the current zoning ordinanceare: 1). an increasing population with an amplified needfor mixed income housing; 2). economic changes which alter theassumptions about how much commercial and industrial land isneeded and how to adjust the built environment to accommodatenew types of jobs that are competitive in a global market;3). the ability to protect lives and property from the effects of anatural disaster and allow for an efficient recovery.To this end, it is our strongest recommendation that the cityshould undertake a comprehensive planning and zoning updateprocess. A comprehensive plan will inventory existing land usesand plan for future growth. Through an extensive citizen participationprocess it will allow the community to address and planfor existing and future challenges based upon its own values.Upon the completion of the comprehensive planningprocess, the city should conduct a comprehensive update to thezoning ordinance. The new zoning ordinance will serve as a toolto implement the comprehensive plan. Under the supervision ofthe planning and zoning commission and the city council plannerswould incorporate citizens input through a series of publichearings as they worked to 1) develop a recommended courseof action for revising the zoning ordinance; 2) research andrecommend appropriate language to resolve zoning and otherregulatory issues; 3) produce a final Comprehensive Zoningdocument (inclusive of zoning maps) for adoption by the City ofThibodaux Council.Should the city choose not to proceed with a comprehensiveplanning and future land use zoning process, at the veryleast the language of the zoning ordinance should be refined tobetter define the hierarchy of existing zoning classifications andto address conflicts with land use. Additionally, zoning termsshould be updated to clarify terminology and procedures and tohelp prevent new development from interfering with existingresidential, commercials, industrial, and open space.Hire a Professional Planner on StaffAs previously stated, many participants had commonmisconceptions about the true intent of the ordinance relativeto nonconforming uses. Some believed that nonconforminggrandfather status is lost upon the death of the owner or sale ofthe property. In the case of a condominium or apartment, somethought that the grandfathered status is lost if one unit of thecondo/apartment has more than 50% damage, and if one unitof the condo/apartment is vacant for more than six (6) monthsthen it was susceptible to losing its legal nonconforming status.None of these opinions are accurate. Additionally, in the caseof modular homes, many participants use the words mobile,modular and manufactured homes interchangeably. In fact Resolution1550 adopted by the city council on May 18, 2010 usesthe terms “mobile home” and “manufactured home” interchangeably.These misconceptions can only exacerbate the problem. Asthis report has clearly demonstrated, there are significant differencesbetween mobile homes, modular homes and manufacturedhomes. It is our recommendation that, if the budget permits,the city should hire at least one or two professional planners toaddress concerns and questions of the public, planning commissionand council on a regular basis. Moreover, the planningdepartment could routinely research zoning issues and conductzoning studies as they are referred by the planning commissionand/or council. Having a dedicated staff to tackle zoning/landuse issues and address public concerns would assist in minimizingmuch of the public’s bewilderment regarding zoningproblems.Zoning StudyAs aforementioned, through interviews and map exercises,interview participants were able to identify numerous nonconforminguses around the city. However, without doing a moredetailed zoning study, it is impossible to determine the extent ofnonconforming uses and the incompatibility of such uses withineach neighborhood throughout the entire city. This cursoryreview does demonstrate enough inconsistencies among landuses to warrant a more detailed study. Areas identified by participantscould possibly be neighborhoods in transition and primecandidates for a zoning change. This report is simply to identifythe problem(s) and offer some suggestions to address thoseconcerns. Therefore, it is our strongest recommendation that thecouncil call for a more detailed zoning study to be performed onareas of concern.A zoning study is called by the planning commission or thecouncil. A resolution is drafted clearly delineating the target areaby the bounding streets and the nature of the study. The studywill determine what land uses exist within the target areas inorder to ascertain any need for rezoning; planners will gather thenecessary information in preparation for the study. A detailedstudy will actually verify land uses and ensure accuracy of theproperty addresses. The planner will catalogue information onbuilding and housing types within the target study area. Oncethis information is manually gathered, the planner will enterthe information into the Geographical Information System(GIS). A database is created based on the parcels that make upthe study areas. The Planner records the data fields of the informationsuch as number of units, type of land use, and if it isa single-family or multi-family residence. The Planner will alsoverify and crosscheck for address accuracy in GIS. Once all ofthe data has been entered into the database, the planner is ableto accurately analyze the information. Through this data theplanner can extract information according to feature locations56