The Calcasieu Parish police jury may regulate zoning and land use, but it must do so under a comprehensive plan and with public hearing and notice requirements.
SUBPART A-1. CALCASIEU PARISH PLANNING AND ZONING §120.5. Police jury of Calcasieu Parish; planning and zoning A. For the purposes of promoting health, safety, morality, or the general welfare of the parish, the police jury of the parish of Calcasieu may regulate and restrict the height, number of stories, and size of buildings and other structures, the percentage of lot that may be occupied, the size of yards, courts, and other open spaces, the density of population, and the location and use of the building, structures and land for trade, industry, residence, or other purposes in the parish. B. For any or all of said purposes, the police jury may divide the parish into districts of such number, shape, and area as may be deemed best suited to carry out the purposes of this Subpart. Within such districts it may regulate and restrict the erection, construction, alteration, or use of buildings, structures, or land. All such regulations shall be uniform for each class or kind of buildings throughout each district, but the regulations of one district may differ from those in other districts. C. Such regulations shall be made in accordance with a comprehensive plan and designed to lessen congestion in the public streets; to secure safety from fires; to promote health and the general welfare; to provide adequate light and air; to avoid undue concentration of population; and to facilitate adequate transportation, water supply, sewerage, schools, parks, and other public requirements. The regulations shall be made with reasonable consideration of the character of the district and its peculiar suitability for particular uses and with a view to conserving the values of buildings and encouraging the most appropriate use of land throughout the parish. D. The police jury shall provide for the manner in which the regulations and restrictions and the boundaries of the districts shall be determined, established, enforced, and from time to time amended. No regulations or restrictions shall become effective until after a public hearing at which parties in interest have an opportunity to be heard. A public hearing in relation to the regulations may be held by the police jury. In such case, notice of the time and place of the hearing shall be published once a week in three different weeks in the official journal of the parish or, if there be none, in a paper of general circulation therein. At least fifteen days shall elapse between the first publication and the date of the hearing. E. The regulations, restrictions, and boundaries may from time to time be amended, supplemented, changed, modified, or repealed. No amendment shall become effective except by the favorable vote of a majority of the quorum of the police jury. The provisions of Subsection D of this Section relative to public hearing and official notice shall apply equally to all changes or amendments. Acts 1997, No. 1274, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1998.