§ 89-47. Generally.

(a)

This article applies to any application for zoning or subdivision approval in the LCG.

(b)

This article establishes procedures for land development decisions made under this chapter. These include:

(1)

Legislative decisions, including rezoning and changes to this UDC and the Comprehensive Plan. These involve a new policy or rule, or a change in land development policy.

(2)

Quasi-judicial decisions, including conditional use permits and variances. These proceedings require a weighing of the evidence, a balancing of the equities, an application of rules, regulations and ordinances to facts, and a resolution of specific issues. These also involve a public hearing and the exercise of discretion by the decision-making agency.

(3)

Administrative decisions, such as building permits and certificates of occupancy. These apply the UDC or conditions of a quasi-judicial decision to a specific project that is either clearly defined in the UDC, or that has already obtained all necessary legislative and quasi-judicial approvals. Because these involve the application of non-discretionary rules to specific projects, these decisions are made by LCG staff without a public hearing.

(c)

This chapter sets up rules for procedures, such as pre-application, neighborhood notification, notices and public hearings. It then describes the process for specific land use decisions. The procedures all have a common workflow and description, as follows:

Table 89-47-1 Procedure Workflows

Element	What does this mean?
Applicability	The type of development or situation that is subject to the process.
Initiation	This is how the applicant begins the process, including the department or official that an applicant files the application with.
Completeness	This is how the LCG determines that the application has sufficient information to be processed.
Notice	This describes the type of notice, and how it is provided.
Decision	This states who approves that application, how notice is provided, and the type of proceeding that leads to the decision.
Approval Criteria	These are any particular standards that determine whether the application is approved. All applications are subject to this chapter and zoning district regulations.
Subsequent Applications	If an application is denied, some processes have a waiting period before that type of application can be re-filed for the property.
Appeals	This provides a way to review an application that is denied, or that have conditions that the applicant disagrees with.
Scope of Approval	This states the activities that the application authorizes. For example, some approvals send the applicant to the next step in the overall process, while others authorize construction or use.
Recordkeeping	This states how the formal decision of approval is maintained.

 

(d)

The processes established in this Code are summarized below.

Table 89-47-2 Process Summary

	Agency			Notice
Process	Administrator/Staff	Hearing Examiner	Planning & Zoning Commission	City-Parish Council ("Council")	Board of Zoning Adjustment	Publication	Mail	Signs	Cross-Reference
Annexation	I			D-PHL		■			RS 33:151 et seq. and RS 33: 171 et seq.
Acceptance of improvements	I		D			✓			89-59
Appeal (Zoning)	I				A	✓			89-68
Appeal (Planning and Zoning Commission decision)	I			D-PHA		■	■	■	89-69
Boundary Adjustment	D								89-63
Conditional Use Permit	I		D-PHA	A-PHA		✓	✓	✓	89-54
Modifications	I	=	=	=					89-67
Comprehensive Plan Amendment	I		D-PHL			✓			89-51
Rezoning & Annexation Zoning Assignment	I		D-PHL	A-PHL		✓	✓	✓	89-53
Site Plan Review	D								Art. 10
Subdivision, Final Plat	D*								89-58
Subdivision, Minor Plat	I	D-PHA	A-PHL	A-PHL		✓	✓	✓	89-60
Subdivision, Plat Vacation	I		D-PHL	A-PHL		✓	✓	✓	89-61
Subdivision, Preliminary plat	I		D-PHL	A-PHL		✓	✓	✓	89-57
Subdivision, Re-subdivision	I	D	D-PHL	A-PHL		✓	✓	✓	89-62
Subdivision, Sketch Plan	I								89-56
Text Amendment	I		D-PHL	A-PHL		✓			89-52
Variance (Zoning)	I				D	✓	✓	✓	89-68

 

Key: I = intake, review and referral R = Recommendation D = Decision A = Appeal

PHL = public hearing (legislative) PHA = public hearing (administrative)

⇔ = the decision is tied to another process. The agency has a role only where noted in the procedures related to a specific process.

✓ = required  ■ = specific notice depends on the situation - refer to the section reference

* Administrator acts on behalf of Planning and Zoning Commission.

Note: this table is a general summary. Refer to the referenced sections for the specific procedure. If there is any conflict between the text section referenced here and Table 4-2, the text section controls.