Council vote backs zoning proposal

ZACHARY — The City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to back a bill in the upcoming legislative session to give Zachary additional jurisdiction over development outside the city but within the city’s school district.

State Rep. Kenny Havard, R-St. Francisville, and state Sen. Sharon Weston Broome, D-Baton Rouge, are authors of the bill, Chip Mills, economic development director for the Zachary Chamber of Commerce, told council members.

At a meeting on Feb. 2, Mills told the mayor and council that the proposed legislation would require the East Baton Rouge Parish Planning and Zoning Commission, at a minimum, to notify Zachary whenever a large residential development was being planned in the unincorporated areas of the Zachary Community School District.

The Zachary Community School Board approved a resolution supporting the proposal last week, although members David Dayton, Gaynell Young and Kenneth Mackie abstained on the vote.

The three represent areas outside the city limits.

Mills said that during discussions with Zachary Superintendent of Schools Warren Drake, Baton Rouge Mayor-President Kip Holden expressed his support for the proposed legislation.

The only likely obstacle to the bill is Baton Rouge’s home rule charter, Mills told the council.

“The Legislature might be limited in what they can tell Baton Rouge,” Mills said. “But we have a lot of local support for this.”

Other issues before the council included:

ALCOHOL SALES: The council agreed to allow City Attorney John Hopewell to prepare a draft of an amendment to the city’s alcohol ordinance.

“I just want to be clear that we are not proposing opening bars on Sunday,” the mayor said. “We are only talking about packaged liquor and restaurants.”

Wine and liquor cannot be sold on Sunday in Zachary under current law.

Beer sales begin at 12:30 for stores and restaurants.

The proposed amendment would allow liquor and wine to be sold on Sunday, beginning at noon.

AMERICANA ANNEXATION: Hopewell reported that the city received a preclearance letter from the U.S. Department of Justice regarding proposed annexation of land for the Americana Development.

“Essentially, the land is now part of Zachary,” Hopewell said.