Zachary officials push for additional jurisdiction over developments
ZACHARY — City planning officials will 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.
Chip Mills, economic development director for the Zachary Chamber of Commerce, said so-called “extraterritorial jurisdiction” has been successful in Texas and other states, but said he is not sure Louisiana’s constitution would even allow it.
The legal questions are being researched, he said.
On Thursday night, Mills told the mayor and City 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.
Rep. Kenny Havard, R-St. Francisville, has agreed to sponsor the legislation, which is being studied by the Legislature’s staff, Mills said.
The council will be asked next week to adopt a resolution supporting the effort, Mills said.
“We may not be able to apply Zachary’s development regulations in the area, but at a bare minimum we’d be notified,” Mills said after the meeting.
Mayor David Amrhein said Zachary provides fire protection services in the school district, as well as gas and water in some areas.
“We need a mechanism that it (a development) has to come before us. If we can’t supply water, we can’t fight fires. If we can’t fight fires, we’ve got a problem,” the mayor said.
City-parish planners recognize a “zone of influence” that extends a quarter-mile from the city’s boundaries, and a “gentleman’s agreement” says the city-parish planners would notify Zachary of proposed developments.
“Unfortunately, in many cases, Zachary is informed late in the process, if at all,” a written proposal for the legislation says.
The legislation would help Zachary plan for growth in unincorporated areas that ultimately affects the school district, Mills said.