BB council adopts ordinance regulating RV, camper parking

Planning and Zoning Chairman Jeremy Broussard appeared before the Breaux Bridge City Council last Wednesday to request changes in zoning regulations to eliminate RV, camper and overnight parking from the C2 and C6 commercial zones.

Currently the city has no regulations regarding overnight camping and/or recreational vehicle parks in these two districts.

Councilman Albert Menard questioned why the C2 and C6 zones were selected as C2 is in part of his district.

“We have no regulations to cover these vehicles,” Broussard said. “We would like to remove them and come up with some regulations so that we can define exactly what an RV park is and then place them back into the ordinance.”

Mayor Rickey Calais added that there have been discussions with other cities that didn’t have regulations specifically covering RV and camper parks and that they had to enact regulations to define the process of starting a camping park.

Broussard noted that he had also been talking with other municipalities to see how they have updated their regulations.

“In ‘18 (2018) they did an upgrade to our codes but before that no one did anything for decades. It’s something that we need to regulate,” he added.

“There is not a specific area in town that allows for it,” Calais said.

Broussard added that the purpose of doing this now is to make sure that the city has regulations for campgrounds in place so that anyone who wishes to establish a camping business knows the rules and regulations.

“We’re trying to come up with our own ordinances to make sure that they are done correctly,” Calais said.

After a 25 minute discussion, the council voted to approve the Planning and Zoning Board’s recommendations. All councilmen, with the exception of Scotty Borel, who was absent due to a work conflict, were in favor.

Broussard also addressed the council about changes in zoning pertaining to home businesses and fees regarding new plans for subdivisions. The matter was voted on and approved without much discussion from council members.

Mayor Calais announced that tax revenue collected in January was $702,415, which was $2,837 more than collected in January 2023. Mayor Calais also said that over the first six months of the fiscal year, collections were up more than 2 percent but the city was under budget by $592,795.

In other business the council:
• Authorized the mayor to enter into an agreement to purchase the Periou-Clause property adjacent to Parc Hardy to allow for potential expansion of the park.
• Authorized the mayor to enter into an agreement to lease property for sludge dumping purposes.
• Authorized the mayor to enter into agreements with the State Department of Transportation and Development for work on the intersection of Mills Ave. (Hwy 94) and Rees St. (Hwy 328) as part
of State Project No. H.014516.
• Authorized the mayor to execute and sign the Act of Acceptance for Corporate Boulevard.
• Adopted a resolution and Notice of Acceptance regarding the Water Well No. 7 project.