This Code shall be known as "The Bossier City-Parish Unified Development Code" (hereinafter referred to as "this Code") and may also be cited as Ordinance No. 133 of 2018 of the Municipal Code of the City of Bossier City (2018) and as Ordinance No. 4705 of 2018 of the Parish Code of Bossier Parish (2018). Individual sections or subsections of this Code may be cited by their section number.

This Code is adopted pursuant to the authority granted by Louisiana Revised Statute 33:4721 et seq.

The Effective Date of this Code shall be November 6, 2018 for the City of Bossier City and December 20, 2018 for Bossier Parish.

Upon the Effective Date of this Code, the following ordinances that are currently in effect and any subsequent amendments to them shall be repealed:

1.4.1

Bossier City.

A.

Zoning Ordinance No. 126 of 2003.

1.4.2

Bossier Parish.

A.

Zoning Ordinance No. 3908 of 2003.

This Code is adopted for the purposes of guiding development in accordance with the Bossier City-Parish Comprehensive Plan and existing and future needs of the City and Parish in order to protect, promote and improve the public health, safety, morals, convenience, order, appearance, prosperity and general welfare. The regulations hereby enacted are designed to exercise the full range of authority available to the City and Parish under Louisiana law to:

1.5.1

Promote the public health, safety and general welfare, while recognizing the rights of real property owners, by adopting a comprehensive zoning ordinance for the City and Parish and providing for administrative procedures and development standards.

1.5.2

Help achieve the goals, objectives and policies of the Bossier City-Parish Comprehensive Plan, as amended.

1.5.3

Prevent the overcrowding of land and avoid undue concentration of population by creating zoning districts consistent with the character of each area within the City and Parish and its peculiar suitability for particular uses and by adopting an Official Zoning Map consistent with the creation of such districts.

1.5.4

Lessen congestion in the streets and to secure safety from natural disaster, fire, panic and other dangers by establishing open space requirements within each zoning district and further by providing a means by which the rate of growth within the City and Parish can be monitored and managed.

1.5.5

Facilitate the adequate provision of transportation, water, sewerage, drainage, schools, parks, and other public requirements by providing a means for regulating the impact of development on community infrastructure.

1.5.6

Regulate the subdivision and development of land, ensuring its orderly development and the concurrent provision of appropriate and necessary public facilities.

1.5.7

Maintain a balance between the total development in the City and Parish and the capacity of the City and Parish and its infrastructure to serve such development.

1.5.8

Protect designated corridors and maintain desirable and unique neighborhood character and integrity within the City and Parish by establishing Corridor and Neighborhood Conservation Conditional Use Overlay Districts and by establishing such regulations related to the maintenance of quality use, aesthetic, and environmental standards as may be found to be appropriate.

1.5.9

Carry out such other purposes in the public interest as may be specifically cited hereinafter.

1.6.1

This Code and the provisions contained herein shall hereafter govern all land development within the incorporated areas of the City of Bossier City, Louisiana, as now or may be hereafter established, together with such adjacent unincorporated areas of Bossier Parish which the Bossier City Council and the Bossier Parish Police Jury may jointly agree to become governed by this Code.

1.6.2

The area of jurisdiction shall be depicted on a map that has been formerly adopted by the Bossier City-Parish Metropolitan Planning Commission.

1.7.1

No activity regulated by this Code shall be undertaken unless the same is in conformity with the express provisions of this Code.

1.7.2

No activity that is the subject of any permit or approval issued pursuant to the provisions of this Code shall be undertaken unless the same is in conformity with said permit or approval, including any conditions attached thereto.

1.7.3

The commencement or continuation of any activity regulated by this Code that is not in conformity with the express provisions of this Code, or that is not in conformity with the express provisions of any permit or approval, including any conditions attached thereto, issued pursuant to this Code, shall be a violation of this Code, and upon conviction thereof, shall be punishable under the provisions of this Article.

Each year, if fees are changed, the Bossier City-Parish MPC may approve a schedule of fees for the various applications and approvals required in this Code.