This chapter is adopted under authority of sections 4721 through 4732, title 33, Louisiana Revised Statues of 1950, as amended. The requirements set forth therein as prerequisite to the adoption of a zoning ordinance have been fulfilled.

(Ord. No. 533, § 2(1), 4-13-1999)

It is the intent of this chapter to provide for the harmonious development of the town in accordance with the master plan heretofore made and adopted by the planning commission to lessen congestion in the public streets, secure safety from fire, provide adequate light and air, avoid undue concentration of population, promote health and general welfare and conserve the value of buildings by encouraging the most appropriate use of the land by districting according to the particular suitability of the land for particular purposes, all to create conditions favorable to health, safety, convenience and prosperity.

(Ord. No. 533, § 2(2), 4-13-1999)

(a)

This chapter shall apply to all land within the corporate limits of the town as such corporate limits exist or may exist in the future.

(b)

Territory hereafter annexed to the town shall be classified as being in an O-L district until and unless changed in accordance with the amendment procedure set forth in article VIII of this chapter.

(Ord. No. 533, § 2(3), 4-13-1999)

Except as hereinafter provided:

(1)

No land shall be used or occupied, no structure shall be erected, altered, used or occupied, and no use shall be operated unless in conformity with the regulations herein prescribed for the district in which such structure or land is located.

(2)

No structure shall be erected, altered, used, or occupied to exceed the height limits herein established, to have less building site area, or to have narrower or smaller front, side and rear yards than therein prescribed for the district in which the structure is located.

(3)

No part of a yard or other open space required about any structure for the purpose of complying with the provisions of this chapter shall be included as a part of the yard or other open space similarly required for another structure.

(4)

No building site shall be so reduced or diminished that the building site area, yards, or other open spaces shall be smaller than prescribed by this chapter.

(5)

Every structure, other than an accessory structure, hereafter erected, altered, used, or occupied shall have provided and continuously maintained for it a separate building site as herein defined.

(6)

Every use, unless expressly exempted by this chapter, shall be operated entirely within a completely enclosed structure.

(Code 1981, app. D, pt. I, § 4)

When used in this chapter, the following words and phrases have the meaning ascribed to them in this section, unless the context indicates a different meaning:

Accessory structure means a detached subordinate building located on the same building site with the main building, the use of which is incidental to that of the main building, including detached garage, outdoor advertising system, storage building, etc.

Accessory use means a use customarily incidental to the principal use of a building site or to a building and located upon the same building site with the principal use, including parking lots, open storage activity, etc.

Alley means any public space or thoroughfare 20 feet or less in width which has been dedicated or deeded for public use.

Alteration means any structural change in the supporting or load-bearing members of a building, such as bearing walls, columns, beams or girders.

Board means the board of adjustments established by this chapter.

Boardinghouse means a building where, for compensation and by prearrangement, five or more persons other than occasional or transient customers are provided with meals.

Building means any covered structure intended for the shelter, housing or enclosure of persons, animals or chattels. The term "building" shall be construed to include the term structure.

Building site means the land area occupied or to be occupied by a building and its accessory buildings and including such open spaces, yards, minimum area, off-street parking facilities and off-street truck loading facilities as are required by this chapter; every building site shall abut upon a street.

Building site boundary means any line separating a building site from a street, an alley, another building site, or any land not part of the building site.

Church means a building, together with its accessory building and uses, where persons regularly assemble for religious worship, and which building, together with its accessory buildings and uses, is maintained and controlled by a religious body organized to sustain public worship.

Clinic, dental or medical, means a building in which a group of physicians, dentists, and allied professional assistants are associated for the purpose of carrying on their profession; the clinic may include a dental or medical laboratory but shall not include in-patient care or operating rooms for major surgery.

Dwelling unit means one or more rooms in the same structure, connected together and constituting a separate, independent housekeeping unit for permanent residential occupancy and with facilities for sleeping and cooking.

Dwelling, cluster, means a one-family detached dwelling, excluding mobile homes, built in a cluster subdivision according to design specifications in section 130-4.

Dwelling, condominium, means a group of two or more dwellings, similar to an apartment complex or townhouse subdivision providing for joint ownership of the underlying land and physical facilities and for individual ownership of the living spaces within.

Dwelling, one-family, means a detached building containing one dwelling unit and used exclusively by one family.

Dwelling, townhouse, means one of a series of two or more individually owned, single-family dwellings, excluding mobile homes, attached in a row, distinguished from condominium units by the ownership of the underlying land resting with the dwelling's owner rather than in common ownership.

Dwelling, two-family, means a detached building containing two dwelling units and used by two families living independently of each other.

Dwelling, multiple-family, means a detached building containing three or more dwelling units and used by three or more families living independently of each other; the term "multiple-family dwelling" includes an apartment house.

Family means one or more persons living together as a single housekeeping unit, which may include not more than four lodgers or boarders.

Gross floor area means the sum of the gross horizontal areas of the several floors of a building, including interior balconies and mezzanines; all horizontal dimensions shall be measured between the exterior faces of walls, including the walls of roofed porches having more than one wall. The gross floor area of a building shall include the floor area of accessory buildings on the same building site, measured the same way.

Home occupations means an accessory use of a dwelling unit for gainful employment involving the manufacture, provision, or sale of goods and/or services within the limits imposed on such uses according to section 140-57(g).

Hospital means an institution providing health services, primarily for in-patients, and medical and surgical care of the sick and injured including, as an integral part of the institution, such related facilities as laboratories, out-patient departments, training facilities, central service facilities, staff offices, and emergency evacuation heliports.

Hotel means a building containing guest rooms in which lodging is provided, with or without meals, for compensation, and which is open to transient or permanent guests, or both, and where there is either no provision made for cooking in any guest room or provision made for cooking in not more than 25 percent of the guest rooms; the term "hotel" includes motel.

Livestock keeping, raising, or breeding means the keeping, raising, or breeding of any animals, including fowl, of any type or nature whatsoever; however, the term "livestock keeping, raising, or breeding" does not include:

(1)

Keeping common household pets such as dogs, cats, hamsters, or caged birds for personal comfort and not as a commercial activity or with any expectation of realizing any proceeds or otherwise profiting therefrom;

(2)

The occasional sale of pet offspring; and

(3)

Small animal veterinary clinics and kennels.

Lot of record means a lot which is part of a subdivision, the plat of which has been recorded in the office of the clerk of court of the parish, or a lot described by metes and bounds, the description of which has been recorded in the office of the clerk of the parish.

Mobile home , for purposes of this chapter, shall be categorized into the following:

(1)

Class A. New mobile homes certified as meeting the mobile home construction and safety standards of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and approved as meeting "acceptable similarity" appearance standards in accordance with section 140-57(f)(4).

(2)

Class B. New mobile homes certified as meeting the mobile home construction and safety standards of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, but not approved as meeting appearance standards.

(3)

Class C. All mobile homes not meeting the standards specified above but found by the building inspector to be in good condition.

(4)

Class D. Mobile homes found by the building inspector to be in poor condition and un-safe for occupancy.

Mobile home parks means a parcel of land under single ownership, whether public or private, which has been planned and improved for the placement of mobile homes for non-transient use.

Nonconforming structure means a building or part thereof lawfully existing on the effective date of the ordinance from which this chapter is derived and which does not conform to all of the regulations of the district in which it is located.

Nonconforming use means a use which lawfully occupied a building or land on the effective date of the ordinance from which this chapter is derived and which does not conform to the regulations of the district in which it is located.

Off-premises sign means a permanently placed sign, other than an outdoor general advertising structure, not on the same premises with the establishment it advertises, identifies, or enhances. A sign identifying a planned residential or commercial development according to section 130-4(9) is considered to be an on-premises sign.

On-premises sign means a sign serving to identify or enhance commercial or other establishments which is on the premises of the establishment being served. An on-premises sign is considered to be part and parcel of the use to which it is associated.

Outdoor general advertising structure means a billboard or other off-premises sign larger than 35 square feet of sign-face area.

Permitted structure means a structure meeting all the requirements established by this chapter for the district in which the structure is located.

Permitted use means a use meeting all the requirements established by this chapter for the district in which the use is located.

Roominghouse means a building, other than a hotel, where for compensation and by prearrangement, five or more persons other than occasional or transient customers are provided with lodging.

Street means a public right-of-way which provides vehicular and pedestrian access to adjacent properties.

Street line means a line or boundary separating the public right-of-way from the land or property adjoining.

Structure means anything constructed or erected which requires location on the ground or attached to something located on the ground, including, but not limited to, in-ground swimming pools, satellite reception antennas, etc.; however, utility poles, fences and freestanding walls shall not be considered to be structures.

Vehicle, recreational, means a structure which:

(1)

Is built on a single chassis;

(2)

Contains 400 square feet or less of gross area measured at its largest horizontal projection;

(3)

Is designed to be self-propelled or permanently towable by a motorized vehicle; and

(4)

Is designed not for use as a permanent dwelling but as temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, travel, or seasonal use.

Vehicle park, recreational, means a parcel (or contiguous parcels) of land divided into two or more lots or spaces for the temporary placement of recreational vehicles. For purposes of this definition, the term "temporary" means placement not to exceed 180 consecutive days.

Yard, front, means an open, unoccupied space on the same building site with a main building, extending the full width of the building site and situated between the street line and the front line of the building projected to the side lines of the building site. The depth of the front yard shall be measured between the front line of the building and the street line.

Yard, rear, means an open, unoccupied space on the same building site with a main building, extending the full width of the building site and situated between the rear line of the building site and the rear line of the building projected to the side lines of the building site. The depth of the rear yard shall be measured between the rear line of the building site and the rear line of the building.

Yard, side, means an open, unoccupied space on the same building site with a main building, situated between the side line of the building and the adjacent side line of the building site and extending from the rear line of the front yard to the front line of the rear yard; if no front yard is provided, the front boundary of the side yard shall be the front line of the building site and, if no rear yard is provided, the rear boundary of the side yard shall be the rear line of the building site.

(Ord. No. 533, § 2(5), 4-13-1999)