GENERAL

Where the Louisiana Avenue Zoning and Development Overlay District, hereinafter referred to as the Overlay District, and the underlying or base-zoning district have different standards or regulations, the more restrictive standards or regulations pertaining to that land shall apply.

PURPOSE AND INTENT

The Overlay District is intended to promote innovative, attractive and efficient use of land; to encourage planned development; and to permit flexibility and creativity in the design of such planned development. The purpose of this ordinance shall include but not be limited to the following:

1.

To encourage and promote the public health, safety and general welfare of the citizens of the City of Lafayette, through the development and coordination of growth and services.

2.

To encourage originality, flexibility, and innovation in site planning and development.

3.

To discourage monotonous, unsightly, and inharmonious development.

4.

To preserve, protect and enhance areas of high visibility.

5.

To enhance the appearance and economic viability of the Louisiana Avenue Corridor, especially as it relates to adjacent established neighborhoods.

DESCRIPTION OF THE AREA

The area hereby designated, as the Overlay District is located generally east and west of Louisiana Avenue, from north of East Willow Street to north of East Pont des Mouton Road with the exception of the areas surrounding the Interstate 10 — Louisiana Avenue Interchange. The full area is shown on a map prepared by the Lafayette Consolidated Community Development and Planning Department titled "Louisiana Avenue Zoning and Development Overlay District".

APPLICABILITY

The Overlay District regulations shall apply to all buildings or structures, except for individual single family detached dwellings constructed, reconstructed or established after the effective date of this ordinance.

An overlay district is comprised of both Zoning and Development considerations which cannot be separated, and, consequently, the Zoning Commission and Board of Zoning Adjustment will address Zoning matters within the overlay district, and the Planning Commission will address Development matters within the overlay district.

DEFINITIONS

Overlay District: A set of regulations incorporated in the Lafayette Zoning Ordinance and City of Lafayette Subdivision Regulations that apply to a specific geographic area in addition to the underlying zoning and development regulations.

Cross access, Cross access easement: A service drive providing vehicular access between two or more contiguous sites so the driver need not enter the public street system.

Monument sign: An independent sign affixed to the ground and supported from grade to the bottom of the sign with the appearance of having a solid base. A monument sign is not a pole sign. The width of any portion of a monument sign is at least 80% of the width of the sign.

Out Parcel: A parcel of land abutting and external to the larger, main parcel, which is under separate ownership and has roadway frontage.

Pole sign: A freestanding sign attached to a pole or poles erected directly into the ground.

PROHIBITED USES

The following uses are expressly prohibited in the Overlay District.

1.

Nightclub, bars and lounges

2.

Pawn shops

3.

Open outdoor storage of any type, including but not limited to units for sale, such as motor vehicles or boats for sale

4.

Vehicle repair or vehicle service uses

5.

Car washes

6.

Display or sale lots for the sale of manufactured homes and/or moveable homes

7.

Mobile home parks

8.

Travel trailer/RV parks

9.

Self-storage or warehousing units

10.

Apartment House, Apartment hotel, Multi-family, and Live/Work Dwellings, except as to any property located within the RM (Residential Mixed) zoning district, where the same shall be permitted.

SEWER REQUIREMENTS:

Every development must connect to a LUS wastewater collection system at the expense of the owner/developer.

ACCESS MANAGEMENT

1.

A system of joint use driveways and cross access easements shall be established wherever feasible along Louisiana Avenue within the Overlay District, and building sites shall incorporate the following:

a.

An access and circulation system plan that includes coordinated or shared parking areas wherever feasible.

b.

Stub-outs and other design features to make it visually obvious that the abutting properties must be tied in to provide cross access via a service drive.

2.

Adjacent commercial or office properties and compatible major traffic generators (i.e. shopping plazas, office parks, apartments, etc.) shall provide a cross access drive to allow circulation between sites. This requirement shall also apply to a new building site that abuts an existing developed property, unless it is shown to be clearly impractical. Property owners shall record a cross access easement through a note on the plat or by recordation of a separate document in the records of the Lafayette Parish Clerk of Court.

3.

Property owners who provide for joint and cross access may be granted a temporary driveway permit, when necessary, to provide reasonable access until such time as the joint use driveway and cross access drives are provided with adjacent properties. This is conditioned upon the owner signing an agreement to close and eliminate any pre-existing driveways that were provided for access in the interim after construction of the joint use driveway.

4.

Direct driveway access to individual one and two-family dwellings shall be avoided. All other reasonable access alternatives shall be investigated by LCG before direct residential driveway access to Louisiana Avenue is permitted.

5.

When a residential subdivision is proposed, it shall be designed to provide access to individual lots that abut Louisiana Avenue only from a frontage road or interior local road. A buffer may be required by the Planning Commission at the rear of the residential lots to shield residents from traffic on Louisiana Avenue. The buffer shall be a minimum of 20 feet deep and shall be planted in a continuous hedge of evergreen shrubs — minimum of 18 inches height at the time of planting, spaced no more than 3 feet on center. Where possible, the hedge shall not be planted in an easement.

6.

In the interest of promoting joint access and cross access plans, development sites under the same ownership or consolidated for the purposes of development and comprised of more than one building site, shall be considered unified parcels for the purposes of compliance with the access management requirements. This shall also apply to phased development plans. The following requirements shall apply:

a.

The number of connections permitted shall be the minimum number necessary to provide reasonable access to the overall site and not the maximum available for that frontage.

b.

Access to out parcels shall be internalized using a shared circulation system and designed to avoid excessive movement across parking aisles or queuing across surrounding parking and driving aisles.

7.

Where abutting properties are in different ownership and not part of an overall development plan, only the building site under consideration for development approval shall be subject to the requirements of this section. Abutting properties shall be required to provide for cross access at the time these properties are proposed for development.

8.

Construction of driveways along turn lanes and tapers is prohibited, unless no other access to the property is available. In this instance, the driveway may be restricted to certain turning movements. In addition, the lane shall be extended a minimum of 50 feet in advance of the driveway. No driveway shall be permitted within the transition area of any separate right turn or deceleration lane.

9.

Driveways across from median openings shall be consolidated wherever feasible to coordinate access at the median opening.

10.

Driveways shall be designed with adequate on-site storage for entering and exiting vehicles to reduce unsafe conflicts.

11.

The applicant shall be responsible for the design, adjustment of utilities and construction costs of any auxiliary lane and street widening required as a condition of plat approval by the Planning Commission.

Special Driveway Designs

The Planning Commission may require internal driveway improvements, turning movement prohibitions, auxiliary lanes and traffic control devices to address safety and/or capacity problems within the property that may have a detrimental effect on the adjacent public street system.

Driveways that have a projected design volume of 1,000 or more vehicles (one-way volume) per day shall have a minimum of a 100 foot continuous throat without adjacent parking stalls or vehicular cross flow.

ACCESSORY STORAGE AREAS INCLUDING TRASH HOLDING RECEPTACLES

1.

Storage and accessory facilities must be constructed of the same materials as the primary building.

2.

Refuse must be kept in a dumpster. Dumpsters may not be located in building setback areas, landscape strips or buffer areas.

If, due to the absence of screening, the dumpster would be clearly visible off-site, an enclosure around the dumpster/s shall be constructed of the same material as the building it serves.

ARCHITECTURE

In order to ensure compliance with the following section, applicants are required to submit color renderings, color elevation drawings and/or color photographs of any proposed building with the site plan at the time of application for Commercial Plan Review.

All buildings on the same site shall be architecturally unified, meaning that each building on the site shall relate in architectural style, color scheme and building materials.

Building Materials

1.

Corrugated metal siding, aluminum siding or vinyl siding is prohibited.

2.

No exposed concrete block or metal wall panels are allowed on the exterior wall.

3.

Building and roof colors shall consist of natural earth tones, white, black or shades of gray. Primary colors or other bright colors shall be limited to trim and signage.

4.

In the case where a canopy is constructed, its columns shall be finished with either brick or masonry that is consistent with the principal building material.

5.

For developments larger than 8,000 square feet, the following architectural requirements shall apply:

a.

Facades greater than 100 feet in length measured horizontally shall incorporate wall plane projections or recesses having a depth of at least 3% of the length of the facade and extending at least 20% of the length of the facade. No uninterrupted length of any facade shall exceed 100 horizontal feet.

b.

Building facades must include a repeating pattern that shall include no less than three of the following elements: color change, texture change, material change, and expression of architectural or structural bay through a change in plane no less than 24 inches in width. All elements shall repeat at intervals of no more than 30 feet, either horizontally or vertically.

c.

Rooflines must incorporate a change in elevation at the roofline no less than 25% of the height of the wall for no less than 20% of the length of the wall.

Entrances and Windows

1.

The first floor facade of non-residential buildings that front Louisiana Avenue shall include a minimum of 40% in windows or doors of a clear or lightly tinted glass that allows views into and out of the building. Minimum window area shall be measured between the height of two feet and ten feet above the finished level of the first floor.

2.

Darkly tinted windows and mirrored windows that block two-way visibility are prohibited as ground floor windows.

3.

At least one main entrance of any building shall face Louisiana Avenue. This main entrance shall be clearly defined and recessed or framed by a sheltering element such as an awning, or portico.

Height

In addition to a required buffer, any portion of a non-residential structure that exceeds 28 feet in height above the grade of an adjacent residentially zoned property shall be setback from the abutting property line or lines at least one additional foot for every one foot of height above 28 feet.

MECHANICAL EQUIPMENT

For buildings 8,000 square feet or larger, all mechanical equipment must be placed on the roof and visually screened on all sides.

LIGHTING STANDARDS

General

1.

All lighting shall be directed downward and shielded so that the light source is not visible from off-site.

2.

The operation of searchlights for advertising purposes is prohibited.

Parking Lot Lighting

1.

Parking lot lighting poles shall not exceed 35 feet in height.

2.

Pole lighting shall be located no closer than 15 feet to a property line and may not be located in a landscape island.

SIGN STANDARDS

Freestanding Signs:

1.

Signs shall be limited to monument type signs with a maximum height of ten feet.

2.

Signs must be architecturally related to the buildings they serve.

3.

Signs shall display only the name, address, and trademark or registered logo. Fuel pricing signs may display only the price and name, trademark or registered logo of the product.

4.

Church identification signs shall display only the church name, service hours, and church related events.

Building Signs

1.

Signs shall not project higher than top of the building or wall on which it is located.

2.

Signs affixed to canopies shall not exceed 20 square feet.