Here’s a selection of items on the agendas for this week’s meetings of the city and parish councils. To see the full agendas, check out the links below.
- City Agenda (Public Comment Time!)
- Special Joint Council Agenda
- Parish Agenda
City Council
Announcement
LGBTQ+ Pride Month Proclamation. While Mayor-President Josh Guillory refuses to declare June Pride Month, continuing to assert that doing so is “needlessly provocative” while also adhering to a pledge he signed with conservative donors, City Council members Glenn Lazard and Pat Lewis are stepping up in his absence.
Final Adoption
Multiple properties have actions requested:
| Address | Action |
| 212 Karen Drive | Condemnation |
| 202 & 208 Leonpacher Road | Rezone from CH to RS-1 |
| 3047 Verot School Road | Annexation |
| 4800 Block W. Congress St. | Rezon from CH to RS-1 |
$100,000 for the Acadiana Center for the Arts. If approved, this money will be used to fund an office manager, a general manager and a part-time bookkeeper for AcA. LCG’s funding of AcA has dropped about $100,000 over the last two budgets.
$10,000 for the EatLafayette campaign. If approved, this money would go to the Lafayette Convention and Visitors Commission to help cover the $12,500 cost for LCG to be a Platinum Sponsor of the EatLafayette campaign, which promotes eating in local restaurants.
$1.25 million to help replace Fire Station #3. If approved, this money will cover the additional funding required to build this fire station on Cooper Drive, which was budgeted last year to cost $1.5 million.
$267,000 to help extend Lake Farm Road. If approved, the money would be transferred from the Daigle Street Hard Surfacing project to the Lake Farm Road Extension to cover additional funding that’s needed for that project.
$20 million for drainage. An ordinance is needed to recognize and ratify the emergency ordinance passed in May to appropriate $20 million from the city’s general fund and capital fund to pay for urgent drainage projects.
Introduction
$100,000 for Festival International. This money would help bolster Festival International’s finances after two straight years of having to cancel the event.
A new pole attachment and wireless facility attachment agreement with Cox. This agreement would enable Cox to deploy wireless internet service in the city and parish.
Parish Council
Final Adoption
$600,000 for E. Broussard/Robley Drive Roundabout and W. Broussard/Duhon Road Roundabout. If approved, this money would be used to start initial engineering for these projects.
$300,000 for the Musique Road Detention Project. If approved, this money would be appropriated from the Storm Water Management Fund to pay for this detention project.
Joint Council
Final Adoption
A variety of changes to the Lafayette Development Code. If approved, these changes would affect a variety of things, like extending the maximum length stay in bed and breakfasts from 14 days to 30, removing the restriction on multi-family housing in areas zoned MN, and banning banquet/reception/event halls from charging a fee for admission unless it’s for a nonprofit or political committee event.
Expanding the Administrative Adjudication Bureau to include litter. The AAB was created when the new Lafayette Development Code was adopted late last year. If approved, this ordinance would expand its scope to basically serve as a litter court.
Introduction
New penalties for unauthorized use of dumpsters without permission. This ordinance would establish penalties for putting trash in a dumpster without permission, including a first fine of not less than $200 and not less than six- to seven-hour days of community service picking up litter.
Special Joint Council Meeting
Reports
LCG’s 2020 Consolidated Annual Financial Report. This annual presentation will be delivered by auditor Burton Kolder to provide an overview of the findings of the latest CAFR, which was released in late April.
Louisiana Watershed Initiative. This presentation will be given by the Acadiana Planning Commission.
One Comment
Honest question: is part of the city/parish thing the fact that development mostly occurred in the parish and does it now appear that inadequate planning — because not overseen by city planning — has resulted in the drainage/flooding problem we now face? Other honest question: how much of the flooding we are seeing is because development occurred in fields that were once cane fields that when they flooded no one cared? I just feel like when I drive through Youngsville I see the old houses up on ridges and all the new houses in places that are probably gentle troughs. I recognize that climate change is a factor, but I wonder how much of this is a problem of our own creation, and now we're having to rob our future, like the library, in order to address our past mistakes.