Looks like another land grab to me.

From the dead-tree version of Sunday's Daily News:

Washington Parish residents wanting clarification of the proposed Land Use plan - which is 381 pages in its current state - have one more opportunity to try and get their questions answered.[...]Opponents of the plan, who have become more and more vocal in the criticisms of the plan and their call to take more time to fine-tune it, are expected to turn out in force.

Get thee to the Parish Council meeting Tuesday, June 5 at 6:00 p.m. They say they're gonna vote on this crap on June 11. Yes, crap.

The Washington Parish Model Land Use Management Code is online here [PDF file].

The proposed map of the new zones is online here, at the Washington Parish Planning Commission website.

I don't understand why the Planning Commission couldn't put a better, larger, more detailed map online. I had to download the thing and open it with another map of the parish next to it to see that they seem to be trying to designate a bunch of rural property south of Bogalusa as Suburban Residential - meaning:

• Day care centers serving no more than 17 persons - PROHIBITED. Guess you'll have to drive even farther to have 3-year-old Suzie cared for while you work.


• Greenhouses, non-commercial, as accessory to residential use - CONDITIONAL. No protection for tender potted plants or growing of winter salad greens, huh? Unless you beg the Planning Commission and pay a hefty fee, I'll betcha.


• Horse stables, non-commercial - PROHIBITED. People have bought and built on acreage outside city limits to be told what to do like this??? Doubt it.


• Churches, temples, synagogues, and places of worship, including cemeteries as accessory uses - CONDITIONAL. This oughtta get people riled. No more little neighborhood churches without a special permit or whatever the procedure is gonna be.

Here's another prime cut, from the Executive Summary [my comments interspersed in brackets and italics]:

It is found that non-agricultural uses when contiguous to farmland can affect how an agricultural use can be operated, which can lead to the conversion of agricultural land to urban, suburban, or other non-agricultural use. [You buy property outside city limits and there's a farm across the street, it's glaringly obvious. And you shouldn't be able to make the farmer shut off his tractor or quit fertilizing.] It is a goal of the Parish Comprehensive Plan to preserve agricultural land in the jurisdiction that is not otherwise identified in the Comprehensive Plan as necessary for development.

It is the policy of the Parish to preserve and encourage agricultural land use and operation within the jurisdiction, and to reduce the occurrence of conflicts between agricultural and non-agricultural land uses and to protect public health, safety, and welfare. [Why are you trying to designate a bunch of land used in agriculture as Suburban Residential, then? One of your pals wanna put up a subdivision?]

It is the policy of the Parish to notify applicants for building permits for buildings or land use permits for uses on non-agricultural land abutting agricultural land or operations with notice about the Parish’s support of the preservation of agricultural lands and operations. An additional purpose of the notification requirement is to promote a good neighbor policy by informing prospective builders and occupants of non-agricultural land adjacent to agricultural lands and operations of the effects associated with residing or operating activities close to agricultural land and operations. [Because they can't look next door or across the street and notice the cows and horses? Sheesh.] Another purpose of this Ordinance is to reduce the loss of agricultural resources in the jurisdiction by limiting the circumstances under which agricultural operations on agricultural lands may be deemed a nuisance. [Yeah, you're gonna limit that by calling a bunch of agricultural land "Suburban Residential" and driving out the farmers.]

It is further the policy of the Parish to require all new developments adjacent to agricultural land or operations to provide a buffer to reduce the potential conflicts between agricultural and non-agricultural land uses. By requiring a minimum 150-foot agricultural buffer on abutting non-agricultural lands, the Parish finds it will be helping to ensure prime farmland remains an agricultural use. Buffer requirements are further outlined in subsections of section 4-3.

It's gotta be all about the money. Call a big area Suburban Residential, and before you know it, it'll be incorporated into the city of Bogalusa. Then the city gets a nice windfall in the form of their share of state property taxes.

Get to the Parish Council meeting Tuesday at 6.