Youngsville has introduced new guidelines for businesses seeking variances to the city’s ordinances that could increase the likelihood of requests being denied.
The city has seen controversy in recent months over the number of variances passed, with the new regulations being aimed at balancing the influence of prospective businesses and nearby residents with adjacent properties.
Any commercial business seeking a variance for a development with adjacent residential property is now required to collect signatures from each of the property owners, following an ordinance passed unanimously by the Youngsville City Council. The signatures, according to the ordinance, are to verify notifications and not an endorsement.
New regulations will also require the entity issuing the request to have a representative appear in person before the City Council. It also grants homeowner associations a right to veto variance requests from nearby businesses.
“The question has come up before, ‘Have the neighboring properties been notified?’," Youngsville Mayor Ken Ritter said. "Up until now there has not been a requirement that they do so. This creates that framework, so that there’s an expectation that the requestor initiates dialogue. They can then report to us on those conversations.”
The ordinance, Ritter noted, was drafted with direct feedback from Councilwoman Simone Champagne’s concerns about property variances she had expressed during a February meeting. Champagne had taken issue with the number of variances approved by the city.
“Every month it seems like we’re approving multiple variances," she said. "I don't like variances. We have ordinances, and if they aren't working, we need to change them. That makes more sense than having to hear several variance requests every month."
Further discussion of variances for business development came in April when the council shut down a request that would pave the way for an electrical substation near the Cypress Gardens subdivision. A large number of residents spoke out against the project during that meeting.
“I’ve got real concerns with safety,” one resident said during a public hearing on the proposed variance. “Fire hazards, noise pollution, lighting issues, EMFs — there’s a reason why we have land use regulations: to protect the residents.”
The new changes could make it more difficult for potential developers to have future variance requests approved in instances where nearby residents or HOAs are staunchly opposed. Youngsville city officials have argued that the change is necessary, however, to ensure quality of life in the community.
“This is a good amendment,” Champagne said. “Making sure neighbors get notified is an important step in this process. They need to know what’s going on.”