Berwick re-examines some zoning rules

BERWICK — The Berwick Town Council will have a public hearing next month on whether some apparently overlooked measures should be added to the B-1 local shopping district regulations.

The Planning and Zoning Commission held a public hearing last week to address issues in B-1 local shopping district, said Director of Planning and Zoning Gary Beadle at Tuesday’s council meeting.

Errors were found in the Uses by Right section of Article 8, B-1 Local Shopping District regulations.

Mayor Louis Ratcliff said the items were unintentionally omitted from the original draft to its final draft.

“What transpired here is, we found a couple of those items were left out,” said Ratcliff. “Apparently, due to an oversight, it was left out from the old to the new.”

The outcome of the commission’s public hearing was to add the following to the current B-1 Zoning regulations:

—Dwellings, one-family.

—Home occupations.

—Private recreational uses such as tennis courts, swimming pools and golf courses exclusively for private use and not for commercial purposes.

—Public libraries or museums.

—Public schools, both elementary and high, and private schools have a curriculum essentially the same as ordinarily offered in a public high school and private or public nursery schools or kindergartens.

—Condominiums, dwellings, two-family and up to more than four-family, including developments that will have multiple structures containing residential units on one lot of record.

—Garages, storage, town houses.

—Also Table 2 and Section 12.01 of Article 12, Supplementary height, yard, and use regulations; buildings newly constructed or renovated, which are located in any business district and the intended use is residential shall comply with yard and area requirements of the R-4 zoning district.

Row houses, mobile homes, and mobile home parks are expressly prohibited within this zoning district.

—Remove the language from Article 15; Section 15.01 (B) 3.

These items will be discussed during a public hearing scheduled for Nov. 11, the date of the next town council meeting.

In other news, the council approved Atchafalaya Fitness a permit to host spin classes at Lighthouse Park. The class will last for 45 minutes.

It is tentatively scheduled to begin about 9:15 a.m. Oct. 22. As of now, the plan is to offer the class once a month.

“What we’re looking to do is come up with a way to introduce to the community what we offer at the gym,” said Atchafalaya Fitness spokesperson Kirstine Campbell. “And at the same time, also give something back to the community.”