The proposed drainage revisions to the Calcasieu Parish code of ordinances have been released, and officials are asking the public to review them and give comments and suggestions over the next several weeks.

Members of the Parishwide Drainage Liaison Committee reviewed the proposed changes during a meeting Tuesday. The document is available on the Police Jury’s website, www.cppj.net.

Allen Wainwright, parish public works director, said the proposed revisions to Chapter 26 of the parish code would change roughly 40 pages of the 200-page chapter. Five of the chapter’s 10 articles include proposed changes, with the bulk of them dealing with technical design standards.

Some key changes include a required runoff management plan, drainage impact fees, lateral right-of-way requirements and preliminary development conceptual plans.

Two recent meetings took place with parish staff and area stakeholders to review the draft ordinance changes. The stakeholders included engineers, architects, developers, builders, landowners and real estate agents.

The stakeholder comment period lasted from April 25 to May 31. Parish staff reviewed all comments, and Wainwright said they will be considered for possible changes to the draft plan.

Committee reaction

District 13 Police Juror Francis Andrepont said the public needs to contact their police jurors and voice any issues they have with the proposal.

“Unless we know where you stand, none of us on this committee can defend you,” he said. “Let us know what your feelings are.”

District 7 Police Juror Chris Landry asked staff to review each proposed change in detail so police jurors can know exactly what they are voting on in August. The Planning and Zoning Board and the Police Jury will review the plan, with the Police Jury tentatively scheduled to vote on it in August. 

Wainwright told Landry the last thing staff members want is a “set of ordinances that no one has read or understands.” 

District 1 Police Juror Kevin White stressed the need to get public input on the proposed changes.

“I could write a book on drainage … since I’ve become (police) juror,” he said. “As in depth of an ordinance that we’re dealing with, we’ve got to have input from everybody.”

White suggested delaying the timeline to allow for more public input before a vote is cast. 

He added that acquiring rights of way is one reason drainage improvement projects have taken so long to get done.

District 14 Police Juror Hal McMillin urged residents to read the proposal and contact their police jurors and voice their opinions. “It’s kind of a once-in-a-lifetime chance to do it and do it right,” he said.

Public feedback

Several people spoke during the meeting, including Lake Charles District A City Councilwoman Mary Morris. Morris asked the revised drainage plan to include cities. Parish Administrator Bryan Beam said the plan is for cities to monitor what happens in the parish before they decide what they need to do.

“It’s important to bring cities along, and we have,” Beam said.

Charlie Atherton said the stakeholders who attended the two recent meetings “were just basically the people who make money off of” development.

“The thousands of rural landowners in the parish may or may not even know what’s going on,” he said.

Atherton said there are concerns among landowners about paying an additional drainage fee on top of an existing property drainage tax. He said it is unknown how many inches of rain the proposed ordinances can handle or the cost-to-benefit ratio.

David Richard, executive vice president of Stream Wetland Services, criticized not being able to review the proposed changes prior to the meeting. Beam responded, saying that “nothing has been kept from anybody,” and that it’s appropriate to provide the material to elected officials first.

Dan Rhodes said there is a need for larger, deeper culverts to improve drainage. He questioned the need for additional regulations, saying they could delay development.

“We need less regulations, we don’t need more,” Rhodes said.

The next drainage liaison committee meeting is set for 3:45 p.m. June 29 at the Police Jury meeting room, 1015 Pithon St.