The Lake Charles City Council unanimously voted to amend the zoning map for a property on Big Lake Road.

The residential structure on 6706 Big Lake Road will be converted into an office building. The request to change the lot from residential zoning to mixed-use was approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission in March with a vote of three to two.

This request included a major conditional use permit to convert the residential building into an office building with an existing shot and shed for a commercial contracting office. At the commission meeting, owner Larry Thomas said the existing shop would be used for storage.

At both the commission and council meetings, neighboring residents expressed concerns about privacy and property values.

Nadine Kreguer, who lives behind the property, reaffirmed these worries at the council meeting, stating her property would be devalued by rezoning and that her front yard would be exposed without fencing. Residents of the Buccaneer Acres Subdivision also spoke out about how a zoning change would negatively impact their residential areas.

Buccaneer Acres Subdivision Resident Mary Kennerson requested stipulations be added to require taller fencing and not allow heavy equipment on the property.

Currently, the city’s development standards require a 15-foot setback without commercial intrusion and a six-foot wood privacy fence border where property lines meet residential property boundaries, in addition to landscaping and parking requirements.

Councilmen Rodney Geyen, District A, and Mark Eckard, District G, suggested a stipulation be added to require eight-foot fencing all the way around as a “fair compromise.”

The zoning amendment was unanimously passed by the council with the stipulation that eight-foot fences be installed on three sides of the property.

Annex

The city council also annexed an approximate 50-foot by 150-foot lot on the corner of Ogea and Benoit Road.

City Attorney David Morgan told the council the section is “not even a lot” and is “basically capturing the corner” to square off city limits.

The annexed property was assigned to District G and was zoned residential.