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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Baton Rouge City Council and Planning Commission Meeting - February 18, 2026

Metropolitan Council — Wednesday, February 18, 2026

BodyBaton Rouge, Louisiana

SessionMetropolitan Council

DateWednesday, February 18, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 6:44

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

1:30

This item.

1:32

See no go to council.

1:34

Over motion.

1:35

Motion by Councilman Kenny.

1:36

Second by Councilwoman Coleman.

1:38

Is there any opposition?

1:40

Motion carries.

1:41

Four.

1:42

Case 5-26-8150 Hooper Road to rezone from heavy commercial to zero lot line residential on property located on the south side of Hooper Road west of Hit Hickok Drive, Council District 5.

1:53

Hearst, commission action, motion to approve, carry 9-0.

1:56

Anyone here wishing to speak on this item?

2:00

Seeing no one go to council.

2:02

We have a motion.

2:03

Motion by Councilwoman Adams, second by Councilman Kenny.

2:06

Any opposition?

2:07

Motion carries.

2:10

Number five, there's a request to delete this item, case six-26-136 South Acadian throughway to rezone from light commercial to commercial alcoholic beverage bar and lounge on property located on the west side of South Acadian through way.

2:23

South of North Boulevard, Council District 10, Coleman, commission action, motion to deny carry 9-0.

2:30

Anyone here wishing to speak on this item?

2:34

See no go to council.

2:35

Motion to delete by Councilwoman Coleman.

2:37

Second by Councilman Dunn Jr.

2:39

Is there any opposition?

2:41

Motion carries.

2:42

Item 6, case case 7-26, 2566-68th Avenue.

2:47

Three zone from single family residential to medium density multifamily residential on property located on the south side of 68th Avenue, west of Nottingham Street, Council District 2 Kenney.

2:57

Commission action motion to approve carry 90.

3:00

Anyone here wishing to speak on this item?

3:04

Seeing no one go to council.

3:05

Motion by Councilman Kenny.

3:08

Second by Councilwoman Adams.

3:10

Is there any opposition?

3:12

Motion carries.

3:13

Item 7.

3:15

RV-4-25, St.

3:18

James, France, and Europe Street, multiple right-of-way proposed revocation of portions of St.

3:22

James, France, and Europe Street, rights of way located south of Government Street, West of Phillip Street.

3:28

Council District 10 Coleman Commission action motion to defer to the February 23rd planning commission carry nine to zero.

3:34

There's a request to defer this to the March 18th meeting.

3:37

Anyone here wishing to speak on this item?

3:41

See no go to council.

3:42

We have a motion.

3:43

Motion by Councilwoman Coleman, second by Councilwoman Adams to defer to the March 18th meeting.

3:48

Any opposition?

3:50

Motion carries.

3:59

By the planning director.

4:00

Anyone here wishing to speak on this item?

4:08

See no go to council.

4:10

Ryan, you want to give us some detail on this.

4:22

Thank you, Mayor Pro Tem members of the Council.

4:25

At your seats, you have proposed fee changes for applications submitted to the Planning Commission office roughly every four to five years.

4:32

The Planning Commission takes a look at our land development application fees.

4:36

We research Pier Cities in Louisiana and also uh a few cities in the Southeast United States.

4:42

So we looked at City of Central, Zachary, Lafayette, Jefferson Parish, Treeport, New Orleans, Lake Charles, and then we also contacted planning departments in Tallahassee, Knoxville, Little Rock, and Birmingham.

5:00

We uh compared our fee schedule to their fees, and there is roughly about a 15-20 percent increase in some development applications that mostly due to uh complex land development applications that do take a considerable amount of staff time.

5:13

There is uh additional $200 stormwater review fee.

5:17

We worked with Rachel and her department on that.

5:20

The uh detailed stormwater and drainage reports take a considerable amount of time to go through, and there has to be a certified stormwater uh staff member that that reviews that so we are capturing that in our fees.

5:33

We did uh commit to the finance department that we would take a look at this early this year.

5:38

It was in a work program for last year, and I'll be happy to answer any questions.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Engineering And Infrastructure█████████████████████████████████████████████60%

Procedural██████████████████████████████40%

Summary of Proceedings

Baton Rouge City Council and Planning Commission Meeting - February 18, 2026

The Baton Rouge City Council and Planning Commission met on February 18, 2026, to consider several zoning requests, a right-of-way revocation deferral, and a proposed update to planning commission fees. All items were approved or deferred as outlined below.

Zoning and Rezoning Items

Case 5-26-8150 (Hooper Road): Rezone from heavy commercial to zero lot line residential on property located on the south side of Hooper Road west of Hickok Drive, Council District 5. The Planning Commission motion to approve carried 9-0. A council motion by Councilwoman Adams, seconded by Councilman Kenny, carried without opposition.
Case 6-26-136 (South Acadian Throughway): Request to delete this item from the agenda – rezone from light commercial to commercial alcoholic beverage bar and lounge on property located on the west side of South Acadian Throughway, south of North Boulevard, Council District 10. The Planning Commission motion to deny carried 9-0. A council motion to delete by Councilwoman Coleman, seconded by Councilman Dunn Jr., carried.
Case 7-26-2566 (68th Avenue): Rezone from single family residential to medium density multifamily residential on property located on the south side of 68th Avenue, west of Nottingham Street, Council District 2. The Planning Commission motion to approve carried 9-0. A council motion by Councilman Kenny, seconded by Councilwoman Adams, carried.

Right-of-Way Revocation

RV-4-25 (St. James, France, and Europe Street): Proposed revocation of portions of rights-of-way located south of Government Street, west of Phillip Street, Council District 10. The Planning Commission motion to defer to the February 23rd planning commission meeting carried 9-0. Subsequently, a council motion by Councilwoman Coleman, seconded by Councilwoman Adams, deferred the item to the March 18, 2026 meeting; the motion carried.

Planning Commission Fee Schedule Update

The Planning Director presented a proposal for updated land development application fees, based on research of peer cities in Louisiana and the southeastern U.S. The proposed changes included a 10–20% increase for most applications (with some remaining unchanged, e.g., standard rezoning) and a new $200 stormwater review fee. The draft had been posted online for 30–45 days and circulated to the development community, receiving two or three comments in support and no opposition. A council motion by Councilwoman Adams, seconded by Councilman Hudson, carried.

Key Outcomes

All three zoning cases (Hooper Road, South Acadian Throughway, 68th Avenue) were approved or deleted as requested by the respective motions.
The right-of-way revocation item was deferred to March 18, 2026.
The planning commission fee schedule update was approved, with a 10–20% increase and a new $200 stormwater review fee.
The meeting was adjourned.

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