The St. Charles Parish Planning & Zoning Commission met on March 5, 2026, at 6:00 PM in the Council Chambers, Hahnville. The Commission considered four cases: a home occupation application, two rezoning requests, and a special permit use for an accessory building. Due to only four commissioners present (two absent, one vacant), the chair offered applicants the option to postpone. The meeting also included approval of the February 5, 2026 minutes.
Welcome everyone. This is the St. Charles Parish Planning Board of Commissioners meeting from March 5th, 2026. If everyone would please silence cell phones for the duration of the proceeding, and if everyone would rise for a moment of silence, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. Individual Deemed Justice for all. And before we get started, just to let everyone know, uh there are four cases. Um each one would take a total of four years to pass. We only have four representatives tonight. Uh we have two that are not able to attend, and we have one vacant spot. So if anyone would like to request postponement of the hearing of their case until next month, where we may have stronger attendance, this is pretty unusual. I don't think we've had only four of us in a while. You can do that right before uh your case, and we'd entertain tabling that to the next meeting. First, on the agenda, we have 2026-5-HOA requested by Benjamin Neipala for home occupation, NV Lawn Care at 10 Oakley Drive and Destrahan, Council District 3. This request comes before the planning commission due to objections that were received during the public notice period for an administrative home occupation application. The application was submitted following a code violation that began in January concerning a business being ran without a permit and a large trailer on a residential property. The objections during the posting period focused on the trailer at the residence, citing the neighborhood appearance, visibility, and impeding the sidewalk. The trailer does not comply with the purpose statement of home occupations that states that businesses should be clearly incidental and secondary to the use of the dwelling for residential purposes and does not change the appearance or character thereof or adversely affect neighboring properties. Additionally, the trailer would also not comply with appendix A section 4, General Provisions 8, which does not allow payloads in excess of 2,000 pounds to be parked in a residential front yard. During a site visit after operating hours, the trailer was not on site. The department recommends approval with the stipulation that the trailer cannot be parked or stored at the residence, and the information of a zoning compliance storage location must be provided in which the applicant has applied. Thank you. Is the applicant present? Yes. Please state your name and address for the record, please. Um, my name is my name is Benjamin Nibala. My address is Ted Oakley Drive, Dashrahan, Louisiana. Thank you. Anything to add? Yes, sir. Good evening. My name is Benjamin Nebo. I'm the owner of ME Lonker. I would like to take a moment to share a little bit about my family and my business. My parents moved our family from Canada to Dash Trahan in 1998 when I was five years old. Our family all has always loved Deseran community, and I really truly enjoy growing up here. Starting my own business has always been my goal of mine. About three and a half years ago, while working a full-time job, I began cutting grass as a side business. I quickly discovered there is such as a unique certification that comes from taking care of a yard, helping customers maintain their homes. I truly enjoy interacting with them and consider many of them my friends. Over the past three years, my business has grown primarily in St. Charles Parish. I currently serve as more than 45 homes in Deshrahan alone. Dashrahan is my home. During this time, I've also gotten married, purchased a home on Oakley Drive in Dashrahan last May, and my wife and I are now expecting a our first child. When I submitted the application to establish the business at our home address, I understand there are some concerns raised. I want to say that I never attended Tubset or inconvenience any of my neighbors after discussing this with my wife. Our hope is simply to be able to use our home address for administrative purposes. While all equipment and trails remain stored off site, I respect briefly as that the board keep this in consideration. I appreciate your time and opportunity to share a little bit about my business and my family. Thank you.