THE ZACHA Y
ADVOCATE& T H E A D V O C AT E.C O M
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W e d n e s d ay, O c t O b e r 23, 2024
ON THEME
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11TH YEAR, NO. 2
Council questions code revision process
BY OLIVIA MCCLURE Contributing writer
PROVIDED PHOTOS BY SHARON PHILLIPS
Zachary Mayor David McDavid and Councilwoman Jennifer Boyd Landry are with Landry Coulon and a copy of a proclamation recognizing October as Down Syndrome Awareness Month.
Zachary City Council recognizes several October awareness efforts Community news report At its Oct. 8 meeting, the Zachary City Council took time to raise awareness for Down syndrome and breast cancer. Down Syndrome Awareness Month and Breast Cancer Awareness Month are both observed nationally in October. Mayor David McDavid issued proclamations recognizing each of these occasions, which were read out loud at the council meeting.
Graduates of the Leadership North program have worked to raise awareness of breast cancer. They were on hand at the Zachary City Council meeting Oct. 8 as the council recognized Breast Cancer Awareness Month. From left are Monica Jackson, Ruth Kuhns, April Hawthorne, Bianca Coats and Tamara Dayton.
Zachary High student spreads awareness of visually impaired residents Community news report Zachary High School senior Sa’Lynn Woodside has been a champion for the visually impaired throughout her high school career. She is blind and uses a white cane. She can be seen moving about the high school campus independently and confidently with her cane. Woodside has been a strong voice in the community bringing awareness of those who are visually impaired, the challenges that they face, and the many contributions that they can make. Woodside has reached out to local busiPROVIDED PHOTO nesses to update their menus, signage, etc. with braille options. She has also had White On Oct. 10, from left, Dante Bidwell, City of Baton Rouge CAO, Sa’Lynn Woodside, and Metro Councilman Mayor-Pro Temp Brandon Noel share a Cane Awareness Day declared in Zachary.
proclamation for White Cane Awareness Day.
ä See AWARENESS, page 3G
Zachary City Council members aren’t happy about how long it’s taking an outside firm to revise key sections of the city’s development code — a delay they believe is impeding enforcement of existing rules and causing the appearance of the community to suffer. The council members also discussed their role in enforcing rules regarding junk vehicles. The issues came up at the panel’s Oct. 8 meeting. The city — with help from a longtime contractor, the Villavaso and Associates planning firm — began working to update its unified development code about a year ago. A focus of the effort has been enforcement procedures, as the council wanted to shift away from criminal penalties for code violations and in“Just because we stead issue fines. But the updates aren’t say we’re going done yet, creating conto change some fusion about what rules things, when do we should be enforced — stop enforcing the and how — in the meanlaws that are on the time. “I don’t think any of books?” us ever envisioned it JAMES GRAVES, would take a year to reZachary City Council ceive what the council member is requesting,” council member Ambre DeVirgilio said. City Attorney John Hopewell said Villavaso and Associates is still working on the code rewrite. But it has proven to be a complicated endeavor. Some sections of the current code call for criminal punishment while others don’t. Ensuring there are consistent, civil enforcement protocols for all aspects of the code — the council’s desire — has been time consuming. Council member James Graves questioned why enforcement of the existing code appears to have fallen by the wayside. He compared the situation with a hypothetical discussion of increasing a speed limit from 35 to 45 mph. Until the speed limit is actually changed, he said, police officers would still ticket drivers exceeding 35 mph. “Just because we say we’re going to change some things, when do we stop enforcing the laws that are on the books?” Graves asked. He said Zachary was making progress on getting business owners to take down feather flags — tall, vertical outdoor banners that the code prohibits. But that has changed in recent months. “Now we have feather flags everywhere,” he said. Mayor David McDavid acknowledged that certain parts of the code are no longer being strictly enforced amid the rewrite effort. “We have been enforcing the condemnations. We had the ordinance on junk vehicles — that’s ongoing. Grass cutting is ongoing with enforcement,” McDavid said. “As far as the flags, we stopped because what we thought was we didn’t want to go criminal. Now, I can gear it back up, and we can go after them. It’s up to y’all.” DeVirgilio suggested at least sending letters to people who are displaying the banned feather flags. “I know that if I received a letter, that would be enough for me to be like, ‘Oh my goodness. Let me go remove my feather flag,’” she said. “I realize that won’t happen for everyone, but I think mostly, it’s a deterrent, just the letter.” “OK,” McDavid said. “I’ll make that happen
ä See COUNCIL, page 3G
Pastalaya sale supports breast cancer awareness Leila Pitchford AROUND ZACHARY
On Thursday, Oct. 24, a Breast Cancer Awareness benefit will be hosted by the city of Zachary. A plate lunch of pastalaya, prepared by Zachary Police Capt. Shawn Pratt, along with salad and dessert will be sold for $10. All proceeds will go to the Foundation for Women’s Bust Breast Cancer, a project organized by graduates of the Zachary Chamber of Commerce Leadership North group. The serving tent will be in the city of Zachary Annex parking lot. Plates will be sold start-
ing at 11 a.m.
Helping North Carolina On Facebook, the city gave an update on efforts to help hurricane relief in North Carolina. Mayor David McDavid and the Zachary Strong team have returned from North Carolina. They delivered supplies and provided meals to over 1,000 people in the Asheville area. The 18-wheeler parked at the city of Zachary annex will remain throughout the month to accept donations, including nonperishable
food, blankets, warm clothing, propane, baby food and diapers, and any basic need items. All items will be delivered to those many individuals in need in the Asheville area.
Clean out your home for church event St. John the Baptist Catholic Church is holding its Community Garage Sale from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., Nov. 2. People can donate gently used items (no mattresses or box springs) from
ä See AROUND, page 4G