Longtime driving-school owner says zoning ruling left her unable to reopen after fire; planning director cites UDC definition

Gisela Chevalier, who said she has owned two small businesses in Kenner for about 35 years and operated a driving school for 27 years, told the City Council she lost her business space to a fire on Oct. 13 and secured a potential new location that passed inspections. Chevalier told council staff informed her the new occupancy required C-2 zoning because driving schools are classified under the city's unified development code as vocational educational facilities; she said she had not previously been told that requirement and has been unable to work for more than a month as a result.

"I had never been told or required ... that the taxes and licenses I have been paying was supposed to be C-2," Chevalier said during the public-comment period. She asked for help and said she was willing to provide documentation about her school's activities.

Planning Director Christopher Slowinski (identified in the hearing as Mister Skwinski/Slowinski) responded that the UDC's definition of vocational educational facilities explicitly references driving schools and that such uses are allowed in C-2 districts but not C-1. He said he has discretion to find 'gray area' where possible, but that the UDC language here specifically mentions driving schools and that changing the ordinance to allow driving schools in C-1 would take five to six months.

The council invited Chevalier to meet with planning staff after the meeting and suggested she could return to a future council meeting if issues remained unresolved.

Why it matters: The exchange highlights how zoning-code definitions can affect legacy small businesses after an emergency and the time it takes to amend code definitions. It also illustrates a common municipal tension between administrative codes and longstanding local practice.

Next steps: Planning staff to meet with Chevalier to explain options; council offered the option of returning to a future meeting if the issue is not resolved administratively.