Property owners near the proposed Cove Lane roundabout are asking the city of Lake Charles to rezone land from a residential to a mixed-use district.

The City Council on Wednesday voted to allow one piece of property at 2831 Kiwanis Lane to be changed from residential to mixed use. There are 10 pieces of property total. The remaining nine property owners along the interstate corridor have submitted applications for a map amendment that will be considered by the Planning and Zoning Commission in August. If they’re approved, the property owners will go before the City Council.

Jane Taylor, who resides at 2722 Magnolia Lane, said she is against changing the proposed properties. She owns property north of the land and is concerned about increased traffic, signage and the area losing its residential feel.“People in this city need a place to go that is not going to be in constant competition with commercial properties,” Taylor told the City Council.

Ken Moss, at 3528 W. Prien Lake Road, is a homeowner just south of the property wanting to change to mixed use.

From the perspective of a resident — not a landowner — Moss said residents move by the lake to have a residential area to live in that is quiet.

“In the 10 years that I’ve been there I’ve seen an enormous amount of traffic increase,” Moss told the City Council. “It’s dangerous and almost impossible to get out of your driveway as it is now. It is going to be absolute chaos.”

Permitted uses in a mixed-use classification may be a church, school or property with public uses. But any commercial intrusion, like a retail store, hotel, or bed and breakfast, in a mixed-use zoning classification would require a conditional-use permit.

The councilman for District G where the land is located said he was in favor of the change.

“That’s just personal property rights, and I think we need to stand by that,” said Mark Eckard.

Eckard said he hopes for there to be a buffer between residential and mixed use. He said each application will be looked at on a “case by case basis.”

In other business, Luvertha August was elected president, and Stuart Weatherford was elected vice president.

DeQuincy