If once is random, twice is a coincidence, and three times is a trend, then the repeated reports that Jefferson Parish leaders heard from small and large businesses, lamenting the issues with the parish’s Planning & Permitting process amounted to a problem in urgent need of solving.
Since 2021, local government officials had taken steps to adjust its complex regulatory process – standards outlined in the Jefferson Parish Code of Ordinances and the Louisiana Uniform Construction Code – which included a thorough internal review of its procedural infrastructure. Those efforts weren’t enough, as concerns and complaints from incumbent and potential business owners in the parish multiplied, threatening the region’s well-earned “business-friendly” reputation.
Recognizing the urgency of the situation, Parish President Cynthia Lee Sheng formed an Advisory Committee on Permitting and Planning earlier this year.
“The committee members are able to tell us about their experiences, provide input, identify pain points, and help shape solutions,” President Lee Sheng says. “It is essentially a structured forum that brings government and businesses together to work toward a more efficient, business-friendly process. I appreciate the committee’s dedication to understanding our processes and systems firsthand so we can work together on how we can make this better for our community.”
Since May 1, 2025, the Advisory Committee, a collection of contractors, design professionals, developers, and representatives from the Jefferson Parish Chamber of Commerce and other civic organizations, has held regular public meetings in a collaborative effort to reshape, redraft, and reconstruct this necessary process that’s been burdened with unnecessarily tough-to-traverse steps and procedures.
“The anecdotes we kept hearing, including some projects that I was personally involved with, dealt with businesses doing things the right way, trying to follow what they thought was required for the site planning review process in a thorough but efficient manner to open shop by a certain date, only to be denied by the Planning Department over a minor detail,” says Brian Lade of The Feil Organization, which owns Lakeside Mall and other large commercial sites. “And while those people were only doing their jobs, that’s not the kind of atmosphere we want for business in Jefferson Parish.
“So, I applaud the advisory committee for its conscientious effort in redrafting ordinances that are clear (and) easy to comprehend, with well-defined criteria that must be met. This isn’t about creating short cuts for businesses. It’s about setting where the goal line is and not having it moved.”
To provide clarity and perhaps ink a roadmap on the permitting and planning hiccups in need of immediate attention from the Parish President’s Advisory Committee, the Jefferson Chamber of Commerce surveyed its membership and, from that data, compiled a comprehensive report. In total, 89 participating businesses responded, more than 3/4 of them operating for 10+ years in fields like construction/development and professional service, and 80 percent of them having applied for a permit since 2020.
When asked whether they were satisfied with Jefferson Parish’s Permitting Process, 60 percent of responders answered either “neutral” or “dissatisfied,” listing length of time for approval, communication with parish staff, complexity of forms/requirements, lack of online tools and resources, and overall cost of permit as the most challenging aspects of the process.
On the planning side, those businesses that partook in the survey noted that a major cause of unexpected delays was the “evolving requirements” at each step of the process, which might explain why planning took at least three months for approximately 25 percent of participating businesses and why 45.3 percent of responders tagged the ease of understanding the parish’s zoning regulations as either “somewhat difficult” or “very difficult.”
“The survey did two things that have been really beneficial thus far,” Jefferson Chamber President Ruth Lawson says. “It revealed the core hurdles businesses felt were the hardest to get over in the permitting and planning process and provided the opportunity to share their solutions to these problems. And, really, that input and those ideas have been a starting point as we look to reshape this system.”
Complexities and inefficiencies within the parish’s permitting and planning process unfortunately yield unintended yet unequitable consequences for commercial entities depending on the size of the business. Larger corporations in Jefferson Parish often hired consulting firms to shepherd them through parish and state regulations, rationalizing that the outside expense would be made up in generated revenue from expediting the process and eliminating red-tape delays. Smaller, blossoming businesses, though, couldn’t afford such options without serious hardship to their bottom line.
“The frustration builds when you’re at step three of a process but suddenly have to go back to step one, and when that happens enough, you risk developing a reputation, which is why it’s important to lay the groundwork for this change now,” says Jefferson Parish Councilman Scott Walker. “If this becomes a problematic process, and people are frustrated with it and begin to say, ‘It’s easier doing business somewhere else,’ …we don’t want people to say that.
“We want people to say, ‘(It’s) easy doing business in Jefferson Parish because it’s a good process that doesn’t add additional, cumbersome, layers.’” Walker continues. “This needs to be a process where you come in, you get your permits, you follow the easy-to-understand guidelines and regulations, and you get to business. Because, between businesses, word gets around – positive and negative – and we want businesses in Jefferson Parish to have a positive experience.”
Despite being in its early stages, the Parish President’s Advisory Committee has already begun reimagining and modernizing the permitting and planning process — advancing technology updates to improve efficiency while also taking on a comprehensive, long-term overhaul of the system.
“Rethinking the planning and permitting process in Jefferson Parish is vital to our economic well-being, now and in the future,” Lawson says. “That’s why this isn’t a one-time fix or a quick check-the-box effort. It’s a continuous improvement process that will evolve over time as technology advances and as the needs of businesses change. Our codes and processes must keep pace with new and emerging industries, including those we may not even be anticipating today, but that could take shape in the years ahead.”
