The Mandeville City Council opted Thursday night not to adopt a series of regulations that would govern where boats and recreational vehicles could be parked in the city.

The Planning and Zoning Commission along with Planning Director Louisette Kidd and consultant Michael Lauer have been working on the regulations for the past couple of months and have held numerous workshops and one public hearing on the issue.

Tuesday night the commission recommended changes to the city’s Comprehensive Land Use Regulations ordinance, requiring residents to park RVs and large boats in their rear or side yard out of view. If those recommendations had been adopted, boats measuring longer than 26 feet in length and RVs that are longer than 20 feet would have to be parked in the side or rear yard behind the front façade of the house.

Current regulations state that residents can park RVs and boats in their front yards as long as they are behind the front yard setback if possible. This allows residents on smaller lots or on narrow lots with small front yards to park their RVs in their front driveways as long as they are out of the street right-of-way.

If the proposed regulations had been adopted these residents would have to park their RVs elsewhere.

Councilman Jerry Coogan said that would not be fair to residents in the older areas of town who have been parking their RV in their front yards for years and would now have to pay for storage elsewhere.

Zoning Commissioner Nixon Adams said the only reason the commission even considered the idea was because it was asked by the city’s administration to develop some regulations governing RV and boats.

“I don’t feel passionate either way,” he told the council.

Council member Carla Buchholz shared Coogan’s concerns and questioned how necessary the proposed regulations were and how many complaints the city receives concerning the storage of RVs.

When officer Eric Gulino, who handles community policing for the city, stated that he gets few complaints about RVs, Buchholz and Coogan suggested the changes not be made.

The council did approve the commission recommendation to create a new zoning classification labeled “traditional neighborhood development.”

The new zoning classifications could only be used on undeveloped parcels over 40 acres, was created with the Prestress concrete site and the Southeast Louisiana Hospital property in mind, which the city plans to annex in the future in mind. The developments with the TND zoning classification would mirror the look of Old Mandeville.

The TDN classification requires a mix of residential, commercial and civic uses and 20 percent open space. This zoning would also require interconnected pedestrian-friendly streets.