The Hammond City Council voted 3–2 on Dec. 9 to adopt a 365‑day moratorium on accepting and processing applications for group homes, group care and other group‑living facilities across the city.

Councilman Devon Wells, who introduced the moratorium, said the pause is needed because “we truly don't have no rules in place” and residents are seeing new group homes open without local oversight. Wells and other supporters pointed to recent police and fire responses to such properties and asked the council for time to write enforceable standards.

Disability advocates and licensed providers asked councilmembers to limit the moratorium. Kelly Monroe, executive director of The Arc of Louisiana, asked the council to “add language that excluded group homes or day facilities that were licensed through the Louisiana Department of Health,” saying a broad ban could block services for people with disabilities. Torrey Rocca of Disability Rights Louisiana and Monique Blossom of the Louisiana Fair Housing Action Center warned the city to avoid measures that could run afoul of the federal Fair Housing Act by creating barriers to housing for people with disabilities.

City Administrator Charles Barsher told the council a separate Unified Development Code amendment by city planner Frankie Lagau — posted to the planning department’s website — already distinguishes licensed from unlicensed facilities and would provide many of the enforcement tools residents seek. Barsher said the administration would consider carving licensed LDH facilities out of the moratorium or shortening its length, but that the council must act before year‑end if it wants changes to apply to officials elected in 2027.

During public comment, residents and recovery‑housing representatives described two related problems: operators who run unlicensed boarding or sober‑living homes that accept many residents without oversight, and long‑standing licensed group homes that operate appropriately. Several speakers argued the city’s current code lacks enforcement authority and that the amendment proposed by the planner would impose minimum square footage, parking requirements and other measurable standards that code enforcement and police could act on.

The final vote to adopt the 365‑day moratorium was 3 in favor (Wells, Andrews and Divitario) and 2 opposed (Gonzales and Leon). Supporters said the ordinance buys time for the council and administration to finish the planner’s amendment and to focus enforcement on unlicensed operators; opponents said a yearlong ban is too broad and could harm legitimate, licensed providers.

Next steps: Council staff and the planning department said they will solicit additional written feedback and meet with stakeholders during the moratorium to refine the Unified Development Code amendment and discuss possible carve‑outs for LDH‑licensed facilities. The administration also said it would coordinate with code enforcement and police on complaint response while the code changes are drafted.