Abita Springs residents have another month to voice their opinions on what uses should be allowed in the town’s new cultural district.

Downtown Abita Springs was named a cultural district by the Louisiana District of Culture, Recreation and Tourism.

Original artwork and number prints that are sold inside this district are exempt for state and local sales tax. Mayor Louis Fitzmorris said he hopes this distinction will attract businesses selling art to the town and in turn those businesses will attract the types of businesses that will help generate sales tax revenue for the town.

Now that the town has garnered the distinction of having a cultural district, it has to decide what uses it wants to allow in that district, which shares boundaries with the town’s historic commercial district.

The Board of Aldermen had hoped to have a list of allowed uses and a list of permitted uses ready to be approved at its meeting Tuesday night, but Fitzmorris said he is still working on the list and requested the item to be tabled until next month.

In October the board placed a moratorium prohibiting new businesses from opening up in the district until the ordinance governing the allowed uses is adopted. A public hearing was held on the proposed ordinance Tuesday night, with no public input.

Because it was tabled, another public hearing will be held at the town’s Dec. 15 meeting.

Fitzmorris did have a list of uses he was considering to allow by right. That list included cafés, art galleries, art shops, bakeries, and bike sales, rentals and repairs.

Other uses the board is going to consider allowing are dance studio, feed and hardware stores, snoball stands, photography studios, banks and beauty shops. Also included on the proposed list of allowed uses are restaurants, gift shops, bookstores, beer gardens, taverns, candy stores, leather good shops and stores selling musical instruments.

He said when developing this list, the board is looking for uses that will fit in with the center of town and would compliment the cultural arts uses.

The board will also consider a list of uses it would consider allowing on a case-by-case basis through a permit process. So far that list includes drug stores and pharmacies, florists, grocery stores, seafood markets, newsstands, craft stores, medical clinics, banks and dry cleaning businesses.

Fitzmorris said the proposed ordinance would not affect any existing businesses.

Alderman Troy Dugas said the goal of the proposed ordinance is to concentrate those types of businesses into the center of town, but the board would also like to attract professional businesses into border of the district.

“We are going to try to attract businesses to center of town and steer things like law offices to outer skirts of the district, where they can renovate an older home for their business,” Dugas said.

Fitzmorris said while his staff and board members are still working on the list of uses, he is confident the ordinance will be ready for adoption following the public hearing in December.