[StBernard] land use

[Westley Annis]

Deborah,
 
   As a homeowner who lives north of Judge Perez in a area that has never
flooded, has a house that is structurally sound and built above the 1975
base flood elevation level, I wholeheartedly agree with you.  I pray that
our parish officials take this into consideration before even considering
recommendations by any outside "experts". They know our parish better than
they do.  Maybe we need to start a letter writing campaign to them.
 
Sylvia Keller
 
-----Original Message-----

  I intend to take a stand on the strategic land use of our parish that is
based on evaluating our parish's past, present and future with a surgeon's
laser knife rather than a lumberjack's chainsaw. I am appalled that some
architects and planners (many of whom know nothing about our parish or
southeast LA  prior to Katrina) may take an approach in formulating their
opinions to parish government and the LRA that makes wholesale, blanket
recommendations to demolish and forever turn to woodlands "everything north
of Judge Perez".  Street by street considerations are necessary, then
subdivision by subdivision. Sections that have repeatedly flooded, or are
needed for a public use such as levee right of way, as an example, or have
suffered so much damaged that they are not financially worthy of repair, or
were built below the
1975 base flood elevation and significantly damaged and can't be raised to
the required base flood elevations,  should be the deciding factors. 
There isn't enough money to buy out the entire northern half of our
developed land; the parish can't maintain nor use effectively that much
"green space", and our parish can't economically survive with only the
existing development between the river and Judge Perez. Would a doctor cut
off your leg because there's a cancer spot on it?

Deborah Keller