[StBernard] Zoning rules to be modernized in St. Bernard

[Westley Annis]

I am a St. Bernard Parish property owner. I believe this is wonderful and
the right thing to do. I hope the effort is successful.

But if "modernizing its zoning and land use regulations" means what I think
it does, then the parish may be wasting $60,000. 

Unless you can get property owners and developers to agree to rezoning their
land to comply with these new zoning recommendations/guidelines, you have
nothing. There is zoning inconsistencies
and spot zoning throughout the parish. It all goes back many, many years
when the large landowners (Meraux, Sigur, etc.) were members of the planning
commission and controlled government, and land use for their personal
economic benefit. 

Unless you can get parish government (the planning commission, office of
community development, board of zoning adjustments, and the council) to hold
the line on compliance with these new regs, you have nothing.
Time after time I've seen property owners and developers come in and ask for
variances or zoning adjustments and the parish administration and the
council give it to them, even over the recommendations of the office of
community development and planning commission. The board of zoning
adjustments should be called the "roll-over board". They are easy. 

It would be nice to have a seamless, objective, straight forward set of
rules and regulations that everyone had to comply with, so that St. Bernard
could be redeveloped to look more like a planned community. But politics,
patronage and money have ruled in the past, and I am not optimistic that
that will change. It's all up to the people we elect. 

John P. Laguens