[StBernard] Testimony begins in lawsuit challenging St. Bernard Parish multi-family housing moratorium

[Westley Annis]

not sure I understand the difference

my limited understanding is that the developer sued and the Fair Housing
Group joined.  maybe if the land owners did not sell to the developer......

we had trouble postKatrina with illegal trailer parks being opened in
residential neighborhoods.  the council placed a moratorium on trailer parks
until that portion of the code could be modernized by the Planning
Commission's project {through Donald Poland, a modernization of our zoning
codes}.  that section of our code was updated before others, before the
entire project was complete --- it is ongoing still.

same with truckstops.  that section of our code was updated prior to the
rest, but no more applications for truckstops were allowed until the code
was reviewed/updated.

so too, the muli-family planned developments were placed on moratorium until
the code could be reviewed. the law suit is actually preventing the public
hearings on the code updates/revisions which could make further delays for
these developers should they apply for zoning changes

even Donald Poland has suggested moratorium on all non-conforming
permits/variances until the code update is completed

while we want to protect and preserve the integrity of our family orientated
neighborhoods, we should have the right to keep the existing zoning and not
change the zoning of a particular parcel.  site selection, density of
rentals, burden on drainage, sewerage, water, school and health systems, law
enforcement, etc. not to mention the real estate market.

the developments dont seem to be able to meet the needs of the target
population.  

just my two cents -----SJK