[StBernard] St. Bernard Council to take up apartment debate Tuesday

[Westley Annis]

St. Bernard Council to take up apartment debate Tuesday
by Chris Kirkham, The Times-Picayune 
Monday May 18, 2009, 5:27 PM
The ongoing drama over four proposed mixed-income apartment complexes in
Chalmette will wind its way back into the St. Bernard Parish Council
chambers Tuesday, weeks after the parish's planning commission blocked the
developer's first attempt to move forward with construction. 

It's the latest in a contentious, racially charged episode over affordable
housing that has thrown the parish into federal court and forced the Parish
Council to rescind a previous construction ban on large apartment complexes
after a judge's order. The council Tuesday will consider an appeal on the
resubdivision of the four lots made by the Dallas apartment developers,
Provident Realty Advisors, and the St. Bernard landowners who sold the
property. 

The planning commission denied the resubdivision, a procedural step needed
to carve smaller tracts out of the larger lots, last month after droves of
St. Bernard residents showed up to protest the four 72-unit complexes, which
require that 50 percent of the units be reserved for tenants who make less
than about $35,000 annually, and 20 percent for tenants who make less than
about $20,000 per year. Their decision came a month after U.S. District
Judge Ginger Berrigan ordered the Parish Council to rescind a "racially
discriminatory" ban on large apartment complexes that had blocked the
Provident developments from moving forward. 

Technically, the Planning Commission's decision on the matter is final,
unless council members decide to re-introduce the measure on their own
agenda and override the commission with a two-thirds majority vote. 

The council's agenda Tuesday notes a "motion to address the appeal" of
Provident and the landowners, the Arlene and Joseph Meraux Charitable
Foundation and the Randazzo family. It is not worded as the formal
introduction of an ordinance. 

Councilman George Cavignac said it was his understanding that the developers
did not provide adequate information in April, and that "I'm certainly not
in the habit of second-guessing my Planning Commission." 

Cavignac and Councilman Wayne Landry sent a letter to the Louisiana Housing
Finance Agency opposing the developments last fall, noting that St. Bernard
was already flush with vacant rental properties. 

"While I wouldn't like to be put in a position to challenge the judge's
authority, my position is unwavering," Landry said. He added that he is
"unwilling to set a precedent where we just override the Planning Commission
on such critical matters for the parish." 

Commission members in April said that Provident's representative, attorney
Bob Voelker, came unprepared to answer questions regarding potential traffic
and drainage issues at the sites. But the parish's Department of Community
Development had recommended approval of the resubdivisions, and department
Director Jerry Graves said Provident had provided all required
documentation. 

Graves said at the April meeting that it was "unfortunate" that Voelker
could not answer the commission's specific questions, but that "I want to
remind the board that many of these questions are addressed at the building
permit level, not necessarily at the resubdivision level." 

Planning Commission Chairman Earl Dauterive acknowledged that resubdivisions
don't usually require such documentation, but he noted that the Provident
developments are much larger than the typical land divisions requested by
two suburban neighbors. 

"The magnitude of this thing makes it a whole different character of a
resubdivision," Dauterive said. 

He noted that the developers are not barred from applying for the
re-subdivision again. Planning Commission members are appointed by the
council, not elected by the public. 

Voelker will be present at Tuesday's council meeting. Neither he nor the
Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center, the other plaintiffs in the
federal fair housing case, have said whether they will pursue legal recourse
because of the planning commission's denial. 

In his address to the council earlier this month, Parish President Craig
Taffaro hinted at the possibility of future litigation. 

"The Planning Commission's denial of resubdivision will likely be part of
yet another legal challenge and we will await the outcome of such," Taffaro
said. 

The Parish Council meets at 11 a.m. Tuesday at the Parish Government
Complex, at 8201 West Judge Perez Drive in Chalmette.