[StBernard] St. Bernard residents try to keep low-income housing units out of parish

[Westley Annis]

St. Bernard residents try to keep low-income housing units out of parish

06:39 PM CDT on Monday, July 13, 2009

 Bigad Shaban / Eyewitness News

bshaban at wwltv.com 


CHALMETTE, La. - Concerned residents and lawmakers in St. Bernard are
gathering Monday as part of the parish's latest plan to keep four low-income
housing units out of the parish. 


Officials are trying to get the state's housing finance authority to take
away millions of dollars in tax credits they awarded to the developer. 

The parish's hope is without the tax credits the developer will pull out,
but the finance authority says they have no reason to take them away.  

Members of the board were supposed to be a key part of Monday's meeting, but
this evening they're a no show. 

But that didn't stop the parish from holding their public meeting anyway.
They had hoped to give residents the opportunity to question members of the
finance authority and express their concern over how four housing
developments would flood an already flooded housing market in the parish. 

The agency's chairman told Eyewitness News the board only agreed to come
Monday for a 'tour,' not a public meeting. He said they are still
researching the issue and simply are not informed enough to answer questions
from the public. 

The meeting is the latest chapter in what has become a long and complicated
legal battle between the developer and the parish. 

A St. Bernard ordinance banning five-plexes or larger kept out the
low-income housing units for awhile, but the developer took the fight to
court and won.  In March a U.S. district judge struck down the parish law. 

The developer has tried to get approval from the parish's planning
commission, which has already voted down the proposal once, but the
developer appealed.  Now the commission is the midst of a second go around. 

No word yet on when they would make their latest ruling on whether the
development can move forward. 

Amy Vitrano contributed to this story.