[StBernard] Judge holds St. Bernard Parish in contempt over multifamily home moratorium

[Westley Annis]

Judge holds St. Bernard Parish in contempt over multifamily home moratorium

05:58 PM CDT on Monday, August 17, 2009

Associated Press 

A federal judge has ruled that St. Bernard Parish officials defied a court
order to lift a moratorium on the construction of new multifamily homes in
Hurricane Katrina's aftermath. 


U.S. District Judge Helen Berrigan's ruling Monday says the parish and its
council had a racially discriminatory intent in subverting the application
process for Provident Realty Advisors Inc. to build 288 units of
mixed-income housing in the suburban New Orleans parish. 


Berrigan held the parish in contempt but said a magistrate judge will decide
if the plaintiffs, the Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center,
should be awarded damages, attorneys' fees or costs. 


The judge also ordered the parish's planning commission to place Provident's
applications on the agenda for its next meeting.