[StBernard] St. Bernard Parish meets court-mandated deadlines on mixed-income apartments

[Westley Annis]

St. Bernard Parish meets court-mandated deadlines on mixed-income apartments
by Chris Kirkham, The Times-Picayune 
Monday September 14, 2009, 7:00 PM
After a federal judge ruled last week that St. Bernard Parish officials were
in contempt of court by continuing to block the construction of four
mixed-income apartment complexes in Chalmette, parish officials on Monday
met all of the court-mandated deadlines outlined in the ruling. 

The developers have still not received a building permit, because developers
with Provident Realty Advisors still have to work out a few remaining
details on drainage and respond to comments from the parish's fire
department.

In a harshly worded ruling last week, U.S. District Judge Ginger Berrigan
set specific deadlines for parish officials to complete any outstanding
documentation needed for Provident to receive a building permit for the four
apartment complexes. If the parish failed to meet any of the documentation
deadlines without good reason, Berrigan said, the parish would be subject to
a fine of $5,000 per missed deadline for the first day and $10,000 per
deadline for each day after Monday. 

St. Bernard Parish administrators sent in three required documents about
parking, landscaping and drainage by a 5 p.m. Monday deadline. Provident
attorneys said in a filing that they will respond to comments on the
company's plans from the parish fire department this week, and will submit
more drainage documentation by Wednesday.

Berrigan's ruling Friday blocks the parish from interfering further with the
resubdivision process that has halted the developments. Jerry Graves, the
parish's director of community development, finalized the resubdivisions
Monday.

The decision was the second in a month that found St. Bernard in contempt of
court and in violation of the federal Fair Housing Act. 

Since April, Provident has been denied or delayed in its requests for
routine resubdivisions from the parish's Planning Commission, a step needed
to move forward with construction.

Last month, Berrigan ruled that the denials violated the Fair Housing Act
and that commissioners were denying the resubdivisions for reasons outside
of what is called for in parish regulations. After that ruling, the
commission again denied the resubdivision, prompting the developers and the
Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center to file a motion for contempt
of court.

Responding to the Planning Commission's decision to deny the developer's
request, Berrigan wrote: "Defendants are not free to defy this court simply
because they think they know better."