[StBernard] St. Bernard Parish Council to discuss apartment complex restrictions, fire protection fee during meeting today

[Westley Annis]

St. Bernard Parish Council to discuss apartment complex restrictions, fire
protection fee during meeting today
by The Times-Picayune 
Tuesday September 15, 2009, 11:55 AM
The St. Bernard Parish Council meets today and items on the lengthy agenda
include discussions of calling for special elections for a $5-per-month fire
protection fee and giving parish voters the opportunity to vote ''yes'' or
''no'' on some future apartment complexes.

The meeting begins at 4 p.m. in the council's chambers on West Judge Perez
Drive in Chalmette.

The council has considered a ballot referendum that would require any
developer of multifamily housing to seek voter approval to build some
apartment complexes in the parish.

An early draft of the ordinance called for a special election to give voters
the chance to approve new parish regulations that would require voter
approval for apartment complexes greater than 12 units.

But council members recently talked about making the regulations more
restrictive, and asking voters if they want to enact legislation requiring
voter approval for complexes of six or more units.

The developer would have to ask the Parish Council to call for a special
election and be required to pay all the costs for the election.

The initiative would not affect four controversial mixed-income apartment
complexes proposed for Chalmette, which has been the subject of a pitched
court battle and on Monday moved a step closer to receiving a parish permit.

The council would like to get the issues on a ballot Nov. 14, which would
require the council to pass an ordinance and get approval from the state
Bond Commission and the secretary of state's office before Sept. 29.