[StBernard] St. Bernard housing permits now in hands of appointed panel

[Westley Annis]

St. Bernard housing permits now in hands of appointed panel
By Chris Kirkham, The Times-Picayune 
December 15, 2009, 9:11PM


Relieving itself of one of the most controversial issues in St. Bernard
Parish, the Parish Council on Tuesday night formally handed over
responsibility of the parish's rental permitting program to an appointed
board.

The parish's Planning Commission now has the final say on granting rental
permits in single-family neighborhoods, a thorny process that has put the
parish in federal court twice since Hurricane Katrina. Until this week, the
Planning Commission reviewed and made recommendations on rental permits, but
the council had the final vote.

Now Planning Commission members, who are appointed by the council, will
decide to grant or deny rental permits. The council's ordinance this week
also sets up an appeals process for rental permits that are denied, where
the Planning Commission Chairman Earl Dauterive, the director of the Office
of Community Development, Jerry Graves, and a parish inspector for the area
review the application again.

The rental issue has been a complicated one on both sides, with the Parish
Council in the middle. Landlords complain about denied permits and nearby
homeowners complain of unkempt rental properties and irresponsible tenants.

The current rental ordinance requires all single-family homeowners who did
not rent out properties before Hurricane Katrina to apply for a permit.
Parish Council members have said the ordinance is meant to preserve
single-family neighborhoods from being over-run by investors.

St. Bernard was sued by a fair housing group over the original wording of
the ordinance in 2006, which would have required council permission for a
homeowner to rent to anyone who was not a "blood relative." The council
removed the blood relative clause, and the current version survived a
separate federal court case last year. 

U.S. District Judge Sarah Vance ruled that the new rental ordinance was a
"rational and permissible" way to control land use planning.

In October several council members raised concerns about the rental
permitting process, saying the council lacked the administrative expertise
to deal with dozens of permits at every meeting. Councilman Wayne Landry
said the Planning Commission and the parish administration were better
equipped to review the applications.

The criteria for applying for a rental permit remain the same. No more than
two rental permits can be granted within 500 feet; neighborhoods should have
no more than 20 percent rental properties; and preference is granted to
properties that have not had problems with parish code enforcement or law
enforcement.