[StBernard] Lawsuit delays Lot Next Door plans in St. Bernard Parish

[Westley Annis]

Sorry, but the council cannot have it both ways.  

I'm not fond of Mr. Jarrell, first because he works for Torres and 2nd
because he did a lot of not so good things on the nola.com SBP forum.  But,
the Council cannot create a set of rules for these lots and then
purposefully ignore them just because they don't like a particular
individual.  

And Mr. Landry's protestations are laughable.  We all know that he can get
his little buddy Cavignac to do his (Landry's) bidding when Wayne is not
around.





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	Lawsuit delays Lot Next Door plans in St. Bernard Parish
	Published: Monday, October 11, 2010, 6:00 AM
	Updated: Monday, October 11, 2010, 7:01 AM
	 Chris Kirkham, The Times-Picayune
	
	The Lot Next Door program in St. Bernard Parish has been one of the
most
	anticipated neighborhood renewal programs since Hurricane Katrina, a
plan to
	shift more than 4,000 vacant lots sold to the state's Road Home
program back
	to nearby private owners.
	
	But as anxious homeowners await word on purchase agreements and acts
of
	sale, a pilot program in which Parish Council members nominated
certain
	residents to move to the front of the line to test out the real
estate
	transfers has sparked a lawsuit challenging the way the program is
being
	run.
	
	David Jarrell, a Chalmette attorney who owns a lot on Birch Street
in
	Meraux, has sued the parish over its choice of a nearby neighbor to
get
	first crack at the lot next door to his. The lot went to Judith
Buffone, the
	ex-wife of Parish Council Chairman Wayne Landry, even though it is
not next
	door to Buffone's house. The lot in question is behind her home and
on a
	different block.
	
	According to parish rules governing the program, property owners
behind a
	Road Home lot have the chance to purchase it only if owners of
adjacent
	homes aren't interested. The goal is to preserve the appearance of
	neighborhoods and prevent oddly configured streetscapes, where front
yards
	are right next to backyard fences.
	
	"It's hard to understand how it's the Lot Next Door program when
she's down
	the street and around the corner," Jarrell said. "It's a complete
deviation
	from the rules."
	
	Jarrell, who works for prominent St. Bernard attorney Sidney Torres
III,
	said he was never notified by letter that the property next door to
him was
	available for purchase. He owns several  other properties throughout
St.
	Bernard, and said he received notice that adjacent Road Home lots
were
	available in every other case.
	
	An essential component of St. Bernard Parish's post-Katrina
redevelopment,
	the Lot Next Door program is the first step in absorbing more than
4,000
	vacant Road Home buyout lots scattered throughout the parish.
	
	Adjacent property owners get first crack at buying the lots. If
there is a
	house on the current lot, a property owner isn't allowed to build a
new
	house on the lot next door purchased from the state, only expand the
yard or
	add a room or garage. The program is administered by the Housing,
	Redevelopment and Quality of Life Commission, which is made up of
the seven
	Parish Council members, Parish President Craig Taffaro and St.
Bernard
	Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy James Pohlmann.
	
	The commission held two meetings on the dispute between Jarrell and
Buffone
	in July and August, when members eventually voted to sell the lot to
	Buffone, prompting Jarrell to question whether Landry had steered it
to his
	ex-wife.
	
	Landry said he doesn't understand why Jarrell is raising questions
about his
	influence in the process. He said he rarely speaks to his ex-wife
and
	doesn't remember whether he selected her to be in the pilot program.
	
	"Obviously the guy is bitter, but don't throw personal attacks at
somebody
	because they may have been related to someone 15 years ago or
something,"
	Landry said. "I couldn't care less what he gets or doesn't get, what
she
	gets or doesn't get. I don't have a dog in the hunt."
	
	Buffone could not be reached for comment.
	
	Name was on the list
	
	Taffaro said Buffone's name had already been on the parish's list
because
	she had called Clay Cosse, the parish's housing and redevelopment
director,
	expressing interest in buying the lot. Taffaro said Landry did not
object to
	Buffone's property being included in the pilot.
	
	Jarrell said he too had been repeatedly asking Cosse about the Road
Home
	property since 2008. Cosse declined to comment, saying that all
public
	information about St. Bernard Parish government has to go through
Taffaro.
	Another notable St. Bernard Parish resident on the pilot program
list is
	state District Judge Jacques Sanborn.
	
	Sanborn's name appears on the list as being selected by Cosse and
Parish
	Councilman Frank Auderer. Auderer said he is a friend of Sanborn but
did not
	pick him for the pilot list, and instead deferred the choice to
Taffaro's
	administration.
	
	"I believe that is a role of the administration," Auderer said. "I
wouldn't
	want to hand-pick anybody."
	
	Taffaro, in an e-mail message, said Sanborn was included because he
had
	shown "persistent interest'' in the property.
	
	Sanborn said he wasn't aware of the pilot program, and noted that he
is
	still waiting to buy the lot. There are no other adjacent property
owners in
	his neighborhood laying claim to the vacant lot next door. Sanborn
said he
	probably was on the list because he had repeatedly inquired about
the lot
	with Cosse.
	
	"It's certainly not because of favoritism," Sanborn said. "It might
be
	persistence."
	
	Because of various bureaucratic delays getting the program off the
ground,
	only 21 Lot Next Door properties have closed. Aside from the Buffone
	property, which is in limbo because of Jarrell's lawsuit, only two
other
	properties on the pilot list have gone through so far.
	
	Change in computer log
	
	According to documents subpoenaed by Jarrell from the parish's Lot
Next Door
	contractor, Global Risk Solutions, the log for Buffone's property
shows that
	someone went into the computer system in June 2009 to change the
property
	designation from "not next door" to "next door," meaning it would be
	considered in the top tier of property transfers.
	
	The computer log for Jarrell's property shows very few updates until
June,
	when he began raising questions with the parish.
	
	Landry said Buffone's property was a good pick for the pilot program
because
	it is a rear lot on an oddly configured block, which could be a good
test
	for more unusual cases that might come up over time. He also pointed
out
	that he was not present for the final vote on the matter at the
commission's
	August meeting to avoid any conflict of interest.
	
	"I purposely did not participate in that meeting because I didn't
even want
	the perception of impropriety," Landry said. "That's what I did. I
took the
	high road."
	
	Regardless of who was involved, Landry said he would be
philosophically
	opposed to giving the lot next door to someone like Jarrell -- an
investor
	who doesn't live on Birch Street -- over someone like Buffone, who
is a
	homestead-exempt resident. "I don't believe we should go into a
long-term
	neighborhood with a long-term resident who committed to come back
after the
	storm and instead sell that property, when there's a choice to be
made, to
	an investor who can put a rental property in its place," Landry
said.
	
	However, the parish's Lot Next Door rules do not differentiate
between
	investors and homeowners, and do not deal with the intentions of
property
	owners. The rules state that adjacent property owners, regardless of
whether
	they have a homestead exemption, have primacy over rear homeowners.
	
	The state had to agree in principle to St. Bernard's Lot Next Door
program,
	but the parish created a tier system afterward that laid out which
owners
	would get the first shot at buying the lots.
	
	Another councilman on the Housing and Redevelopment Commission
agreed with
	Landry's assessment.
	
	"We wanted to be able to reward those people for basically being
pioneers
	and coming back," said Parish Councilman Mike Ginart. "When I looked
at it,
	I said, '(Jarrell's) not a tax-exempt homeowner there. He didn't
come back
	and rebuild on that property. He bought the property considerably
after the
	storm.' ... I felt that she was the tax-exempt homeowner, and to me
that
	made the difference."
	
	But Parish Councilman Ray Lauga, the only member of the commission
to vote
	against the transfer to Buffone, agreed with Jarrell that his
property was
	next door to the open Road Home lot and rightfully should get first
crack at
	it.
	
	"It's the lot next door, and there's one lot next to it. It's a
no-brainer,"
	Lauga said. "It's totally against the way we're trying to lay out
things and
	do a better planned community. You're going to all of a sudden give
	preference to rear lots?"
	
	Who gets the first crack at Lot Next Door properties?
	First tier: Owners of domiciled and homestead-exempt homes that are
directly
	adjacent to the Road Home lot get the first shot. If both
homestead-exempt
	owners want the lot between them, it will be split.
	
	Second tier: Non-homestead-exempt property owners can buy the lot
next door
	if a homestead-exempt owner doesn't want it, or agrees to split it.
	
	Third tier: Non-homestead-exempt property owners next door to a Road
Home
	lot have the chance to buy it. If both want the lot between them, it
will be
	split.
	
	Fourth tier: Homestead-exempt property owners to the rear of the
Road Home
	lot have the chance to buy it.