[StBernard] Cease and desist order filed on controversial project in St. Bernard

[Westley Annis]

Cease and desist order filed on controversial project in St. Bernard



by Monica Hernandez / Eyewitness News

wwltv.com

Posted on February 23, 2011 at 9:52 PM

Updated yesterday at 10:52 PM



ST. BERNARD, La. -- While some controversial construction sites in St.
Bernard Parish didn't see much movement on the ground Wednesday, there was a
lot of action behind the scenes in connection to the development of four
mixed-income apartment complexes throughout the parish.

And after years of heated protests against the project, St. Bernard
officials issued a cease and desist order Tuesday, demanding the developer
stop construction on two of the four sites. The move comes after a group of
neighbors protested the construction last week, saying it was destroying
vital wetlands.

"Basically because we had some information that potentially identified
wetlands on at least one of the sites, and in our conversation with the
Corps of Engineers, we could not get a clear determination that was not the
case," said St. Bernard Parish President Craig Taffaro.

Wednesday afternoon, an investigator from the Army Corps of Engineers
surveyed the sites in question.

The corps then issued its own cease and desist order to the project's
developer, Provident Realty.

A corps spokesman said the order was issued because the corps identified
wetlands on a portion of the site at W. Judge Perez. The cease and desist
order only pertains to that portion of land, marked by red flags. The parish
also modified its cease and desist order to include only that specific area.
Both orders bar Provident Realty from building in that area, at least for
the time being.

"We don't expect that it will stop the project, but before it got too far
into it, we thought it was in the best interest of all parties until we can
get the matter resolved," said Frank Auderer, councilman at large for the
Western portion of the parish.

"I'm sorry that it took us to get on the corner of Judge Perez for our
voices to be heard," said Dana Arcement, who organized last week's protest.
"Maybe it didn't need to get to that point, but if that's what it's going to
take, we are going to do it."

A contractor for the project wouldn't speak on camera, but he told
Eyewitness News the developer did apply for a wetlands permit and was told
they didn't need one. 

The contractor also said construction on all sites will begin at 7 a.m.
Thursday, except on specific areas that the corps has now identified as
wetlands.

Still, neighbors said they're concerned the parish didn't issue cease and
desist orders for all four construction sites. They believe a site on
Patricia Street that was not under the cease and desist order was also home
to wetlands before construction crews began work.

"I think the only way to convince the public that all sites are properly
permitted is to cease and desist work on all sites," said Arcement.

"We're continuing to research that, and we don't want to be arbitrary in
issuing cease and desist," said Taffaro. "We don't want to abuse our
authority at the local level."

The parish is currently in negotiations with the department of U.S. Housing
and Urban Development, which filed a complaint against St. Bernard's zoning
laws. HUD claims the laws discriminate against minorities because they don't
provide for enough affordable housing.

The parish also lost a federal lawsuit filed by a housing group when it
tried to stop Provident Realty from building the mixed income apartment
complexes.

Taffaro said parish officials opposed the complexes from the beginning
because they believed the parish already had enough rental units and
affordable housing.

Our calls to Provident Realty were not returned. The spokesman from the
corps was unable to answer our questions regarding why the corps previously
said a wetlands permit was not needed, even though they have now identified
a portion of the site as wetlands.