[StBernard] St. Bernard Parish Council set to repeal broad zoning laws alleged to be discriminatory

[Westley Annis]

St. Bernard Parish Council set to repeal broad zoning laws alleged to be
discriminatory

Published: Monday, February 28, 2011, 4:22 PM     Updated: Monday, February
28, 2011, 5:00 PM

 By Benjamin Alexander-Bloch, The Times-Picayune 

Responding to federal pressure, St. Bernard Parish is poised to remove broad
zoning laws that restrict multifamily and rental properties in the parish.

The Parish Council is set to vote Tuesday on whether to repeal two 2009
ordinances the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has said
violate federal civil rights law by limiting housing choice, especially for
lower-income African-Americans. An affirmative vote during the 7 p.m.
meeting in Council Chambers, 8201 W. Judge Perez Drive, Chalmette, simply
would introduce the repeals and lead toward a public hearing and final vote,
likely next month.

If zoning laws are not quickly altered, HUD has threatened to block federal
money - most immediately $91 million currently designated for the parish -
and forward any unresolved issues to the Department of Justice. Since
Hurricane Katrina, a federal judge also has oft-accused St. Bernard of
intentionally discriminating against African-Americans by blocking
multifamily housing and limiting rental units.

Another federal court case, leveled by the Greater New Orleans Fair Housing
Action Center and the developer of a contentious 288-unit mixed-income
apartment complex in Chalmette, recently has been going through its paces,
further pressuring the parish government and council to reform housing
practices. It's another chapter in a more than two-year-long saga of federal
rulings requiring the parish to allow the multifamily development to go
forward.

Yet despite the court orders and now HUD's hand in the fight, parish
government has continued to place roadblocks in front of the four, 72-unit
apartments.

Last month, the parish government finally permitted the apartments, but then
two weeks later it ordered construction on two of the four complexes to a
halt, citing possible wetlands on the properties and threatening jail time
and fines for those who did not comply.

The Army Corps of Engineers determined that only one apartment site had any
wetlands, and on that parcel the wetlands only existed on about 7 percent of
its 4 acres, meaning virtually all construction could resume unhindered
pending a mitigation permit for the sliver of wetlands present.

Back in 2008 when the developer began attempting to build the complex, the
corps stated that no wetlands were present on the properties. And it was
only after parish government officials and residents recently "made
accusations of unauthorized activities" that the corps reinvestigated,
according to Rob Heffner, chief of surveillance and enforcement for the
corps' New Orleans district.

The developer, who is expected to receive a permit soon, contends the delay
imposed by the parish cost it about $20,000. That's just a drop in the
bucket to the nearly $1.5 million in attorney and settlement fees the parish
already is required to pay for past attempts to stop construction.

In addition to repealing the ordinances, the Parish Council is expected to
pass new restrictions on rental unit permitting, but councilmen said any
such restrictions would first pass through HUD for its approval.