[StBernard] Feds sue St. Bernard Parish over housing

[Westley Annis]

Feds sue St. Bernard Parish over housing


Posted: Jan 31, 2012 5:41 PM CST
Updated: Jan 31, 2012 5:41 PM CST
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - The U.S. Department of Justice has sued St. Bernard
Parish, accusing it of a multi-year campaign to limit rental housing for
African-Americans after Hurricane Katrina.

Parish President David Peralta was not immediately available for comment on
the lawsuit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in New Orleans. It involves
ordinances and zoning regulations enacted under former Parish President
Craig Taffaro.

The lawsuit says the parish set up a difficult approval process for
single-family rentals, eliminated multifamily housing in much of the parish
and repeatedly tried to block development of affordable apartment complexes.

It also says a federal judge ruled in October that the parish had
discriminated against blacks. That earlier suit was brought by a nonprofit
organization, rather than the government.