[StBernard] St. Bernard Parish introduces development restrictions for Louisiana Land Trust lots

[Westley Annis]

St. Bernard Parish introduces development restrictions for Louisiana Land
Trust lots

Published: Tuesday, June 05, 2012, 11:59 PM

 By Benjamin Alexander-Bloch, The Times-Picayune 

The St. Bernard Parish Council on Tuesday evening introduced an ordinance
that would set timetables and other development restrictions on individuals
who purchase five or more of the nearly 2,400 Louisiana Land Trust lots that
still dot the parish. The council also passed ordinances abolishing the Old
Arabi Neighborhood Commission and establishing a general St. Bernard Parish
Historic Districts Commission with the mission of preserving the character
of both the historic Old Arabi district in the west and the historic St.
Bernard Village district in the east. Parish Chief Administrative Officer
Jerry Graves Jr. said he hopes that the parish can soon acquire grants to
inventory historic parish structures, which in turn could better define the
role the commission will play.

The parish announced on Tuesday that people interested in purchasing up to
four of the LLT lots for development should contact the parish before June
29, and sales probably would begin in July.

A list of available LLT properties can be found on the parish's website,
www.sbpg.net, by clicking on the St. Bernard Lot Sales Program icon on the
right sidebar and then typing in a complete address, street, city or ZIP
code, or scrolling down and clicking on a link to access a Microsoft Excel
file with the addresses and lot sizes of all the available 2,354 lots.
Individuals also can call or email Ray Doran at 504.355.4435 or
rdoran at sbpg.net and include name, address, phone number and the complete
address of each LLT property of interest.

After compiling a list of LLT properties that have interest, the parish will
begin a competitive bidding process for each property on that list.

After assessing demand, parish official may also open sales to those
interested in developing more than four lots.

The ordinance introduced Tuesday would require anyone purchasing five lots
or more to complete construction on at least one home on one of the
purchased properties within the first two years after the purchase. Also,
the developers would be required to purchase a security bond to cover any
violations of the parish code of ordinances, such as lawn maintenance.

The Parish Council on Tuesday also introduced an ordinance giving its
director of community development the authority to approve requests to
resubdivide any LLT property.

Meanwhile, the proposed ordinance establishing covenants on developers of
multiple lots states that the Department of Community Development will join
all LLT properties that touch one another, making them a single lot, and
that future owners would not be able to resubdivide such lots for future
individual use or sale.

All individuals who purchase LLT properties, even those who purchase four or
fewer lots, would have to fence in the backyard. Any grass violations
resulting in liens valued at 50 percent of the original lot purchase price,
the ordinance states, would be considered a violation of the terms of the
original sale and could result in the property's forfeiture.

The new historic commission would have nine members, all St. Bernard
residents and at least three from each of the two designated historic
districts. The parish president would appoint the members and the council
would confirm them.

The commission would be charged with ensuring the parish's "harmonious,
orderly, and efficient growth and development," strengthening its "civic
pride and cultural stability through neighborhood conservation," protecting
and enhancing the parish's "attractions to tourists and visitors and the
support and stimulus to business and industry," and providing "a review
process for the preservation and appropriate development" of the parish's
resources.

Benjamin Alexander-Bloch can be reached at bbloch at timespicayune.com or
504.826.3321.