“If a master plan exists, then it was not followed or consulted by the Parish Council,” he wrote. “Additionally, state and local laws were not followed because the Planning and Zoning Commission was not involved.”
Easterly also claims there was no engineering review presented to the council before the zoning was adopted for District 5, and therefore council members lacked sufficient data: “[The zoning ordinance for District 5] is invalid for this reason alone,” the letter says.
In closing, the attorney asks the parish council to provide him with “copies of any and all documents and materials” officials believe support the zoning ordinance’s validity.
“If I am wrong, then I would appreciate you pointing me in the right direction,” Easterly says in the letter. “One of my clients is facing a series of issues that are emanating from the purported enactment [of the ordinance] that may require immediate legal action.”
Should the council not repeal the zoning ordinance for District 5, Eastery wrote he “will have no choice but to file suit” to have a court declare the council did not have the authority to enact the zoning map, the map was enacted in violation of state law and parish ordinances, and the map is unconstitutional.
“It strongly appears that the zoning map was made, in part, with the intent to deprive one of my clients of certain prior approvals that were lawfully obtained,” he added.
If Easterly’s clients do file suit, they will seek claims for declaratory judgement and punitive damages, the letter says.
Easterly added that he suspects zoning ordinances passed by other parish districts have similar procedural deficiencies as the District 5 map and, if they do, “then those maps are subject to the same scrutiny and are likely null and void as a matter of law.”
Calls to resist
Before District 5 council member Erin Sandefur’s appointment and subsequent election to the parish council, she had spoken against a surge in development in the area during council meetings as a resident. As a council member, she has been a strong proponent of passing her district’s zoning map.
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