Council members had questioned whether the commission followed parish ordinances in the approval process, suggesting the body acted against the advice of legal counsel.
In a letter from 21st Judicial District Attorney Scott Perrilloux discussed during Thursday’s parish council meeting, Perrilloux said an investigation would be the responsibility of his office, not the council.
“If you have any information which you feel indicates any illegal action, impropriety, or malfeasance, we ask that you immediately provide that to our office so that we can institute appropriate action,” the letter said.
Perrilloux wrote that the state attorney general’s office has indicated the council’s authority over the commission “is limited to the passing of ordinances to abolish, trump or nullify an action of the commission” and generally does not extend to dictating the actions of the body.
“There is a good reason these boards are created with independence free of politics,” he wrote. “If you have evidence of corruption or wrongdoing, we will be happy to investigate. Otherwise, I would suggest that you let the Planning and Zoning Commission make their own decisions, even though you may disagree with some of them.”
Councilman Jeff Ard, who referred to the letter during the meeting, called for his colleagues to heed the district attorney’s advice.
“I think because of that letter there’s no reason for us to have this investigation on the table,” he said. “I want to kill the investigation.”
After some confusion over whether or not the council did, in fact, pass a resolution to launch the investigation and suspend “any activity” of the planning commission previously, members ultimately voted to rescind that resolution.
Councilwoman Erin Sandefur, who had proposed the suspension and investigation into the commission in the first place, dissented and voted “nay.”
“The reason that the investigation was put in place was over a specific vote, and they don’t have the legislative power to make that vote on a subdivision,” she said.
The potential for a Deer Run subdivision has played directly into controversy over the parish council’s efforts to set zoning rules for unincoporated areas, which it had long avoided.
Ascension Properties Inc., the Deer Run developer, filed a lawsuit in federal court several months ago alleging the council violated state and parish zoning laws when it enacted the zoning map for District 5 — which is where the project would reside — and targeted Deer Run in the process.
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