After an attorney representing frustrated developers penned a letter to the Livingston Parish Council arguing officials should revoke a zoning map that was improperly approved or risk a lawsuit, the parish president said the council should consider doing just that.
Late last week, an attorney with the Taylor Porter law firm contacted the Livingston Parish Council on behalf of unnamed clients who own property in the parish to demand the council repeal the zoning ordinance for District 5, which encompasses the Denham Springs area and is experiencing a development boom.
In a letter dated April 21, the attorney, Tom Easterly, argues the parish council failed to follow the proper procedures required by both parish and state law when it enacted the District 5 zoning ordinance. He threatened a lawsuit on behalf of his clients if the council does not revoke the zoning map for the district.
Chris Moody, the parish attorney, did not respond to a request for comment. But Livingston Parish President Layton Ricks said Wednesday afternoon that, from his personal conversations with Moody about the letter, he understands the zoning process “was done incorrectly, [and] it needs to be rescinded and done correctly.”
Ricks added it’s up to the parish council to determine if they want to follow their attorney’s legal advice.
“At the end of the day, if you do not follow the advice of your legal team and you go against your ordinance or against the laws you make, or against the advice of your legal team and you’re sued, you can be sued individually,” he said.
On her public Facebook page, District 5 council member Erin Sandefur has called on her constituents to come speak during Thursday’s parish council meeting in support of her zoning map.
“As you are probably aware, the developers are trying to scare the Parish Council into removing our zoning maps by threatening a lawsuit,” she wrote. “In my discussion with legal experts and planners, it has been made clear that the MOST IMPORTANT consideration when justifying zoning maps is the health, safety and welfare of the COMMUNITY. The voters matter the most, not politicians and not developers.”
She also said in a statement the council should start considering passing a 12-month moratorium on major developments in the parish — similar to the shorter pause last year.
Ricks, who does not sit on the council and was not referenced or addressed in the letter, said it is up to the council members whether they decide to listen to Moody.
“You cannot go wrong if you follow the law. In this particular case, they did not do this right, per Mr. Moody. All they’re saying is rescind it and do it right,” Ricks said. “It’s always better to sit down and try to work through these issues and do things the correct way by the law, because then you don’t run the risk of all these lawsuits.”
Another council member, Maurice “Scooter” Keen, has already listed an agenda item for Thursday evening’s meeting seeking to repeal not just the District 5 zoning map, but all of the zoning maps that have been approved so far. Keen said Wednesday he is following Moody’s legal advice.
“We don’t have any choice but to dissolve the zoning,” he said. “Every single thing we did was wrong.”
The solution is clear, Keen said: To repeal the zoning maps in place and begin the steps to re-zone.
“Let’s get rid of them, start from scratch,” he said. “The maps are still good, so it’s not like it’s going to take forever to get this going.”
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