In fight against 2,000-lot subdivision, residents win in district court — but federal court decision still looms

The settlement, reached Tuesday in 21st Judicial District Court, came in response to a lawsuit filed by a group called “5th District Livingston Parish Concerned Citizens Association,” which represents residents in the Denham Springs area.

The group sought a writ of mandamus and hoped to block further progress on Deer Run, a divisive 2,000-lot subdivision spread out across more than 1,300 acres off of 4H Club Road, just south of Denham Springs city limits near Hillon Hood Road.

The association alleged that parish leaders unlawfully approved the second site plan for the project, citing ordinance violations.

According to the agreement, the builder will have to add a fourth entrance and follow the zoning in place, which currently calls for one-acre lots.

The agreement delays the Deer Run project for the moment, but the residents’ victory may be short-lived: The zoning issue is the subject of a separate lawsuit recently filed in federal court, in which the developer is asking a judge to throw out the alleged “unlawful” zoning for District 5, where the project is located.

Tuesday’s agreement marks the latest development involving Deer Run, which has been at the center of much debate over the last year.

The project, which is developed by Ascension Properties, has faced enormous pushback from area residents and some council members who claim it will worsen existing infrastructure issues, particularly related to flooding, traffic, and school overcrowding They also contend that the project has been approved despite failing to meet new ordinances that were passed during a 60-day moratorium last year.

But the developer, Chris Ingram, has argued in public meetings and in court that his project is in compliance and should be allowed to move forward.

On May 4, the Planning and Zoning Commission passed Deer Run’s second preliminary plat, despite complaints from council members, commissioners, and residents who said the latest plan was not in line with the new zoning map or building regulations and had other “substantial changes.”

Those grievances became the subject of the residents’ lawsuit filed May 15, in which they asserted the most recent plan did not include a fourth entrance — as required for developments with more than 600 lots — and was not in line with the District 5 zoning map, which calls for a minimum lot size of one acre in much of the project zone.

According to the lawsuit, Deer Run’s most recent site plan had 40-foot-wide lots and only three entrances — a requirement the parish’s review engineer noted during the May 4 meeting.

“This is not a contest over facts,” Steven Loeb, the association’s attorney, recently told The News. “The facts are well established: Four entrances are required by the ordinance, and one acre per lot is established by the approved zoning map.”

‘A home run for everybody’

More than 60 people — most District 5 residents who have spoken against Deer Run for more than a year — packed into Judge Jeffrey Johnson’s courtroom Tuesday and waited anxiously as attorneys for both sides deliberated behind closed doors.

When they emerged, what many expected to be a long debate ultimately turned into a brief discussion unveiling the agreement: Parish leaders would require Deer Run to add a fourth entrance and follow the District 5 zoning map before construction could begin.

“It seems like a home run for everybody,” Johnson said moments before audience members applauded the outcome and began celebrating outside the courtroom.

In the lawsuit, District 5 residents alleged that the most recent site plan for Deer Run was approved despite violating parish ordinances. By requesting a mandamus, the residents asked a judge to block the issuance of any permits related to the project’s future development.

During the hearing, parish attorney Chris Moody said officials were “prepared to enforce” the fourth entrance and zoning stipulations. Loeb later had the judge clarify that construction “could not begin” until the builder submitted a final plat that had the extra entrance and met the proper zoning requirements.

After the hearing, Loeb said the agreement is what his clients sought when they requested the mandamus, saying they wanted officials “to be compelled to make the developer comply with the laws” before construction could begin.

“Essentially, we win,” Loeb said. “He’s (the judge) giving us everything we asked for.”

District 5 Councilwoman Erin Sandefur, who has spoken against the wave of massive developments hitting the parish in the last year, said in an interview that, “It was refreshing to see the laws of our parish upheld.”

“That’s all that the people of District 5 asked for,” Sandefur said. “Nobody is anti development, but we want smart development, strategic development. I’m so pleased with the outcome and the judge upholding our ordinances and our laws. It’s just so American.”

After the hearing, Moody described the outcome as “a great victory” for the residents, noting that Deer Run will be rewired to follow “all” of the tougher building ordinances that have been adopted over the last year.

A claim with ‘significant merit’

Despite seemingly winning in district court, residents now have to await the outcome of a lawsuit in federal court.

Through an attorney, Ascension Properties filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana against certain council members demanding they rescind the District 5 zoning map, claiming their “unlawful” approval of a zoning map puts his project in jeopardy.

In the lawsuit filed May 4, attorney Tom Easterly accused six council members — the ones who voted in favor of the District 5 zoning map — of infringing on Ingram’s constitutional rights, calling their actions “arbitrary, capricious, and objectively unreasonable.”

Easterly’s arguments centered on how the zoning map for District 5 was enacted, arguing the council overstepped its authority in the map’s adoption. The attorney also questioned the validity of the parish’s other three approved zoning maps — an assertion later backed by Moody and Ricks, who both suggested the council may need to restart the zoning process.

After Tuesday’s hearing, Moody reiterated his stance on the zoning issue, saying the developer’s claim has “significant merit.”