The Livingston Parish Council has officially adopted a Unified Development Code to help with zoning matters, but only after lengthy debate about the document as well as two other matters - flooding, and a pulled ordinance that would require all officials to take an oath of office.
The Blood River Road “Nightmare”
The meeting began with a presentation by Shannon Finley and Devin Louviere, neighbors who own homes that are located directly against Blood River, who expressed their concerns about the “flooding, standing water, severe erosion, safety concerns, property damage, [and] long-term environmental impacts” that have occurred due to the river flooding during periods of moderate rainfall.
The developer, Ben Morales, took the 50 total acres in the area and subdivided it into 2 and 3 acre lots for residential construction but “the parish did not require Ben to hold any sort of drainage or flood water testing for this property,” according to Finley.
Finley and Louviere’s presentation contained multiple pictures of flood water reaching up to the doorsteps of the newly built and elevated homes on each parcel and threatening to overtake a nearby playground.
“I’m actually getting the worst of the flooding, getting about sometimes two feet of water on my property,” Louviere explained. “[Morales] did not disclose anything to me in regards to flooding issues and it’s cost me about 30-40 thousand dollars already but I still have to spend additional money to protect my investment.”
Louverie discussed how, when the rain lasts for longer than 30 minutes, the rainwater rises to a level that makes it near impossible for her children to drive their cars home for fear of their cars suffering water damage.
“Mr. Ben is not answering any phone calls, text messages,” Louviere continued, “nor did he, or his constituent, give any information to us in regards to… flooding issues.”
Finley described that Morales did send a “dirt guy” out to inspect the properties but when he “returned the quote on what was needed to fix the drainage on all the properties, [Morales] said ‘I don’t want you guys to contact me about this property ever again’.”
The council eventually agreed that Finely, Louviere, and all other people suffering from these issues on these parcels, will need to get with the Planning and Zoning department to discuss what can be done to rectify the situation and to seek official contact with Morales regarding the issue.
Anti-Discrimination Ordinance Pulled to Future Meeting
Following this presentation, the council heard public comments on the pulled agenda item concerning an ordinance requiring all persons appointed to Livingston Parish boards, commissions, authorities, districts, and other appointed positions to take the official Oath of Office prior to assuming their duties.
This ordinance was discussed at a previous council meeting wherein the council noted that more work would need to be done regarding the language of the ordinance. Additionally, there were hopes to seek more public input on it during an ordinance committee meeting.
The ordinance was pulled from this meeting since it still “needs a little bit more work” and the council wants to have more public comment on it through the ordinance committee meetings, according to Councilman John Mangus.
Despite the intentions behind the creation of this ordinance, some community members expressed exasperation with the lack of definitive language and its similarities to other anti-discrimination laws already in place.
Citizen Larry Davis noted that “our country doesn't need to continue to kick the dead horse and beat it,” adding that “Livingston Parish is not a racist parish.”
Davis continued, noting “it’s incumbent upon this body to be a representative part of government, not based on people who get upset and emotional about something that they find inappropriate… we don’t have to continue to go above and beyond to prove what we are not. In fact, if we have to continue to prove what we are not, it kind of brings into question – ‘are you?’”
Some, however, still brought up the ordinance's importance toward maintaining a higher quality of civil service, especially in the wake of the controversy surrounding the Fire Protection District 5 Chief’s alleged use of racially discriminatory language.
Pastor Deborah Keller, President of the Livingston Parish Ministers Association, stated that she disagrees with the notion that Livingston Parish is not a racist parish.
“I do believe that this parish has come a long way,” Pastor Keller added. “But I can tell you a few things about this parish… and things are still happening, whether you believe it or not.”
“We don’t want to reinvent the wheel, make things complicated, we don’t. But neither do we want to be called the 'n' word either,” Pastor Keller concluded.
Councilman Mangus noted his appreciation that so many individuals came to the meeting to discuss the ordinance, whether to highlight problems in need of fixing or to emphasize the importance of its creation.
“I think that shows that we are trying and that we care, all of us do,” Councilman Mangus declared.
Since the item was pulled, no action was taken on it at the meeting.
Adopting the Unified Development Code
The Unified Development Code (UDC) has been a topic of much discussion within the council as well as the Livingston Parish Planning and Zoning Commission who have worked for some time now to get the hefty document 'up to snuff' and established in a way that would allow for it to begin taking effect on future developments across the parish.
The UDC will provide for the consolidation and re-organization of land use, zoning, subdivision, and development regulations parish-wide and will act as a guideline for the parish government to offer clear, straightforward answers to all developmental requests that land on the council and commission’s desks.
As a living document, the UDC will continue to be updated, revised, and honed as the years pass and the parish continues to grow, but in order to begin actual work on it in a meaningful way, (the UDC) needs to actually be put into effect.
Planning and Zoning Commissioner Brian Clemmons approached the council to note that “this code is part of a whole” by describing how “if this process were likened to a tree… the master plan is the trunk, the zoning maps are the branches, the ordinances are the twigs, and this UDC is the leaves. Every part is vital to the health of the total… [and] this is the last piece.”
Councilwoman Erin Sandefur had some hesitations, however, with the language in a specific section of the UDC where a provision calls for a 5-member appeal board to oversee the UDC. Councilwoman Sandefur, who expressed her desire to have the entire council serve as the appeal board, was the catalyst for an intense half-hour discussion on how to accommodate that request while still being able to adopt the UDC in an official capacity that night.
Eventually, the council voted to amend the UDC to reflect two amendments as well as define the appeal board as the entire Livingston Parish Council which passed with only Councilman Dean Coates voting against it.
The council then voted to officially adopt the UDC which also passed with only Councilmembers Coates and Joe Erdey voting against it, and the meeting was adjourned.
