–Two ordinances passed by St. Martin Parish government in recent months could make the parish a much cleaner place. Both address the overlapping problems of blighted properties and litter.
In a meeting with the Teche News, Parish President Chester Cedars outlined these council actions and the changes residents can expect.
The ordinance pertaining to nuisance and blighted properties involves the appointment of a “hearing officer.” When one is chosen, he or she will take most of the responsibility for enforcement of codes relating to such properties.
Under the ordinance, the hearing officer must be a practicing attorney in good standing with no business before the parish council. The officer will make all judgements about whether action should be taken and what those actions should be. Cedars said a similar plan has worked very well in St. Tammany Parish.
“This will speed up the process considerably. The practice of dealing with these cases through the council is unnecessarily cumbersome,” Cedars said, “It demands a lot of the council’s time and puts political pressure on members.”
Property maintenance ordinances that have been passed by the council, therefore, will be treated as settled law and enforced more objectively by a neutral hearing officer who will make the decisions and prescribe the legal remedies without the months-long delay caused by the need to be taken up in a succession of council meetings.
“The hearing officer would function like a judge in nuisance property issues,” Cedars added. Property issues will come before the council only if there is an appeal of the hearing officer’s decisions.
It is Cedars’ hope that parish municipalities will fill part in the new system as well. By passing an intergovernmental agreement, the same hearing officer could take a similar role within municipal boundaries. This is what has been done in St. Tammany Parish.
The litter ordinance, similarly, streamlines the enforcement process. Under state law, local governments are permitted to empower justices of the peace and constables to take charge of litter ordinance enforcement. That step has been taken by recent council action.
Each of the parish’s five wards has a justice of the peace and a constable. The new ordinance places the enduring litter problem in their hands. A percentage of fines levied will finance their enforcement efforts.
The change also enlarges the scope of the litter ordinance to include litter on private property. The change will provide a remedy for extremely messy properties without a “nuisance property” ruling by the hearing officer. J.P.’s will have the power to issue summons, decide litter cases and assess fines independently.
Fines for littering offenses will begin at $75 plus $15 in administrative costs. A second and subsequent offenses can be assessed a fine of $350 plus $15. Besides the J.P.’s, the parish General Fund, Planning and Zoning, Public Works and the District Court will all get a portion of fines levied.
Cedars said the intent of the new ordinances is to remove a persistent negative that stands in the way of new development and puts a damper on tourism.
“What is the first thing we all do when someone is coming to visit?” Cedars asked in conclusion. “We clean house. This is a beautiful place with a great future. We can’t let old bad habits hold us back.”
