NEW ORLEANS — A recent vote by the New Orleans City Council may have broken state law.
Last week the council voted 5 to 1 to give a new development in the upcoming River District Tax Exemption.
But now the council may have to revisit that resolution as their lawyers says it may be legally vulnerable. In a memo the City Council's lawyer said they may have voted on it too quickly. He says a new state law outlines a consideration period that council must take -- but some disagree.
The empty lot near the Convention Center isn't suppose to be empty for too much longer. A 142,000 square foot building is planned for the lot and will be the new home for Shell.
The New Orleans City Council voted Friday, Dec.1 to approve a tax exemption for the building.
The tax exemption, also called a pilot, will total $21.5M over 15 years. During that council meeting many were worried about how quickly it was being passed, as the council had only received the application four days prior.
"I’m here to speak not against the proposed deal I haven’t had enough time to understand it fully to have a position on that. I'm here today to advocate for more time to consider it more fully," said an attendee at the meeting.
Council Vice President Helena Moreno had also questioned the standards for the process.
"I think we’re going to have to put in place different rules for pilots that you have to have a 90 day process, probably set new guidelines for how these things are presented," she said.
Now, some of those concerns may hold more weight as that Dec.1 vote may have broken state law.
The City Council's lawyer, Adam Swensek sent a memo to council members. In the memo, Swensek says a law passed in the 2023 legislative session says the council must review the pilot for 15 days after receiving the application. Then after those 15 days the council has 30 days to vote.
But Councilmember Lesli Harris doesn't agree with Swensek.
"I disagree with his opinion. I’m a lawyer, other lawyers have worked on this deal so I think it’s one lawyers opinion vs other lawyers opinion," she said.
Harris says they were in their right to pass it when they did. But since there's a few differing opinions, Harris says their next steps are unclear.
"We might need to get an AG's opinion".
Harris says if they need to vote again, they could do it as early as the next council meeting.
In a statement to WWL Louisiana the developers for the River District said they are fully engaged and working diligently with all stakeholders in crafting the Cooperative Endeavor Agreement.
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