NEW ORLEANS — On Monday, the St. Tammany Parish Council voted unanimously to investigate St. Tammany Parish President, Mike Cooper, and his administration.
The battle between the council and Cooper has been brewing for weeks over a proposed apartment complex in Covington. The council claims that they received little to no details surrounding the proposed development.
Councilman David Fitzgerald said he learned of the project in May, and at a council meeting on June 1, Fitzgerald expressed his opinions calling the handling of the development 'outrageous' and 'unprecedented.'
The 100-unit apartment complex would be located at the intersection of highways 21, 36 and Business 190, Fitzgerald said.
“It’s an intersection known far and wide in the parish for its congestion," Fitzgerald said.
Fitzgerald also said he has questions about the drainage plan and how the project got this far without his knowledge or public input.
“It’d be highly unusual not to know anything about it with just a, within a month or two, of construction starting, and I felt as though they had been denied their voice in the development," Fitzgerald said.
Meanwhile, President Cooper said he first heard of the proposal about a year ago, but that it was currently still in the permitting phase.
In early June, the council demanded information about the proposal, and Cooper asked for more time to complete the council's request.
“I’d ask that it would be postponed for a month to show our good faith in providing you with the information that you need and to prevent an embarrassment of an investigation," Cooper said at the council meeting.
Now that the formal inquiry has launched, Cooper is blasting the council's decision to spend taxpayer money on outside counsel.
“I think the idea of hiring outside counsel is absurd. It’s a waste of money. Not needed," Cooper said.
President Cooper said the district attorney's office had a plan to represent the administration and council simultaneously.
Fitzgerald said he would prefer not to use taxpayer money, but they chose to hire outside counsel because there was a conflict of interest.
“That’s all we're left to," Fitzgerald said.
Meanwhile, there's a question about zoning. The proposed land for the project is five acres that back up to the Bouge Falaya. The land is zoned HC-2, a designation for highway commercial.
When a zoning change isn't needed, public meetings and council approval are not required.
“The councilmembers are not typically brought in to being notified of this, particularly from our staff," Cooper said.
Cooper said it would have been the developer's responsibility to reach out to the council member that represents the district.
Fitzgerald said he believes the project shouldn't be classified as HC-2.
“It’s really not intended, is our opinion, for residential apartments," Fitzgerald said.
However, Cooper said that HC-2 has been used for apartment complexes in the past.
Now, the project is now on hold for 6-months after the council put a moratorium in place.
The developers of the complex, HRI properties, said they've operated in good faith and followed all St. Tammany laws, rules and regulations to a tee.
"We respect that some residents of St. Tammany Parish are afraid of and against all development in the Parish, especially apartments. However, such residents can sleep well knowing that HRI Communities will develop, manage and own a wonderful development that will enhance their community long-term," HRI Properties said.
HRI Properties said that the proposal includes 51 units for "workforce" housing with an average rental rate of $1,200 a month. The other 49 units have a starting rent of $1,600 a month.
None of the units are HUD or low-income.
"This is a disaster resiliency project that has received $18.3 million in funding from the Office of Community Development and will improve the long-blighted area that serves as the “welcome mat” to the City of Covington in the heart of the Parish," HRI Properties said.
► Get breaking news from your neighborhood delivered directly to you by downloading the new FREE WWL-TV News app now in the IOS App Store or Google Play.