A three-person panel appointed to negotiate a legal settlement with a "megasubdivision" developer over allegations the Livingston Parish government is illegally blocking the project was dissolved just days after it was formed.
It is the latest in a tense standoff between the local government and the developer, which has begun to reveal fractures in the Parish Council under the intense pressure of an upcoming federal trial.Â
On Monday night, Livingston Parish Council Chairman John Wascom formally disbanded the panel of council members slated to attend a settlement conference on July 10 in an ongoing federal case over Deer Run, a 1,300-acre subdivision developed by Ascension Properties and planned for the Denham Springs area.Â
That leaves Parish President Randy Delatte — a former councilman who was ensnared in the original Ascension Properties litigation that has overshadowed the council for the past year — as the primary representative in the negotiations.
"We have worked with a committee appointed by the Council and the attorney for the homeowners to submit a confidential settlement proposal that has support from all interests in the parish," the Delatte administration said in a statement on Wednesday.
In a statement, Ascension Properties attorney Tom Easterly said the company is "preparing for trial.”
Months after a lawsuit over Deer Run was settled and the project seemed poised to move forward, Ascension Properties sued the parish government again, saying leaders have engaged in a “continuing pattern” of illegal actions that are “purposefully designed to disrupt, delay and block” the contentious project.Â
The developer is asking a judge to overturn a stop-work order that Delatte issued after taking office.Â
Following a closed executive session at last week's normally scheduled council meeting, Wascom appointed himself, District 5 Council member Erin Sandefur and District 7 Council member Ricky Goff to a panel, giving them the authority to negotiate a settlement on July 10 in the hopes of staving off a trial set for July 29.Â
But on Friday morning, Sandefur decided to back out of the settlement committee. Sandefur has been the most fervent voice on the council opposing Deer Run since her days as a frustrated constituent. The subdivision would fall in her district.
"I think the people deserve and want their day in court," she said in a statement. "Why would we go into a settlement meeting if the people that we represent do not want to settle?"
Wascom followed suit, saying in a special meeting on Monday evening that he felt he should not be involved if Sandefur was stepping down, because the lawsuit heavily involved her district.
"I really don’t want to be the one speaking for all nine districts," he said. "I don’t know that we should put all that on three council members, much less one."
Only Goff resisted, citing the dire warnings from Steve Irving, the attorney advising the council in the lawsuit. Irving cautioned members on Monday night that federal Judge Shelly Dick would not look kindly on the council skipping the settlement meeting, which is a standard procedure in cases like this.
If the council refused to appoint anyone, the move could lead to contempt of court charges or a subpoena that all council members must attend such a conference, he suggested.Â
“There’s no point in aggravating a federal judge," Irving added.
Goff said he would gladly go to help wrap up the litigation and avoid a trial, but Sandefur shot back that he was disregarding the will of the people — specifically the concerned citizens in District 5.Â
"They’ve made it very clear they do not really want a settlement," Sandefur said. "So by entering into this, you’re kind of cutting them off and not allowing their due process."
Goff retorted by asking if she had been listening to the lawyers saying if they skip the settlement conference and go straight to trial it is going to be "not pretty."
"If we do not do this, it’s on the record it’s going to cost us a ridiculous amount of money, a lot more than that tourism thing is," he said.Â
He appeared to be referencing a recent lawsuit the parish lost after illegally removing a tourism board member.
Irving urged the council to send a representative, noting that apart from expected penalties should they not show up, a settlement could potentially benefit them more than the outcome of a trial based on the agreement he has drawn up to present. As it stands now, he said, Deer Run will happen whether they like it or not.Â
"Remember that authority to do this development is not on the table because the depositions have established they’ve got an approved plat and approved construction plans," he said. "No matter what happens in the case that’s before the court, it will in no way stop the development from starting, progressing and everything else. That’s not on the agenda.”
