Developers clash over Berwick subdivision

BERWICK — The Berwick Town Council unanimously approved engineering and final subdivision recommendations for the proposed Atchafalaya River Estates Subdivision during a special meeting Tuesday, despite objections from an adjacent land owner.
The council approved engineering and final approval of the proposed subdivision, which is expected to include 41 single family residential lots. The recommendations had been made by the town’s Planning Commission earlier this month.
The moves were made despite objections by New Orleans attorney Justin B. Schmidt. Schmidt represented adjacent land owner Cajun Sunrise LLC, which is owned by Morgan City resident David H. Webster. Schmidt said that Atchafalaya River Estates developer Dr. Natchez “Trey” Morice has encroached upon his client’s land with excavating and a new ditch.
Public hearings for the engineering and final approval of the subdivision lasted nearly a combined 40 minutes. Much of the time was dominated by Schmidt making allegations against the town, citing documents and previous minutes, and town attorney Allen McElroy offering rebuttals.
Before the council even voted on the measures, Schmidt said he would take the town to 16th Judicial District Court to appeal if the measures were approved. He also accused McElroy of withholding public records that McElroy said had been made public anyway in a March 3 meeting of the town’s Planning Commission.
“That’s the second lawsuit that this town’s going to get hit with for violation of public records law,” Schmidt told the council. “I have really had enough, Mayor. This has gone on too much.”
Cajun Sunrise’s complaints are about a ditch in which barriers were installed and approved by the town via a maintenance agreement signed by Morice, Schmidt said. The barriers were to make sure no boat traffic was permitted from the Lower Atchafalaya River into two canals.
“The borrow ditches are on their property,” Schmidt said. “This has meandered over to our property without consent of the property owner. Your town attorney said put these pilings into the ground. Now you’re asking us to remove them at our costs.”
Schmidt said the wood piles were installed on Webster’s property and work was completed excavating dirt. That totaled an estimated $250,000, the attorney said.
Schmidt said that Webster agreed to a canal to “straddle” his property line.
“Why isn’t the city worried about ARE staying within the bounds of its building permit?” Schmidt asked the council.
Berwick Mayor Duval Arthur said the ditch that Schmidt talked about was not the one that the town’s planning commission approved.
“That’s where I say it’s your responsibility to make sure that he built what was supposed to be built before you give him a certificate of occupancy, before you accept this engineering proposal, and that’s the point of our objection,” Schmidt said.
McElroy said the maintenance agreement Schmidt is referencing is for plans that show the waterways in four areas Atchafalaya River Estates owns.
“That maintenance agreement only addressed that,” McElroy said. “There was never any reference, never any consideration, never any mention that there was ever going to be any diversion away from the property of ARE. …. Yes, there was supposed to be pilings, but the pilings were to be on the property of Atchafalaya River Estates. The town has never done anything.”
In fact, McElroy said two years ago he was presented a plan in which Atchafalaya River Estates encroached on Cajun Sunrise’s property, and he requested a written agreement from Schmidt and Morice allowing for the encroachment.
“No written agreement was ever provided,” he said.
Therefore, McElroy said, he told the planning commission that night it couldn’t vote on the plan that had received preliminary town approval because the plans now before them “completely altered” what had been approved by the town.
“So the maintenance agreement doesn’t address any of the encroachment,” he argued.
Morice said that there was an email with Cajun Sunrise LLC with an agreement for the work to be done, but Schmidt said the emails only discussed “a working agreement” Atchafalaya River Estates would send them. Schmidt said nothing was ever sent.
“I would just like to say that there are obviously some issues that involve the Websters and their corporations and our corporation, Atchafalaya River Estates. … I disagree with most of what Mr. Justin has said,” Morice told the council.
Councilwoman Colleen Askew asked Morice if his corporation “has refused to make it good” with Webster.
“There’s a lot more to this. It’s not a simple answer,” Morice said, explaining there are a lot of civil issues.
Schmidt told the council he couldn’t dictate their action’s and he would “deal with you in court” if the measure was approved.
“But as representatives of this body of this town, you owe an obligation to Mr. Webster just like you owe an obligation to Dr. Morice and his partners, and it’s atrocious that Mr. Webster’s had to spend the money that he has to fight something so fundamental,” Schmidt said.
Schmidt left the meeting as the resolution granting subdivision approval was read before the council voted.
The two measures passed on 4-0 votes, with councilmen Raymond Price, James Richard and Lud Henry as well as Askew voting for the measures. Councilman Kevin Hebert abstained from voting or any discussion because he owns a company that does business with Webster’s company. Hebert said Webster also owns adjacent property to him.