No yellow brick road: Berwick council moves to confirm approval of subdivision

BERWICK — The Town Council unanimously passed an ordinance Tuesday modifying its subdivision rules so they can’t be interpreted to prevent approval of a new housing development.
The public hearing preceding the passage vote led to a sometimes heated discussion with the attorney for Cajun Sunrise LLC, which owns property adjacent to the proposed Atchafalaya River Estates Subdivision.
Cajun Sunrise, owned by David Webster of Morgan City, alleges in a lawsuit filed against the town government in April that the town didn’t follow its own subdivision regulations when it approved plans for Atchafalaya River Estates in March. The lawsuit was filed in 16th Judicial District Court.
The limited liability corporation alleges that work on the Atchafalaya River Estates site included excavation of a ditch that extended onto the Cajun Sunrise property.
Cajun Sunrise wants the court to look at “the actions of the town in demanding” that Atchafalaya River Estates make changes to Cajun Sunrise’s property without seeking Cajun Sunrise’s written permission. The measure, Cajun Sunrise said, has caused a lot of damage to its property.
Cajun Sunrise attorney Justin Schmidt said at Tuesday’s public hearing that District Judge Lewis Pitman “started to pull back the curtain on Oz” during pretrial proceedings in the lawsuit.
“This is a clear violation of the civil code …,” Schmidt said. “While you can do what you want with your property, you can’t do it to the detriment of others.”
Allen McElroy, the retired Berwick town attorney who continues work on the case, joined the council meeting by way of Zoom.
“The lawsuit against the town of Berwick is improper and, in my opinion, will be dismissed,” McElroy said.
McElroy’s view is that the Cajun Sunrise-Atchafalaya River Estates disagreement isn’t relevant to the town’s decision to approve plans for the subdivision.
“Cajun Sunrise has a dispute with Atchafalaya River Estates,” McElroy said. “They can litigate it in court. But it’s not right to bring the town into anything [the ditch dispute] that it never authorized or approved.”
Schmidt traded sometimes heated words with council members Colleen Askew and Raymond Price over what they said were Schmidt’s incorrect claims about their use or ownership of land in that area.
“You’re being nasty when you come up here and talk about Oz,” Askew said.
The ordinance passed Wednesday “modifies, adds to and supersedes any provisions in any subdivision regulation or other ordinance that prevents or defeats approval of Atchafalaya River Estates subdivision.”
Voting for the ordinance were council members Price, Askew, Lud Henry and James Richard. Kevin Hebert abstained. In previous meetings, he said he owns land in the area and has done business with Webster.
The lawsuit names Dr. Natchez N. “Trey” Morice, Jennifer Spitale Morice, Louis Spitale, Stacy Spitale, Sidney Roy and Mary Gail Roy as members of Atch-afalaya River Estates LLC.
Plans are for 41 homes to be built in Atchafalaya River Estates.
Also Tuesday:
—The council set budget hearings for 6 p.m. July 20 and, if necessary, July 27.
—The council approved payments of $25,625 to B&J Enterprises of Metairie and engineer George Mikhael for $4,339 related to the installation of a new roof at the town hall.
—The council heard Charlie Driskill of Twin City Gospel Temple raise the possibility of a gospel music event. Driskill didn’t have a specific date or time for such an event but said he hopes it could take place near the riverfront lighthouse.
Henry made a motion expressing support for the idea.
“Hallelujah!” Driskill replied.
—The council voted to continue to use The Daily Review as its official journal.