St Mary Parish City Zoning Code

Generally. The purpose of this Chapter is to set out the procedures for enforcing this UDC, the remedies available to the Parish for violations, and how this UDC should be interpreted.

Effective on: 11/1/2013

1. Generally. This Chapter provides the general process for enforcing the UDC, and the general remedies that are available to the Parish. However, the Chapter is not intended to bar the Parish from using other enforcement procedures as are lawful and appropriate, nor is it intended to elect remedies. The Parish may take any lawful action to remedy violations of this UDC, including seeking any remedy and / or imposing any penalty that is available under this UDC, state law or administrative rules promulgated thereunder, or federal law.
2. Penalties and Violations. In Division 7.2, Enforcement and Remedies, the Director is designated as the responsible official for administering and enforcing the provisions of this UDC and it details various violations and enforcement procedures and the remedies available.
3. Interpretation. Set out in Division 7.3, Interpretation, are the steps for objectively interpreting the provisions found throughout this UDC.

Effective on: 11/1/2013

1. Civil Nature of Violations. The civil regulations of the building permit, planning and zoning, subdivision and development, and Uniform Construction Code Ordinances within the unincorporated areas of St. Mary Parish shall be governed by the provisions of this Section. Any violation prohibited by this Section shall be a civil violation only, and no criminal penalty will be imposed for its commission. For purposes of this Section, a violation is the non-compliance of any provision of this UDC and Uniform Construction Code Ordinances and/or any provision of this Section. The provisions of this Section shall in no way be viewed as an abrogation of the criminal enforcement provisions provided for under state statutes, or in the ability of a law enforcement officer who in the course of his official duties witnesses an act in violation of the aforementioned statutes and issues a citation therefor. The Director is hereby authorized and directed to administer the provisions of this Section. In carrying out his/her administrative duties, the officer shall:
   1. Procedures. Establish and administer rules and regulations for proceedings within the office and the violation adjudication bureau, together with the maintenance of regular forms for any such proceedings regarding the operations of the office, subject to review and approval of the Chief Administrative Officer.
   2. Record of Actions. Maintain records of all actions taken by the office in the administration of the provisions of this Section.
   3. Violation Adjudication Bureau Hearings. Intervene for and on behalf of the Parish in all hearings before the bureau; present facts and information to assist the bureau in reaching a decision; and, resist and oppose any deviations from the provisions of this Section, when necessary.
   4. Investigations and Surveys. Conduct investigations and surveys to determine compliance or non-compliance with the provisions of this Section. Incidental to such surveys and investigations, the officer, or his duly authorized representative, may enter into and upon any land or structure to be inspected and examined.
      1. Right of Entry. Whenever it is necessary to make an inspection to administer any of the provisions of this Section, the officer or his duly authorized representative, may enter upon such property, at all reasonable times, to perform his duties. If such property is occupied, he shall first present proper credentials and request entry. If entry is refused, then the officer or his duly authorized representative, shall have recourse to every remedy provided by law to secure entry onto the property or entrance into the structure.
   5. Enforcement. Issue written warnings, citations and orders requiring compliance with the provisions of this Section. Such citations and/or orders shall be served personally or by certified or registered mail upon the person, firm, corporation, or proprietary party deemed by the officer to be violating the provisions of this Section; provided, however, that if such person, firm, or corporation is not the owner of the land or the structure in which the violation is deemed to exist or to have occurred, a copy of the order shall be sent by certified or registered mail to the owner of such land or structure, with the owner to be determined from the tax roll for the preceding year in the office of the Tax Assessor of St. Mary Parish. The date of mailing shall be deemed the date of service of any citation or order served by certified or registered mail.
      1. The Director shall have the discretion to issue a warning to any person, firm, corporation, proprietary party or occupant of the necessity to abate the existence of a violation of this Section. The warning may be issued verbally or by posting a placard directly onto the violating property giving notice of the violation. No more than 15 days shall be allowed for abatement of the violation. Failure to comply with the warning shall result in the issuance of a written citation.
2. Violation Warnings, Forms, Required Contents, Form of Service.
   1. The violation warning shall be the preliminary notice of a violation of this Section.
   2. The warning shall contain information containing the nature, date, time, and location of the alleged violations; the corrective action to be taken to abate the violation, and the time period not to exceed 15 days in which the corrective action is to be completed.
   3. The warning shall also contain information advising the person that failure to abate the violation in accordance with the issued warning will result in the issuance of a written citation, and the assessment of fines incidental thereto.
3. Violation Citation Forms.
   1. The violation citation shall be the notice of violation for purposes of this Section.
   2. The citation shall contain information concerning the nature, date, time, and location of the alleged violation; the corrective action to be taken to abate the nuisance, the fine assessed, and the time period in which the fine is to be paid and the corrective action is to be completed.
   3. The citation shall also contain information advising the person charged of the manner and time in which he/she may contest the violation charged in the notice. The citation shall also provide that a failure to timely answer or appear before the hearing examiner shall be considered a prima facie admission of the violation set forth in the violation citation, in which the hearing examiner may assess the appropriate fine, administrative costs, and issue the abatement order.
4. Service of Violation Citations.
   1. Except as provided for in subsection D.6., of this Section, a violation citation shall be served personally or by certified or registered mail upon the person, firm, corporation, or proprietary party deemed by the officer to be violating the provisions of this Section; provided, however, that if such person, firm, or corporation is not the owner of the land or the structure in which violation is deemed to exist or to have occurred, a copy of the citation shall be sent by certified or registered mail to the owner of such land or structure with the owner to be determined from the tax roll for the preceding year in the office of the Tax Assessor of St. Mary Parish. The date of mailing shall be deemed the date of service of any citation or order served by certified or registered mail or personally upon the occupant of the property who is present at the time of service. If the occupant is not so served, or is not present, the violation citation shall be served upon the recorded owner of the property.
   2. The original violation citation shall bear the name or initials, title and contact number of the issuing officer, who shall affirm the truth of the facts set forth therein.
   3. In the event that the violation citation is refused by either occupant or owner of the property on which the violation is located, this fact shall be duly noted on the original and all copies of the citation.
   4. The original and all copies of a citation shall constitute a business record of the Parish, and shall constitute prima facie evidence that the citation was issued and that an attempt at service thereof was made in accordance with the provisions of this Section.
   5. Notice of one co-owner by any method shall be deemed to be notice to all other co-owners.
   6. Absentee or unknown owners. If the owner of the property is unknown and cannot be ascertained, or if attempts to serve notice of violation and citation by certified or registered mail or personal service have been unsuccessful, notice of the nature and location of the violation shall be published once in the official journal of the Parish or in a daily newspaper in general circulation in the geographical area of the Parish of which the violation exists and such publication shall be deemed to be notice to the owner of the property upon which the violation is found to occur. Notice to one co-owner by any method shall be deemed to be notice to all other co-owners.
5. Disposition of Citations. The original citation shall be processed in accordance with the provisions of this Section, and such other procedures as may be established and promulgated by the Chief Hearing Examiner subject to the approval of the Parish Council.
6. Creation of the Violation Adjudication Bureau.
   1. Violation Bureau Established. There is hereby created and established within the Department, and administratively assisted by the Director, a violation adjudication bureau which shall have jurisdiction of violations of any civil regulations of this UDC or the Uniform Construction Code Ordinances, as provided for in this Section. Pursuant to the provisions of the St. Mary Parish Home Rule Charter, the Chief Administrative Officer, with the approval of the Parish president, shall contract for the services of a Chief Hearing Examiner and/or other hearing examiners who shall preside at hearings for the adjudication of violations of this Section.
      1. The Chief Hearing Examiner shall supervise the operations of the bureau, and all other hearing examiners.
      2. Each hearing examiner shall be a resident of the Parish of St. Mary, and shall have been admitted to the practice of law in the state.
      3. A hearing examiner shall be selected from the list of qualified candidates who are members of the St. Mary Parish Bar Association. Such hearing examiners shall not be employees of the Parish.
   2. Functions, Powers and Duties. The violation adjudication bureau, organized, supervised, and headed by Chief Hearing Examiner, shall have the following functions, powers, and duties:
      1. To accept admissions to and to hear and determine contests of violations under the provisions of this Section.
      2. To issue subpoenas to compel the attendance of a person to give testimony at hearings and to compel the production of relevant books, papers, and other things.
      3. To adjudicate all violations for which a citation has been issued under this Section.
      4. To compile and maintain complete and accurate records relating to all citations, violations and/or dispositions of violations and citations; and, upon request, to provide complete and accurate transcripts of all hearings conducted by the bureau and to furnish such transcripts to the violator, at said violator's expense.
      5. To answer, within a reasonable period of time, all relevant and reasonable inquiries made by a person charged with a violation, or his/her attorney concerning the notice of violation served upon that person. The bureau must also furnish within a reasonable period of time to the person charged, on his request, and upon complying with the regulations of the bureau, a copy of the original notice of violation, including all information contained thereon. Failure by the bureau to comply with the provisions of this subsection or any part of the provisions of this subsection, within 45 days of such inquiry, forwarded to the bureau by certified or registered mail, return receipt requested, will result, on request of the person charged, in an automatic dismissal of all charges relating to and only to that notice of violation to which the inquiry was made.
      6. To determine whether the violation should be removed or any other method deemed appropriate in the abatement of the violation.
      7. To assess civil fines in the abatement of the violation and to assess and collect administrative costs incurred in the abatement of the violation.
7. Citation as Legal Demand and Prima Facie Evidence. The original violation citation or any true copy thereof shall constitute an ordinary business record of the Parish , and prima facie evidence of the facts contained therein.
8. Responsibility of Owner and Occupant. The owner and the occupant of the land and/or structure on which the violation is located, when not the same, shall be solitarily liable to the Parish for the violations, unless the owner can prove that the violation occurred without his consent, expressed or implied. An owner who pays any violation fines, abatement costs, or administrative fees pursuant to this Section, shall have the right to recover the same from the occupant.
9. Answering Violation Citations.
   1. A person to whom a violation citation has been issued under this Section may answer to the same in the manner and within the delays indicated on the citation. An answer may take the form of:
      1. Admission of the violation with payment of the scheduled civil penalty/fine and abatement of the violation in accordance with the directive issued and within the time period specified on the citation;
      2. A written denial of liability and promise to appear at the adjudicatory hearing; or
      3. A written admission of liability with explanation and promise to appear at the adjudicatory hearing.
   2. Payment of the civil penalty/fine may be made either in person or by mailing to the agent designated by the Parish, provided however, that such payment is made only by money order or by check and made to the order of the Parish. Payment of the civil penalty and verification by the officer of the abatement of the violation shall operate as a final disposition of the case. Failure to abate the violation in conjunction with the payment of the civil penalty will result in the payment being forfeited and the matter being continued. Conversely, abatement of the violation without payment of the civil penalty will result in the matter being continued.
10. Failure to Answer Violation Citations; Additional Penalties. If the owner and/or occupant fails to either respond appropriately to the citation or appear at the adjudicatory hearing, there shall be assessed an additional penalty in the amount equal to the original fine. The bureau shall issue the appropriate order to the owner and/or occupant or their agent to appear at a specified subsequent hearing to respond to the citation issued.
11. Notice of Hearing. Whenever a person charged with a violation either fails to respond, denies liability, or admits liability with explanation, the violation adjudication bureau shall advise such person personally or by U.S. Mail, postage prepaid, of the date on which he must appear to answer the charge at a hearing. The form and content of such notice of hearing shall be prescribed by the Chief Hearing Examiner, and shall contain the warning to advise the person that failure to appear on the date designated or on any subsequent date, to which the hearing is adjourned, shall be deemed an admission of liability.
12. Adjudication by Mail.
    1. In cases where a person charged with a violation shows good cause for not attending a hearing, either personally or through a representative, the hearing examiner may permit the matter to be adjudicated by mail which adjudication shall be made within 60 days of the date of the citation. Letters, memoranda, affidavits, photographs, or other documentary material shall be admissible as evidence for the purposes of adjudications by mail. The hearing examiner may exclude from consideration any material which is not relevant to the adjudication of the alleged violation.
    2. Failure of the person charged to proceed with an adjudication by mail, after requesting and receiving permission to adjudicate by mail, shall constitute an admission by the person charged with liability of the violation, and shall subject the person, who requested the adjudication by mail, to the appropriate fines and costs assessed by the violation adjudication bureau.
    3. If a hearing examiner determines that an adjudication cannot proceed by mail, the violation adjudication bureau shall advise the person charged by first class mail that he must appear to answer the charges at a hearing.
13. Hearings for Dispositions of Violation Citations.
    1. Every hearing for the adjudication of a charge of violation under the authority of this Section shall be held before a hearing examiner.
    2. The conduct of hearings of violations charged under this Section shall be governed by the rules of evidence of the Administrative Procedures Act, R.S. 49:951 et seq.
    3. The Parish shall have the burden of proving the violation by a preponderance of evidence; however, proof that a particular violation, described in the violation citation, was in violation of the provisions of this Section, together with the proof that the person was, at the time of the violation, either the owner of the property on which the violation was occurring or was the occupant of the property on which the violation was occurring and was responsible for its existence shall be as follows:
       1. Said proof of ownership that the person was, at the time of the violation, the owner of the property on which the violation was occurring shall be in the form of a written statement from the assessor's office.
       2. In the case of the violation occurring on the property on which the responsible party was an occupant of the property and not the owner of same, said proof shall be in the form of either the signature of the occupant on the citation, or a written statement from the owner of the property attesting to the fact that, as owner, the responsibility for occurrence of the violation was the occupant of the property.
       3. The aforementioned proof shall constitute an ordinary business record of the Parish; and further, constitute a prima facie presumption that the owner or occupant, whichever the case may be, was the party responsible for the violation.
       4. The duly authorized person who issued the citation shall not be required to appear at the hearing, unless the person charged with the violation herein has denied that the offense occurred; or the hearing examiner determines that the authorized persons presence is required. The hearing examiner may grant one postponement, if the authorized person is unavailable at the time of the hearing.
       5. At the conclusion of the contradictory hearing, the hearing examiner shall immediately render a decision, either finding the person cited liable, ordering the abatement of the violation within the specified time period, and assessing the fine and administrative cost or a portion thereof; or declaring the violation unproven and/or invalid pursuant to R.S. 49:958.
14. Failure to Appear at Hearing; Consequences. In addition to the provisions set forth in other subsections of this Section, failure to appear at a hearing when required to appear shall constitute an admission of liability of the violation and shall subject the person charged with a violation herein to the appropriate fines, administrative costs and abatement costs assessed by the violation adjudication bureau, acting through a hearing examiner in the remedying of the violation.
15. Schedule of Fines; Administrative and Abatement Costs.
    1. The following rates for violation fines within the unincorporated areas of the Parish under this Section are as follows:
       1. For the first violation up to $100.00 per day of violation.
       2. For the second violation up to $200.00 per day of violation.
       3. For the third and subsequent violations, up to $500.00 per day of violation.
       4. Administrative fees. A schedule of administrative fees shall be established by the Director subject to the approval of the Chief Administrative Officer and with the concurrence of a majority of the Parish Council. Administrative fees shall include but not be limited to the costs associated in the investigation of property to determine if a violation is occurring, determining ownership, processing the notice and citation, serving, sending and/or providing notice to the owner, attendance at hearings, and any other administrative tasks required in the proper enforcement of the provisions of this Section.
16. Rehearings.
    1. There shall be a review examiner, appointed by the Chief Hearing Examiner, within the violation adjudication bureau.
    2. A request for review of a decision of any hearing examiner shall be submitted to the review examiner within 15 days of the original hearing examiner's decision. The review examiner shall have the power to review the facts and the law in order to affirm, reverse or modify any original decision for error of fact or law.
17. Judicial Review. The decision of the review examiner shall be the final decision by the Parish. Any person or persons, aggrieved by any decision may file a petition for a judicial review to the Civil District Court of the Parish of St. Mary, within 30 days after the date of the entry of the decision, pursuant to the provisions of R.S. 49:964.
18. Method of Notice. Any notice permitted or required to be given by the violation adjudication bureau in the proper conduct of its business, as specified herein, shall be considered given when mailed by U.S. Mail, postage prepaid, to the owner or occupant at the address appearing in the official property ownership records of the St. Mary Parish Assessor's Office. Notice to one co-owner shall serve as notice to all other co-owners.
19. Disposition of Monetary Penalties. The monies collected pursuant to operations of the violation adjudication bureau shall be forwarded to the Parish treasurer, who shall deposit same to the credit of the Parish of St. Mary.
20. Penalty for Violation of Airport Regulations. Each violation of Division 1.5, Airport Zoning, or of any regulation, order, or ruling promulgated in Division 1.5, Airport Zoning, shall constitute a misdemeanor and be punishable by a fine of not more than $100.00 or imprisonment for not more than 90 days, or both. Each day a violation continues to exist shall constitute a separate offense.

Effective on: 11/1/2013

Generally. If a building or other structure is erected, constructed, reconstructed, altered, repaired, converted or maintained or if a building, other structure or land is used in violation of this UDC, the Parish may institute appropriate action to:

1. Prevent the unlawful erection, construction, reconstruction, alteration, repair, conversion, maintenance or use;
2. Restrain, correct or abate the violation;
3. Prevent the occupancy of the building, structure or land; or
4. Prevent any illegal act, conduct, business or use on or about the premises.

Effective on: 11/1/2013

1. Generally. It shall be the duty of the Chief Administrative Officer to administer and enforce the regulations prescribed in Division 1.5, Airport Zoning. Applications for permits and variances shall be made Chief Administrative Officer.
2. Application. Applications required by Division 1.5, Airport Zoning, are to be submitted to the Chief Administrative Officer and shall be promptly considered and granted or denied by the applicable administrative body with jurisdiction.

Effective on: 11/1/2013

1. Generally. The Parish may pursue any appropriate remedy to redress a violation of this UDC.
2. Penalties for Violation.
   1. Any person who violates or fails to comply with this UDC, or who builds or alters any building or structure in violation of any plan or statement submitted and approved hereunder, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and be liable to a fine pursuant to Section 2-11.A(2), and Section 2-18, Powers of Enforcement, of the Charter of St. Mary Parish, Louisiana.
   2. Whoever, be it the owner, or agent of the owner of any land located within a subdivision, transfers or sells or agrees to sell any land by reference to or exhibition of or by other uses of a plat of a subdivision, before such plat has been accepted by the Parish Council and recorded or filed in the office of the clerk of court of the Parish, shall pay a penalty of $500.00 for each lot or parcel so transferred or sold or agreed or negotiated to be sold; and the description of such lots or parcels by metes and bounds in the instrument of transfer or other document used in the process of selling or transferring shall not exempt the transaction from such penalties or from the remedies herein provided. The Parish may enjoin such transfer or sale or agreement by suit for injunction, brought in any court of competent jurisdiction or may recover the penalty by a civil action in any court of competent jurisdiction.

Effective on: 11/1/2013

1. Generally. The Director shall have authority to make all written interpretations concerning the provisions of this UDC.
2. Request for Interpretation. A request for interpretation shall be submitted to the Director on a form established by the Director and made available to the public.
3. Interpretation by Director. The Director shall:
   1. Review and evaluate the request in light of the text of this UDC, the official district zoning map, the Comprehensive Plan and any other relevant information;
   2. Consult with other staff, as necessary; and render an opinion.
   3. Provide the interpretation to the applicant in writing on a form specified by the Director.
4. Official Record. The Director shall maintain an official record of interpretations. The record of interpretations shall be available for public inspection during normal business hours.
5. Appeal. Appeals of written interpretations shall be filed only by a party affected by the written interpretation with the Board of Adjustment within 30 days of the decision in conformance with Section 5.4.5, Appeals of Administrative Decisions. If no Appeal of Administrative Decision is filed within 30 days, the written interpretation shall be considered contractually agreed to by the applicant and shall be final.

Effective on: 2/6/2014