Opinion ID: 1866926
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: validity of rezoning procedure

Text: Plaintiffs argue the rezoning is invalid because it was enacted without proper notice. First, they complain that the January 19, 1988 Planning Commission meeting whereby the Planning Commission staff was directed to conduct the Reclassification Study was not preceded by three notices run in the local newspaper, as purportedly required by Acts 1960, No. 196, sec. 6. Second, plaintiffs complain that Palermo never received personal notice of the rezoning, as purportedly required by LSA-R.S. 33:4877.1. [14] The January 19, 1988 meeting of the Planning Commission (the equivalent of a zoning commission in Calcasieu Parish) need not have been preceded by three official notices. Section 6 of Act 196 of 1960 only requires that three notices precede a zoning commission hearing which is held for the purpose of making any recommendation to the Police Jury of the Parish. The January 19 meeting does not qualify as this type of hearing. At the meeting, the Planning [zoning] Commission merely directed its staff to conduct the Reclassification Study. No statute requires a hearing, or notice of a hearing, before the Planning Commission may issue such a directive. Presumably, the staff could have undertaken the Reclassification Study on its own initiative as part of its responsibilities. The Planning Commission did not accept the study and make a formal recommendation to the Police Jury until February 17, 1988. There is no complaint that the February 17 meeting was not preceded by the requisite three notices. Plaintiffs' assertion that LSA-R.S. 33:4877.1 requires personal notification is likewise without merit. This statute requires the governing authority of a parish with a population of less than three hundred fifty thousand to notify the owner or owners of record of the properties to be zoned or rezoned, at least ten days prior to the initial hearing on the matter. The statute contains no requirement of personal or actual notice. Plaintiffs admit there are no cases construing this provision. In Southside Civic Association v. Guaranty Savings Assurance, 339 So.2d 323, 326 (La. 1976), this court observed: `Statutes requiring notice preparatory to the enactment or amendment of zoning measures typically provide for constructive rather than actual notice, as by publication in a local newspaper a specified number of times.... The courts have held rather uniformly that this contention [that actual notice is necessary] is groundless and that the statute need not provide for, nor the ordinance be passed upon, actual notice.' Id. quoting from 36 A.L.R.2d 459. At trial, Palermo testified that he received no notice from the Planning Commission other than by publication. We deem the publication sufficient notice here. Plaintiffs also contend the rezoning is invalid because it was not enacted according to a comprehensive plan, as that term is defined in LSA-R.S. 33:106. This statute sets forth the elements which must be contained in a comprehensive plan. The list includes things like the location of routes for various types of transportation, the locations of public buildings, the locations of public utilities for water, light, sanitation, communication, etc., and a zoning plan. Plaintiffs concede that defendants produced a document entitled Comprehensive Plan: Calcasieu Parish Regional Planning Commission, but they dispute the viability of this document under LSA-R.S. 33:106. The Parish's planning expert testified at trial that the zoning ordinances and maps of the Parish constitute a comprehensive plan for zoning. While the list contained in LSA-R.S. 33:106 is quite exhaustive and specific, it is doubtful that each parish had, at the outset, a planning map in conformity with the complexity suggested by this statute. This fact is not fatal to a parish's comprehensive plan, as long as such a plan exists, and amendments to or enlargements of the plan are not made in a chaotic fashion. See Folsom Road Civic Association v. Parish of St. Tammany, 407 So.2d 1219, 1222 (La.1981). A parish's comprehensive plan will be deemed sufficient under LSA-R.S. 33:106 as long as amendments to the plan are enacted as the need for the specified public accommodations arises. The law does not require that a single ordinance constitute the comprehensive plan. Folsom Road Civic Assoc, supra. As spelled out in R.S. 33:106: As the work of making the whole master plan progresses, a commission may from time to time adopt and publish a part or parts thereof, any such part to cover one or more major sections or divisions of the parish or municipality, as the case may be, or one or more of the aforesaid or other functional matters to be included in the plan. A commission may from time to time amend, extend, or add to the plan. We are of the opinion that the parish did comply with the requisites regarding the creation of a comprehensive plan. And, as noted by Dr. Ehrhardt, the rezoning ordinance at issue was enacted in accordance with good land use planning. It should not be invalidated simply because previous ordinances were allegedly contrary to good land use planning principles, or because they were not in conformity with the comprehensive plan. Those previous ordinances are not at issue in this case.