Opinion ID: 512609
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Public utility structures and land.

Text: 15 E. Sand extraction, provided that the necessary safeguards are provided to protect the surrounding areas and access roadways from obnoxious or offensive odors, dust, light, noise or vibration. 16 F. Accessory uses attendant to the above uses provided no structure exceeds a maximum of 1,000 square feet in area. Boat or ship manufacture or repair are not permitted unless such repair constitutes an emergency. 17 3. Height Regulations. 18 No building or structure shall exceed 13 feet in height. 19 4. Area Regulations. A. Yard 20 (1) No front, side or rear yard is required. 21 B. Lot Area. 22 (1) No minimum lot area is required. 23 5. Off Street Parking Requirements. 24 Off street parking requirements are provided in Section XIII. 25 B. The present dispute. 26 In May of 1986, Wood Marine informed the Jefferson Parish Levee District that Wood Marine would commence the loading and unloading of crushed limestone and other construction materials at its existing facilities within Harahan. The levee district advised Wood that it could not commence such operations without a permit. Violations were subject to criminal prosecution. Dissatisfied, Wood Marine filed a complaint seeking injunction against the Board of Commissioners for the East Jefferson Levee District in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. The complaint alleged that the levee district and the City of Harahan had conspired to prevent Wood Marines' operations in violation of the Constitution and other laws of the United States. Soon thereafter, the City of Harahan petitioned to intervene in the action and averred that the granting of the injunction would deprive the city of its right to regulate commerce through zoning in order to protect the health and property of its citizens. Section XII governing development of the batture was specifically referenced. After the city intervened, the defense of the injunction fell entirely on the city. The levee board filed no responsive pleadings after its general denial. The city relied solely on the comprehensive zoning ordinance to defend against the injunction. The ordinance thus became the focus of the dispute. 27 The action went to trial before the judge upon stipulated testimony and exhibits. The stipulated evidence chronicled the history of the zoning ordinance, but did not establish its efficacy or isolate its goals. Wood Marine argued that the ordinance was preempted by state and federal statute and was a violation of the Commerce Clause. The district court concluded that, although the city had authority under federal and state statutes to adopt the ordinance, it had not substantiated the benefits of the ordinance. The court ruled that without substantiating the efficacy of the ordinance, the city could not justify its burden upon interstate commerce under the Commerce Clause. Because we find that the city's zoning ordinance does not burden interstate commerce, we reverse.II. 28 This summer's drought, which temporarily but dramatically reduced the Mississippi River's flow, again demonstrated the importance of the trade that flows with the river. No state's history and economy is more closely tied to the Mississippi River than that of the State of Louisiana, and no state more jealously guards against impediments to the river's commerce. In Louisiana, the rights of riparian owners are subject to the public's right to utilize the river and the batture for navigation and commerce. See, e.g., La.Civil Code arts. 455, 456, and 665; La.Stat.Ann. Secs. 9:1102; 34:22; Parish of Jefferson v. Universal Fleeting Co., Inc., 234 So.2d 88 (La.App.1970). Although the batture is private land, it is subject to numerous public uses incident to navigation such as the right to moor temporarily, to unload cargo, and to pass freely over the batture from the river. See La.Atty.Gen. op. 81-751, at 198 (1981); Yiannopoulos, The Public Use of the Banks of Navigable Rivers in Louisiana, 31 La.L.Rev. 563, 573-74 (1971). In such ways, and many others, Louisiana protects the river's commerce. 29 Riparian land owners are subject to clear distinctions under Louisiana law as between public and private uses. See La. Civil Code art. 455. Although Wood Marine as the riparian owner possesses the right to develop the batture, it may not obstruct or impede the public right of navigation. Kliebert Educ. Trust v. Watson Marines Servs., Inc., 454 So.2d 855, 858-59 (La.App.1984), appeal denied, 471 U.S. 1050, 105 S.Ct. 2108, 85 L.Ed.2d 474 (1985); Universal Fleeting, 234 So.2d at 91. Likewise, Harahan may zone only private uses of the batture and not public uses. Control of public uses is reserved to the State. La.Atty.Gen. op. 81-751, at 198-99 (1981); Universal Fleeting, 234 So.2d at 92. 30 The Harahan ordinance controls only the private uses of the batture. All traditional uses, including state reserved public uses, are preserved. The ordinance is consistent with Louisiana law.