By BEN LUNDIN

Staff Reporter

LAPLACE – The St. John Parish Council unanimously agreed Tuesday to pass an ordinance to partner with several other parishes to help the region cope with the financial burden of a law passed by the State of Louisiana requiring uniform building codes.

State Act Number 12, passed by the Legislature last year requiring all 64 Louisiana parish homes meet certain construction criteria starting Jan. 1, 2007, forced the council to work with a regional planning commission to assist in what some council members are calling an expensive and monumental task.

Louisiana didn’t provide enough financial support for its parishes to get residences up to code, but by working with four other parishes the council may be able to ease the financial burden, according to Councilman Steve Lee.

&#8220There was some funding allocated by the state and it goes a lot further if you pool it together with four other parishes, rather than paying for inspectors and planners,” said St. John Parish Chief Administrative Officer Natalie Robottom. &#8220At this point we thought this was the most feasible way to deal with the new resolution and the most cost efficient.”

The state awarded St. John Parish $250,000 to $300,000, which will be used to help purchase new equipment and hire staff to start the regional planning commission, created by South Central Planning, but state funding will support nothing more than start-up costs, according to Robottom.

The council came to its unanimous decision begrudgingly, not because members did not wish to work with South Central Planning, but that they were disappointed in the state’s decision to implement a mass of requirements rather than instituting the law in phases.

&#8220I felt they’ve gone overboard on forcing the parish to be able to handle and oversee these codes in such a short time, with no training and no experience what-so-ever. They just wrote the law and now they’re saying you guys have to make sure they abide by the law,” Lee said.

The law will require new parish construction to meet a variety of standards, including electrical and gas work, mechanical and plumbing improvements, property maintenance, added fire prevention, energy efficiency upgrades and other renovations and additions to help homes prevent hurricane damage.

Lee claims because the law came without enough financial support, it could create a negative trickle down effect that places an unfair financial strain on Louisiana residents.

The financial burden will start at the top, but an increase in permit fees, of 36 cents per square foot for residentially zoned area and 50 cent for commercial property, will likely end up on resident’s construction bills, according to Lee.

&#8220We are part of South Central Planning which is providing the service to make sure all the inspections are met. The way it’s going to be paid for is through fees. In essence the inspection fees are on the builders and the people doing the repair work. For anything that requires permits there will be fees charged, and who’s paying for that? The people requiring the permits. The end result is the people who are paying for it are the people who need the work done,” Lee said.

Currently, the four other parishes that plan to participate with St. John Parish are St. James, Assumption, Lafourche, and Terrebonne. St. Charles Parish elected to contract a private company to conduct inspections.

South Central Planning, a quasi-governmental body that provides services for a fee for St. John, St. James, St. Charles, Terrebonne and LaFourche parishes, has been providing a variety of services to the region since 1986.

The regional planning commission created by South Central Planning has become a model project for other Louisiana parishes that are struggling with the financial burden created by the new law, according to Robottom. Many parishes without planning and zoning commissions have struggled implementing new programs, and some are considering undertaking a similar project.