St. George, Louisiana

St. George is the newest incorporated city in Louisiana. It was approved in a ballot initiative on October 12, 2019. Upon incorporation, it became the fifth largest city in Louisiana and the second largest in East Baton Rouge Parish with a population of 86,316. The city originated from a previously unincorporated area of East Baton Rouge Parish located southeast of the City of Baton Rouge.

A legal actionMayor-President Sharon Weston Broom, Lewis O. Unglesby, and M.E. Cormier vs. Chris Rials and Norman Browning, Organizers of the Petition to Incorporate St. George to challenge the incorporation of St. George was filed in 19th Judicial District Court in East Baton Rouge Parish on November 4, 2019. After rulings by both the 19th Judicial District Court and the Louisiana First Circuit Court of Appeals, the Louisiana Supreme court upheld incorporation by a 4-3 decision.

History

Native American presence

After the French and Indian War ended in 1763, Bayou Manchac (originally known as ''Rivière d'Iberville'' or the Iberville River) became an international border between the British ( West Florida) and Spanish ( Isle of Orleans) colonial territories. This bayou (which now marks the southern border of the proposed City of St. George) runs from the Mississippi River on the west to the Amite River on the east.

Native Americans, specifically Choctaw, were known to have lived in southeast Louisiana when Europeans first arrived. In 1764, after encroachment from European settlers, the Alabama-Coushatta and Pakana Muscogee Indians migrated into Louisiana, to just north of Bayou Manchac.

American Revolution

In 1765, the British built Fort Bute on the eastern bank of the Mississippi River at Bayou Manchac, not far from the present-day University Club Golf Course. The fort consisted of a blockhouse and stockade capable of holding 200 men.

On May 8, 1779, Spain officially entered the American Revolutionary War by declaring war against the British. With this news, Bernardo de Galvez, the colonial Governor of Spanish Louisiana, began assembling an ad hoc army of over 1400 Spanish regulars, Acadian militia, free men of color and native Americans. On August 27, 1779, they began advancing toward Baton Rouge. Trudging through muddy swamp at a rate of nine miles a day, they arrived at Fort Bute eleven days later. After a brief skirmish, they captured and demolished the fort in what would become the first Spanish action against the British during the American Revolutionary War. Galvez and his army remained at Fort Bute for six days before moving on to defeat the British garrison at Fort New Richmond in the Battle of Baton Rouge (1779). Their victories at Fort Bute and Fort New Richmond helped to clear the Mississippi River of British forces and put the lower Mississippi River under Spanish control.

War of 1812

During the War of 1812, U.S. Gen. Andrew Jackson had the mouth of Bayou Manchac filled with earth to prevent the British from using it to launch a surprise attack on New Orleans. In 1828, American settlers reinforced that blockage with a large earthen dam to stifle flood waters from regularly inundating their properties. Although it was later suggested that reconnecting the two bodies of water might actually help alleviate flooding in the area, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers declined to.

Historic sites

The National Register of Historic Places includes several sites in the St. George area. Among them are:

* Audubon Plantation
* Les Chenes Vertes ("Live Oaks")
* Lee Site Archeological Site (access restricted)
*Ory House
* Santa Maria Plantation
* Sara Peralta Archeological Site (access restricted)
*Willow Grove
*Woodstock Plantation

Other sites of historical interest in the St. George area include:

* Burtville: Founded ca. 1887, Burtville was a logging town located on Nicholson Drive ( Louisiana Highway 30).
* Fort Bute: The original site lies beneath the Mississippi River.
*Hoo Shoo Too Club: The fishing lodge of the all-male Hoo Shoo Too Club (established in 1885), was located along the banks of the Amite River.
* Jefferson Highway: The historic Jefferson Highway was designated in 1916. It runs through from New Orleans, Louisiana, to Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
*Old Hickory Lodge: Believed to have been built in 1814 as a Masonic Lodge, the Old Hickory operated as a private social club at the intersection of Jefferson Highway and Tiger Bend Road.
* St. George Catholic Church: Founded in 1908, the church was the second Catholic church in East Baton Rouge Parish, after the downtown Baton Rouge church that would eventually be designated as St. Joseph Cathedral. The church parish's original boundaries were similar to the City of St. George's proposed city limits, providing the area with an early sense of continuity. At present, it remains prominent in the area as the second-largest parish within the Diocese of Baton Rouge, along with its new 1,200-seat church building at Siegen Lane.

Village St. George

Between 1956 and 1968, the Village St. George subdivision was constructed near its namesake, later forming the nucleus of the census-designated place (CDP) of the same name.

In 1966, the increased suburbanization of the area warranted the creation of the "Village St. George Volunteer Fire Department and Social Club", now called the St. George Fire Protection District. Its coverage area also overlapped with much of the proposed new city's boundaries.

Place names

Prominent place names in the St. George area include:

* Amite River: Possibly from the French ''amitie'' ("friendship") or Choctaw ''himmita'' ("young")
* Baton Rouge: ''Le bâton rouge'' (French for "the red stick") is a translation of ''Istrouma'', possibly a corruption of the Choctaw ''iti humma'' ("red pole")
* Bayou Manchac: From Choctaw expression for "rear entrance" (i.e., to Lake Pontchartrain)
* Essen Lane: Named by ethnic Germans in the area after a city in Germany
* Highland Road: From the "Dutch .e., German Highlanders," a colony of Pennsylvania German farmers who settled along the bluffs that overlook the Mississippi River floodplain at Highland Road
* Kleinpeter Farms Dairy: From the name (literally, "short r youngPeter") of a prominent early German family in the area
*Mississippi River: From the French (''Messipi'') rendering of the Anishinaabe ( Ojibwe or Algonquin) name for the river (''Misi-ziibi''), meaning "Great River"
*Nicholson Drive ( Louisiana Highway 30): Named for James W. Nicholson, Civil War veteran and former president of Louisiana State University (1883–1884 and 1887–1896)
*Perkins Road: Named for twin brothers from Kentucky who owned sugar plantations in Baton Rouge
* Siegen Lane: Named by ethnic Germans in the area after a city in Germany
* Staring Lane: From the name of a prominent early German family in the area

Recent history

Incorporation efforts

In 2012 and again in 2013, St. George organizers sought approval of the state legislature to form a new school district but were unsuccessful. In June 2015, organizers attempted to form a new city but failed to collect enough signatures (71 short of the minimum 17,859 required) on the petition (at least 25 percent of electors residing in an area proposed for incorporation is needed). Consequently, an election could not be called. The formation of a new city is seen as a pathway for forming a new school district. The formation of a new school district would require approval of the state legislature as well as approval of voters at the state level and approval of voters in East Baton Rouge Parish.

In October 2018, St. George organizers submitted a second petition to form a new city. This petition proposed a smaller city that included some of the same area.

In February 2019, the East Baton Rouge Parish Registrar of Voters declared that the petition had enough valid signatures (at least 12,996 required; 14,585 accepted) to meet the requirements for eligibility. In March 2019, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards authorized adding the petition to the October 12, 2019, ballot.

Of the more than 54,000 registered voters living in the St. George area, approximately 32,293 (60%) cast ballots, with 17,422 (54%) voting in favor of incorporation.

However, before the Governor could appoint an interim mayor and interim city council, a legal action was filed to contest the incorporation.

On June 12, 2020 Governor John Bel Edwards signed SB243, authored by Senator Bodi White and Representative Rick Edmonds, into law as Act 361 of the 2020 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature. The St. George Transition District creates a framework for the transition of taxing authority and services from East Baton Rouge Parish to the City of St. George.

According to the Act, the St. George Transition District would not be granted proper authority until the lawsuit challenging the incorporation of the City of St. George was proven unsuccessful.

Legal proceedings

Relief sought by the plaintiffs included a favorable judgement denying the incorporation of St. George, or, alternatively, a parish-wide election to determine if the Plan of Government should be amended to allow for the formation of a new city. Plaintiffs also requested that the court hold defendants responsible for the costs of litigation.

19th Judicial Court

The May 31, 2022 ruling by the 19th Judicial Court was based on state law governing "''Legal action contesting an incorporation''":

''If the district court determines that the provisions of this Subpart have not been complied with, that the proposed municipality will not be able to provide the public services proposed in the petition within a reasonable period of time, or that the incorporation is unreasonable, the district court shall enter an order denying the incorporation.'' La. R.S. 33:4(E)(2)(a)

The judgment addressed many issues in the trial, including:

* Whether the municipality can in all probability provide the proposed public services within a reasonable period of time. The Court ruled that "''the Incorporators, if properly funded, could in all probability provide some of the proposed public services within a reasonable period of time…. However, it is doubtful that he other services listed in the petition for incorporationcan be provided without increasing taxes…. Their petition did condition the providing of some services if funds were available.''" (pp. 6–7)
* Whether the incorporation of St. George is reasonable. "''Based on the evidence, the City of St. George would run a deficit of approximately $3 million dollars on day one and this excludes the additional cost of the Sheriff. This deficit will be a huge negative on the City of St. George. St. George is required to run a balanced budget and because of this deficit there would be layoffs and a reduction in public services''" (p. 8)
* Whether the Incorporation may adversely impact other municipalities in the vicinity. The Court determined that "''If St. George were to incorporate, the aton Rouge municipal budgetgeneral fund would further be reduced by $48 million dollars nbsp; leaving the City of Baton Rouge with a 45% cut in its budget.''" $51 million dollars represents only a 4.95% reduction in the total budget, and only a 15.47% reduction in the 329.5 million dollar general fund listed.) (p. 9).

Louisiana First Circuit Court of Appeal

The First Circuit Court ruling on July 14, 2023, included the following judgements:

* Insufficient plan. "''We affirm the June 13, 2022 judgment of the trial court denying the incorporation," the First Circuit Court said, "because the petition failed to comply with the requirements of La. R.S. 33:1(A)(4)." (p. 25) This section includes the following requirement: ''A listing of the public services the municipal corporation proposes to render to the area and a plan for the provision of these services.'' The court said that "although the petition listed the services that would be provided, the petition did not provide ... a plan for the provision of those services." (p. 25) The court also held that a statement in the petition that “services will be provided subject to the availability of funds derived from taxes, license fees, permits, and other revenue which becomes available to the municipality and are authorized by state law' does not constitute a plan for the provision of those services as required by La. R.S. 33:1.''" (p. 25)
* Lack of standing. The court determined that two of the plaintiffs did not have standing, and were dismissed from the lawsuit. Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome, according to the court, was not an elected official of the governing authority; therefore, lacked standing. (pp. 2 and 25). The court also determined that Baton Rouge resident, M.E. Cormier lacked standing, citing her residency outside of the proposed city limits did not give her an actual interest, nor would she be adversely affected by the incorporation of St. George. (p. 4)
* Dismissal of other issues. Because the petition was deemed to be out of compliance with the requirements, the court held that any discussion of other issues ("including the alleged unreasonableness of the incorporation and the alleged adverse impact on the City of Baton Rouge") would not be considered (p. 25).

A spokesman for the City of St. George said the matter would be appealed to the Louisiana Supreme Court.

Louisiana State Supreme Court

The Supreme Court Ruling on April 26, 2024 affirmed the incorporation of the City of St. George in a 4-3 decision. This ruling directly addressed the issues of Baton Rouge in the following points
*Does incorporation affect an existing city within three miles? "''Also, the statute does not limit the adverse impact factor to economics. Evidence shows that Baton Rouge can actually be positively affected by St. George’s growing population. Those people and their money will stay in the parish. This increases revenues and improves quality of life across the parish. This factor favors incorporation.''"
*Will incorporation affect the interest of landowners in the affected area? "''Landowners and residents of St. George will benefit by their sales tax revenue being used on needs specific to St. George. Again, because of the nature of the consolidated City-Parish government, Baton Rouge has arguably experienced a windfall by collecting taxes in St. George without returning proportionate money and services. Incorporation will allow the money paid by St. George citizens to stay in St. George. This factor favors incorporation.''"
*Is the cost of operating the municipality prohibitive? "''This factor is previously analyzed under the ability to provide public services within a reasonable period of time. We find St. George’s revenue will cover its operating costs. This factor favors incorporation.''"

The concluding statement of the courts' opinion included the following statement:

"''Despite the challenge, we conclude St. George can provide public services within a reasonable period of time. Applying objective factors to determine reasonableness, we hold incorporation is reasonable. We reverse the lower courts’ denial of incorporation and render judgment in favor of Proponents.''"

Appointment of the Interim Government

According to Louisiana Revised Statute Title 33, Section 6 - Officers of newly incorporated municipality:

"''The governor shall appoint all the officers of a newly incorporated municipality, who shall give bond as required. Such officers shall hold office until, the next general municipal election and until their successors take their oaths of office.''"

Appointment of City Officials

On May 14, 2024, following the Louisiana Supreme Court's decision to reverse the lower courts' ruling, thus allowing the incorporation of the City of St. George, Governor Jeff Landry appointed Dustin Yates to be the interim mayor and Todd Morrison to be the police chief.

Mayor Dustin Yates
Yates is age 44. Born and raised in New Orleans where he attended and graduated from Jesuit High School. He continued his education at the University of New Orleans and graduated in 2002 with a B.A. in Education. He taught and coached in public school for four years before entering the fire service with the St. George Fire Department. He has been involved with the City of St. George dating back to the original petition drive in 2013.

Chief of Police Todd Morris
Morris is a 34-year veteran in law enforcement. He serves as the Chief of Crimes against Persons and Special Operations for East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office. The Divisions he oversees include Homicide/Violent Crimes Unit, General Detectives, Sex Offender Registration, Crime Scene, DNA Analysts, Rapid DNA, NIBIN Technicians, Intelligence, Evidence, Homeland Security, SWAT, Mobile Field Force, Marine Search & Rescue, EOD, and Aviation. Major Morris began his career with the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office.

On May 23, 2024, Governor Landry appointed the following members to serve as Alderman for the city of St. George.

District 1, Steven Monachello

District 2, Ryan Heck

District 3, Max Himmel

Council Member, Richie Edmonds

Council Member, Patty Cook

Alderman Steven Monachello
Monachello retired in 2018 from a career in criminal justice with over 40 years of service. He served as a full-time deputy with EBRSO then continued his career with the LSP. After five years with LSP, Steven became a special agent with the DEA. He finished his career and retired from the DEA as a group supervisor. After his retirement, he began a second career with the US Department of Homeland Security as a special agent assigned to a FEMA Fraud Task Force. Today, he works as a federal background investigator where he does work with the US Department of State and the US Bureau of ATF. Steve received his BS in criminal justice and MPA from LSU.

Alderman Ryan Heck
Heck served as an EBR Metro Council member from 2012-2016. He is an entrepreneur and an investor in a number of startups in the agriculture, aquaculture, power generation, disaster recovery, and tech industries. He received his BS in construction management and his MBA from LSU.

Alderman Max Himmel
Himmel started Himmel Architectural Door and Hardware Company in 1973. This company is a top five architectural door supplier in the US. He sold the business in 2016 but remains an advisor to the company.

Alderman at-large Richie Edmonds
Edmonds is a dedicated business owner and leader in the community. He spends much of his time working to grow his company, Vertical Construction. Edmondsis also a licensed contractor with the Louisiana State Board of Contractors and a licensed real estate agent.

Alderman at-large Patty Cook
Cook is an active member of the community, where she spends time as a substitute teacher at the LSU Lab School. She was previously the office manager for the Louisiana Parent-Teacher Association. Cook received her BA in English from LSU. Cook has served as a volunteer with both incorporation petition efforts as well as the previous effort to establish and independent school district in the area.

St. George Elects Transition District Officers

Following the Louisiana Supreme Court's April 2024 decision overturning the lawsuit challenging the incorporation of the City of St. George, the St. George Transition District now had the necessary authority to proceed with duties outlined in Act 361 of the 2020 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature. The first act was to elect officers. The officers elected included: J. Andrew Murrell as Chairman, Norman Browning as Vice Chairman, Chris Rials as Treasurer, Jim Talbot as a District Member, and William Potter as Secretary. Browning, Rials, Murrell, and Talbot were heavily involved in the petition efforts to incorporate, while Potter was recommended to serve by East Baton Rouge Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome. The transition district then approved a motion to request that East Baton Rouge Parish transfer a 2% sales tax revenue to the St. George Transition District. The transition district also voted to approve the opening of a bank account at Hancock-Whitney Bank, and approved the motion to headquarter the transition district out of the interim city hall located at the St. George Fire District Training Academy.

Annexations

Any property owner in unincorporated areas adjacent to the Baton Rouge city limits (such as those in the St. George area) can request to be annexed into the capital city. The request for annexation must be submitted to the Metro Council for approval.

During the first petition effort, several residents and business owners annexed into the Baton Rouge city limits (viz., Baton Rouge General Medical Center – Bluebonnet Campus, Celtic Media, Costco, L'Auberge Casino & Hotel Baton Rouge, Mall of Louisiana, Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center, Siegen Lane Marketplace and the residential neighborhood Legacy Court).

Following the October 12, 2019, election, additional residents and business owners in the proposed St. George city limits requested annexation into the City of Baton Rouge (viz., One United Plaza, Two United Plaza, Four United Plaza, Eight United Plaza, Twelve United Plaza, United Plaza III, Lipsey's and Turner Industries). On January 8, 2020, the Metro Council approved all of these annexations.

On February 7, 2020, St. George organizers filed a lawsuit seeking to invalidate the annexations in the United Plaza area. The lawsuit claims that the legal requirements for these annexations were not followed. An attorney who represents the property owners claims that the lawsuit is without merit.Annexation petitions requested following the certification date of the October 12, 2019 election to incorporate the City of St. George could possibly be declared null and void since the City of Baton Rouge at that date lacked the authority to annex any properties within the boundaries of St. George established in the State of Louisiana approved petition to incorporate as authorized by Title 33 of Louisiana law.

On February 26, 2020, the Metro Council approved additional annexations into the City of Baton Rouge (viz., Louisiana State Employees Retirement System, Teachers Retirement System of Louisiana and Two Sisters of Baton Rouge).

Geography

Area

The proposed city would cover approximately 60 square miles and be located entirely within the southeastern section of East Baton Rouge Parish, bordered on the west by the Mississippi River, on the south by Bayou Manchac, and on the east by the Amite River. Much of the northwestern boundary of the city would extend to the Baton Rouge city limits, although portions of St. George would border unincorporated parish land.

Flooding

The 2016 Louisiana floods had a profound effect upon East Baton Parish, particularly along the Comite River, the Amite River and Bayou Manchac. In response, East Baton Rouge Parish developed a Stormwater Master Plan Implementation Framework to mitigate flooding concerns.

In 2018, Congress authorized funding for the East Baton Rouge Parish Flood Risk Reduction Project to reduce flooding throughout the parish. Using $187 million in federal funds and $64 million in matching state and local funds, the project will provide for 66 miles of drainage improvements along five sub-basins in the parish (see interactive map of the EBR Flood Risk Management Project). In the St. George area, the authorized four-year projects involve:

# Jones Creek and tributaries: clearing and snagging three miles and structurally lining 16 miles with reinforced concrete ($148.5 million)
# Ward Creek and tributaries: clearing and snagging 14 miles of channel and concrete lining ($20.5 million)
# Bayou Fountain: clearing and widening 11 miles of channel ($13 million)

Organizers of the proposed City of St. George have budgeted $2,247,000 in Year 1 for drainage and transportation. This accounts for just over 1 percent of the proposed costs.

Baton Rouge fault

The Baton Rouge fault is an active growth fault that runs across the southern part of East Baton Rouge Parish, including parts of the St. George area. It extends from the Mississippi River near downtown Baton Rouge to the Amite River. In the St. George area, it generally runs along Tiger Bend Road from Airline Highway (Highway 61) to the Amite River. The height of the escarpment ranges from 4 to 7 meters. The average rate of vertical movement is about 3–5 mm/year. The fault has had a particularly pronounced effect near the Jones Creek Road-Tiger Bend Road intersection. Continuous structural repairs to Woodlawn High School buildings located at that intersection forced the abandonment of the property and the building of a new school complex in Old Jefferson—the first new campus that the school board built in the parish in more than thirty years. In 2017, several residents from the Tiger Bend area raised concerns about plans for an upscale subdivision located near the fault line.

Geomorphology

A Pleistocene prairie terrace, formed of alluvial deposits and wind-blown soil (Peoria loess), underlies most of East Baton Rouge Parish. In the St. George area, long slopes along portions of Highland Road can be seen where the prairie terrace meets the Mississippi River floodplain. Visitors to the LSU Hilltop Arboretum, for example, must drive up the slope to enter the facility.

Census Designated Places

The proposed City of St. George would include six of the seven Census Designated Places (CDPs) south of Baton Rouge in East Baton Rouge Parish:

* Inniswold
* Oak Hills Place
* Old Jefferson
* Shenandoah
* Village St. George
* Westminster

The seventh CDP, Gardere, chose against joining the new city in the first petition effort.

Parks and recreation

The St. George area is served by the Recreation and Park Commission for the Parish of East Baton Rouge (BREC). Park facilities in the St. George area include the Burbank Soccer Complex, the Highland Road Community Park, Highland Road Park Observatory and Airline Highway Park.

Through BREC's Capital Area Pathways Project (CAPP), a network of connected trails and greenways is being developed throughout the parish. BREC's Blueways initiative provides paddling access to Bayou Fountain from Highland Road Community Park. Additional canoe-kayak launches are planned for Bayou Manchac and Ward Creek.

The LSU Hilltop Arboretum is a 14-acre museum showcasing an extensive collection of Louisiana native trees and shrubs. It includes a pond with an elevated wooden boardwalk and trails through more than 150 species of Southern native trees, shrubs and wildflowers. A new feature is a wildflower meadow with an earthen amphitheater. A historic marker near the pond helps to identify the route of pioneering Philadelphia naturalist William Bartram (1739–1823) through eight southern states, including Louisiana.

Education

Proposed school district

The incorporation effort for St. George began with a goal of creating a new school district independent of the East Baton Rouge Parish School System.

To form a new school district, however, the new city must first be established. So a new school district was not on the petition or ballot for the formation of the City of St. George.

The process for establishing a new school district in the St. George area would require several steps:

* Authorize constitutional amendment: The Louisiana State Constitution would need to be amended to allow the new school district to access state education funds and to give the City of St. George authority to levy local property taxes. Authorization in the state legislature for a statewide referendum on a constitutional amendment would require support of two-thirds of both the House and the Senate.
* Establish boundaries: The state legislature, in a simple majority vote, would need to approve the map of the area to be served by the proposed St. George school district. The boundaries could extend beyond the boundaries of the proposed City of St. George.
* Obtain voter approval: A statewide referendum would need to be held to approve of the constitutional amendment. A majority of voters in the state as well as a majority of voters in East Baton Rouge Parish would need to approve the constitutional amendment for it to become law.

All of these steps would need to occur before a new school district could be formed.

Informal education

Facilities in the St. George area that provide opportunities for informal education include:

*Highland Road Park Observatory
*Jones Creek Regional Branch Library
*LSU Hilltop Arboretum

Transportation

There are no east–west roads that run through the entire duration of the proposed city limits. However, Interstate 10, U.S. Highway 61 (a major north–south highway that links Wyoming, Minnesota, to New Orleans), and the Old Jefferson Highway (a once-major north–south highway that links Winnipeg, Canada to New Orleans) pass through the center of St. George in a north–south direction. The CDP of Old Jefferson is named for its proximity to the old Jefferson Highway.

The Capital Area Transit System (CATS) has only a limited presence in the St. George area. Currently the new city has no intentions of expanding CATS' services within the new city limits.

Economy

The economy of the St. George area is an integral part of the Baton Rouge economy, the East Baton Rouge Parish economy and the Baton Rouge MSA.

References

External links

City of St. George

Interactive Map of Proposed City of St. George 2018St. George Election Results (download .csv file)Interactive Map of EBR Flood Risk Management ProjectInteractive Map of Baton Rouge Fault

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Cities in Louisiana
Cities in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana
Populated places established in 2019
2019 establishments in Louisiana
Proposed populated places in the United States