Save Freetown

The Man Who Sold Freetown

2007-08-04T20:10:00.000-05:00

Now it appears that Chris Williams, the man who sold Freetown to the developers has the cheek to ask people for their votes! Williams is term limited in his position as a Coucilman. So, he is now running for the District 44 State seat. He even has the nerve to ask the residents of Freetown to vote for him. His gall is incredible!

According to the wacky Williams world view, he is somehow a hero for getting the sum of $200,000 to help preserve the history of Freetown. The fact of the matter is that he did no such thing. His constituents did not want the development. They were happy as they were, without the money. It now emerges that Williams thinks of himself as a hero. The people of Freetown think of his as a buffoon, a greedy self-serving political hack. He is no hero.

It has also come to light that a local businessman, who put up Williams to supporting the development, is paying Williams back. It seems that this individual has contributed the maximum permissable to the William's campaign. This makes Williams little better than a political whore. All his posturing about race is just an act. When it comes down to it, Williams was just looking after himself.

To add insult to injury, Williams supporters were in Freetown putting his yard signs all over the place, including on City land, which is illegal. They even put the signs in people's yards, without asking permission. These signs have now been removed and thrown away.

In a slightly ironic twist of fate, one of the people running against Williams is Fred Prejean. Prejean was one of the few people who stood up against the developers, as a member of the Lafayette Planning and Zoning Commission (PZC). The PZC, which is now under Prejean's leadership, twice voted to deny the developers permission to build their monstrosity. The City Council, led by Williams, overturned their decision. One thing is clear, Prejean is a friend of the voters of Freetown. Williams is loyal only to his own interests. Voters should keep these facts in mind on election day.

Le Festival de Ville de Libre (Freetown Festival) - Sunday, January 28th at 2:00pm

2007-01-17T16:26:00.000-06:00

Le Festival de Ville de Libre (Freetown Festival) - Sunday, January 28th at 2:00pm

Come celebrate the history of the Freetown Neighborhood in Lafayette with a Second Line March through the neighborhood led by renowned trumpeter and vocalist, James Andrews and the Crescent City Allstars (A bio is included below). This celebration is a joint effort between Cité des Arts, the Freetown Neighborhood Historic District Association and St. Pauls Catholic Church. The event is made possible through a grant received from Project HEAL, the SOS Musicians Fund and the Acadiana Arts Council.

The Second Line will begin at 627 Vermilion St. between Gorden St. and Lamar St. It will wind through about an eight block area of the Freetown Neighborhood ending at Good Hope Chapel located on the corner of Convent St. and Garden St. The day will culminate with two music and artistic cultural presentations at Good Hope Chapel.

The first presentation at 3:00pm will feature James Andrews and the Crescent City Allstars and will be facilitated by Austin Sonnier, Jr., a local author, musician, playwright and artist. This educational program will focus on the history of the Tremé Neighborhood Jazz Style and other neighborhood Jazz styles to come out of New Orleans. James Andrews, trumpeter and vocalist, locally known as "Satchmo of the Ghetto" grew up and still lives in the famous New Orleans neighborhood of Tremé. As the grandson of the late Jesse Hill (of "Ooh-Poo-Pah-Doo" fame), James was present at many of his grandfather's gigs and therefore was musically tutored at a young age. James is also the older brother of Troy"Trombone Shorty" Andrews. He has performed with many local brass bands including the Tremé Brass Band and New Birth Brass Band before forming his own For James, as for many musicians who came up on the streets of New Orleans, the Treme neighborhood, located directly north of the Frenc!
h Quarter, represents a distinct musical heritage. This neighborhood is more popular for second-line parades and brass bands. His acclaimed solo album "Satchmo of the Ghetto", a mix of traditional New Orleans Trumpet workouts, acid jazz-styled, instrumental funk and gruff and soulful Louis Armstrong influenced vocals also features appearances by Dr. John and Allen Toussaint.

The second presentation at 4:00pm will be "Freetown Sketches" written by Austin Sonnier Jr. This is a composition that incorporates Jazz improvization and the spoken word. It is an assemblage of short sketches that reincarnate various landmarks, people and situations that were once embraced by a unique neighborhood called Freetown. This double-media dialogue was influenced by a communal spirit that held together this cosmopolitan haven during the early1950's. Actress/Singer Bria Hobgood will read and Austin Sonnier, Jr. will play the soprano saxophone.
(Austin Sonnier, Jr. (Playwright, Author, Composer) is a native Louisianian. He is the author of Five Books: /Willie Geary “Bunk” Johnson: The New Iberia Years (1977),Second Line: Jazzmen of Southwestern Louisiana (1990), A Guide to the Blues: History, Who’s Who, Research Sources (1994), The Violin in New Orleans Traditional Jazz (2006),/ and/ Jazz, Hoodoo & Gumbo (2006)./ His magazine articles have been published in England, Austria, Sweden, Italy, Spain and various Jazz magazines in the United States. He has written a number of plays and musicals, including /The End of a Perfect Death, Poppa Jazz: Jammin’ on a Blue Note, Head and Tales, Duddy’s Delight, The Greasy Spoon Restaurant/Funeral Parlor, Satchmo & Miss Lillian, Salty Dogs/(which had performances in New York City, Dallas, and Edinburgh, Scotland), /A Tribute to Billie Holiday, /and /A Salute to Sinatra. /He is presently working on two plays: /Lady Gardenia /and/ Willie the Lion./ He is a member of “The American Soc!
iety of Composers, Authors and Publishers”, and has received commissions to compose music for a number of major dance performances. He was awarded a “National Endowment for the Arts” grant and has presented papers at the “Center for Black Music Research/Columbia College, Chicago” and the “Michigan Academy of Science, Arts and Letters.”)

WHEN: Sunday, January 28, 2007 at 2:00pm - 5:00pm
WHERE: Second Line March begins at 627 Vermilion St. between Gorden St. and Lamar St. It will wind through about an eight block area of the Freetown Neighborhood ending at Good Hope Chapel located on the corner of Convent St. and Garden St.
COST: Free to the public
For additional information please contact Cité des Arts at 337-291-1122

The following images were taken in New Orleans, at the first Second Line, after the hurricanes hit. Enjoy!

See every one there!

N.B. Capstone (the developers of the student apartment nightmare) were approached to support this event. At the time of posting, it is not known whether they will show support for Freetown. Their commitment to the area will continue to be monitored and reported here.

DESTRUCTION!

2006-11-19T16:36:00.000-06:00

So, Capstone have started work on their unwanted student apartment project. Although there was a lot of talk about saving trees, this seems to have come to nothing. The following images document what happened to a single Pecan tree.

The first image shows the tree before the man with the backhoe started. Incidently, the driver of the backhoe, who seemed nice enough, came from an area about 300 miles South of Mexico City. So much for the claims made by Capstone about using a local labor force.

The backhoe begins...

A not so gentle push and the Pecan tree is half gone...

Timber...

It does not too much more effort from the powerful machine to bring the rest of the tree down...

Well, that tree is now history! A small sacrifice to progress...You cannot make an omlette without breaking a few eggs...Trees are for hippies - Let us make some CA$H!

This Pecan was not the only tree that fell to the backhoes after the last couple of days. The following images document the large number of large and old Pecan trees, Live Oaks and other fine trees that have been ripped from the Earth and piled up like so much garbage. The carnage has just begun... [Click on each picture to see a larger image].

Capstone III -- Confusion!

2006-09-30T17:59:00.000-05:00

Over the weekend, residents of Freetown received a notice of a Planning and Zoning Commission meeting, to consider so-called 'Capstone III'. The notice seemed to indicate that this was to involve a further 70 units. This had folks very unhappy. Now though, it appears that the extra units are not real and their mention on the plat was due to some odd kind of clerical error.

Late this afternoon, a member of the Freetown District Commission received an e-mail from Kent Campbell of Capstone in which the situation was discussed. It appears that the developers do not wish to build more units and still intend to use the land for car parking. How the misleading information appeared on the plat is still unclear. However, it is worth noting that the plat also misnames Lamar Street, Stewart Street. Campbell's claims were confirmed with the City by reporters from KATC.

Apparently, a separate planning request is needed, due to the fact that this land was not included in the Capstone II plans, because the developers did not own the land. Despite this fact, the area was included in the plans they presented.

It is still going to be important from residents to attend the meeting on the 9th of October, at 5pm. Representation is important to ensure that there are no other untoward 'surprises'. However, in the meantime it appears that the developers have not changed their plans after all, so rather than fearing a further 70 units, residents of Freetown can go back to being annoyed about the development that was promised.

Freetown Lost, again! What Next?

2006-08-31T23:15:00.000-05:00

As people may have heard by now, at the Lafayette City-Parish Council meeting on Tuesday night, the Capstone Phase II development was approved, once again going against the opinion of the Planning and Zoning Commission. It seems that in this City, when residents and big money disagree, big money will win. This is a shame and should be kept in mind when it comes to election time. Although many members of the Council are term limited, should they have further political aspirations, their treachery should be remembered.

There were few heros in this debacle. One was Rob Stevenson. He was not at the meeting on Tuesday and thus counted as a 'no' vote. As his sided with residents the first time, it seems that he can be trusted. Louis Benjamin also voted against Capstone. He too is trustworthy. As for the rest, draw your own conclusions. One other individual who deserves mention for his strong support of residents is Fred Prejean of the Planning and Zoning Commission.

So, what next? It seems that we have little choice but to learn to live with Capstone. On the plus side, we will have $200,000 to try and mitigate against their impact. One problem that was mentioned at Tuesdays meeting was the fact that the Freetown District Commission lacks any African-American representation. This is an important problem, given the history of Freetown. The Commissioners have indicated that they are very aware of this issue, which is reassuring. However, suggestions about what may be done about this would be very welcome. Please feel free to post comments on this, or any other relevant topic. Another thing that would be very welcome would be concrete suggestions for the commission. Please post these too.

There were a few good things that came out of Tuesday. Capstone indicated that Oats and Hudson, their lawyers, would be happy to handle mail outs and other mundane tasks for the Commission. This is a real help, as this kind of thing is difficult without the right kind of infrastructure.

There is also one clarification, based upon a previous post. At the 'Meet Capstone' meeting, they claimed that they would only make a profit of $300,000 per year from their project. This claim was somewhat skeptically received. However, we have learnt that, after the Council meeting, a Capstone person approached Freetown Commissioner Dr. Istvan Berkeley with a spread sheet print out. Dr. Berkeley tells us that, although his view of the document was short, it did appear to indicate that the $300,000 figure was approximately correct. Actually, the figure is closer to $330,000, but it is close enough. The skeptical may wonder whether this document was a fake. However, we hear that it could have been a candid admission. You decide.

So, by way of conclusion, please think about how we the people of Freetown, as a community, work to mitigate the effects of the Capstone development. Talk to your neighbors. Talk to the Commissioners (they are in the phone book). Freetown has survived for nearly 200 years and has faced adversity before. We will have to work together. However, this situation is one that hopefully the resilience and resourcefulness of the community will be able to deal with, as we have handled adversity before.

An Evening With Capstone

2006-08-28T20:50:00.000-05:00

This evening, residents of Freetown met with Capstone, the developers of the proposed student housing project. Capstone provided pop and pizza. As was quite natural, residents had a great many questions for Capstone. Engineer Paul Meyers was particularly helpful in explaining the various details on drainage and traffic concerns. A variety of other interesting bits of information came out in the course of the dialogue. The highlights will be provided here.

Capstone are not prepared to offer any further funds to residents, over the $200,000 already promised.

Further details of the secret meeting at which the deal was agreed emerged. Apparently, the meeting was attended by Glenn Armentor, a Mr. Edwards (representing Capstone), Steve Oats (Capstone's lawyer), City Councilors Chris Williams and Bruce Conque.

Capstone claim that the project will make them $300,000 per year. This figure is almost certainly a lie.

Capstone have bought the house behind the trailer park, as they needed more space for drainage ponds.

Capstone are willing to meeting with a Freetown community group on a monthly basis to address issues and impacts from their development. We will have to see whether this actually happens.
All comments about the Capstone project should be directed to Michael Mouron, the President of Capstone. His direct line phone number is (205) 414-6423, his cell phone number is (205) 936-6423 and his e-mail is mmouron@capstone-dev.com.

Probably the most odd part of the whole meeting was the fact that some man showed up from J an J Exterminating, trying to get the contract for the proposed development! Needless to say, this individual spoke highly enthusiastically about the development. Residents found this whole episode bizarre. If J an J are your exterminator, now might be a good time to change companies.

Tomorrow will be the City-Parish Council meeting, which will vote on the Capstone II proposal. Hopefully, the stooges Conque and Williams will not be able to hold sway this time. As many people as possible should show up to voice their opinions against this pernicious development.

Meet The Developers! Plus Coterie News

2006-08-23T20:37:00.001-05:00

At a meeting tonight, the members of the LINC 7 neighborhood Coterie were selected. The Coterie will have nine members. Details on the members will be announced shortly. The first meeting of the Coterie will be at 5.30pm on Tuesday the 12th of September, at the Rosa Parks Center.

At the same meeting, it was announced that on Monday the 28th of August, representatives of Capstone Development will be at the C.J. Angelle Hall, at the corner of Jefferson and Taft Streets between 5.30 and 6.30 pm.

The purpose of this event is to permit residents of Freetown to let the developers 'know their concerns and thoughts about their proposal to build 600 student apartments in the neighborhood'. It is claimed that refreshments will be served. It is important that as many people as possible attend and let these people know how they feel about their plans. Residents of the trailer park on Stewart Street should take this opportunity to let these people know how they feel about losing their homes. There are reasons to believe that these individuals seldom get to meet the people they hurt in their quest for money. This is the reason why this is an important event, which should not be missed. This meeting was arranged by the Freetown District Commission. It is your chance to tell the developers what you think of them. So, please do so. Feel free to vent spleen! As one individual at tonights meeting remarked about this meet "This is a chance to meet the face of evil".

Freetown Commissioners Appointed

2006-08-10T23:18:00.000-05:00

At the City-Parish Council meeting on the 8th of August 2006, the people who will be responsible for administrating the $200,000 'impact fee' to be paid by Capstone Development in order to build their misconceived student apartments in the Freetown neighborhood. The appointed commissioners are Dr. Istvan Berkeley, a contributor to this site, and David Domingue. A third commissioner will be appointed by Capstone.

The charge of the commission, according to the motion approved by the City-Parish Council derives from the following text:

On or before June 27th, 2006, the Developer [Capstone Development, of Birmingham, AL] shall either (a) deposit the sum of $200,000.00 into an escrow account to implement the conditions set forth below, to be administered by the Committee in its sole discretion, or (b) submit to the Director of Planning, Zoning and Codes Department an agreement, executed by the Committee, to effectuate (sic) the off-site improvements as determined by the Committee which are consistent with the cultural and historical nature and significance of such District [i.e. Freetown].

Comments and suggestions for the Freetown District Commission should be posted to the comments section of this site, until another method to hear from members of the Freetown Community can be set up.

We Have a Plan!

2006-07-31T21:11:00.000-05:00

At their meeting today, Monday the 31st of July, the Planning and Zoning Commission gave formal approval to LINC neighborhood Plan No. 7. This neighborhood plan is the first to get final approval and covers the Freetown neighborhood. Had this plan been in place several months ago, it would have been much more difficult for Capstone to get approval for their development. Of course, given the highly dubious relationship these developers have 'cultivated' (i.e. bought) from City Council members, it is quite likely that they still would have ignored the wishes of Freetown residents.

Although there is a sense in which the approval of the neighborhood plan is shutting the gate after the horse has bolted, it does provide the area with a defense mechanism against future speculative traversties. Recent 'antics' at neighborhood meetings by Fredrick and Broussard and their lackeys suggest that these bloated real estate types still have designs to further ruin Freetown to enrich themselves further. Now though the standards they will have to meet (and consequently the bribes that will have to be paid) are going to be much steeper. Better yet, this plan approval is not something that the City-Parish Councilors can overturn. So, residents have another tool with which they can defend themselves from their councilmen. This is good news.

Meeting July 26

2006-07-23T23:25:00.000-05:00

The next Freetown Neighborhood Organization meeting has been scheduled by Mike Hollier's office for Wednesday, July 26, 2006 at C. J. Angelle Hall at 6:00 P.M. This is the building where the June 15 meeting took place. It is located at the corner of Jefferson and Taft Streets.

Although Hollier's office will send out letters of notice to all the addresses they have and place the notice in the newspaper, please be in touch with as many of your Freetown contacts as possible, notifying them of the upcoming meeting date, time and location. This meeting is billed as a Hearing and is designed to explain the organization of The Coterie, which will initially coordinate the plan for the neighborhood.

There will be a follow up meeting to elect The Coterie. The Coterie will develop the co-coordinating plan which will include the appointment of an advisory resource group, as well as the election of a board of directors which will oversee the business of the neighborhood organization.

As you can see, we're on the move! Once again, please come to the meeting, and ask your neighbors to be active participants. If you have questions or comments about the meeting, please contact Mike Hollier, Planning Manager for the City of Lafayette, at 291-8016.

"It Doesn't Matter."

2006-07-10T20:51:00.000-05:00

"It doesn't matter", is what Steve Oats, lawyer for Capstone Development, said this evening, after the Planning and Zoning Commission denied permission for the proposed Capstone II development in Freetown. Two people in the audience clearly heard this remark. What Oats meant by this is for anyone to guess. However, it is likely not anything as honorable as would have been said by the famous Captain Oats, of the Scott Antarctic expedition. A likely interpretation is that Capstone believes that it has the City Parish Council 'in the bag', so the recommendations of the Planning and Zoning Commission are ultimately irrelevant.

The meeting today was quite predictable. The developers made their pitch. The real estate speculators, who stand to make a fortune on the Capstone deal, opined pompously on their interpretation of property owners rights (including a ridiculous invocation of the U.S. Constitution). Perhaps more interesting was the presentation by Glenn Armentor who actually attempted to deal with some of the objections that residents have raised. However, his presentation was spoiled by some factual errors.

Although there were only a few Freetown residents who spoke, they pointed out the errors in the presentations of the Capstone fans. This included an explanation of why the 'property owner's rights' arguments rested upon a logical confusion (this is explained in the posting 'So-Called Reasoning', below). It was clear that Capstone II is as unwelcome in Freetown as Capstone I, though.

The Planning and Zoning Commissioners asked many deep and penetrating questions, especially of the Capstone and their supporters. Fred Prejean had Capstone's Kent Campbell positively squirming when he asked him how far they would be prepared to go to support residents. Campbell was in a bind, as he had tried to portray Capstone as actually being friendly to the residents, without actually offering any concrete promises. This was pretty funny. The most interesting series of questions though were the ones that concerned the secret meeting at which the $200,000 'Impact Fee' from Capstone had been negotiated. Glenn Armentor admitted to being present, along with a Mr. Edwards representing Capstone. Councilor Bruce Conque also volunteered that he had been present too. When Armentor was asked who else had been there, he felt unable to supply any further information, on the grounds that he had not been given permission to do so. What was finally admitted however, was that there were no actual residents of the Freetown neighborhood present at this meeting. Isn't there something very ironic here? The terms and conditions of the initial Capstone development were negotiated behind closed doors, by a developer, an attorney and a Councilman, none of whom actually currently live in Freetown, plus persons unknown, while residents were excluded. Draw your own conclusions.

When it came time for the Commissioners to vote, there was a little bit of confusion, due to the wording of the motion, but this was rapidly sorted out. Initially, it appeared that Capstone had prevailed, but once the confusion was resolved, they had lost. This was the context in which Mr. Oats made his remark.

So now the whole circus will almost certainly return to the City Parish Council. If Mr. Oats and his friends are correct, then after much pantomime, the Council will vote for the developers. It is clear that the Planning and Zoning Commission have read the relevant law concerning the role of the Commission (La. R.S. 33:101, passim). The Commission has also demonstrated courage and concern for the residents of Freetown. Thus far, the City Parish Council has shown no such understanding of the State statues, nor concern for the wishes of residents, nor any spine. Thus, the question is, will any Council members (other than the three previous dissenting votes) show spine and listen to the people of Lafayette, or will they instead be swayed by whatever they were promised at their private meetings with Capstone? This is a simple case of out of State developers and their real estate agent friends, verses the all the other residents of Lafayette. How the councilors vote will tell the people of Lafayette what their local representatives really stand for and where they place their priorities.

Capstone II, Meeting Today

2006-07-10T11:06:00.000-05:00

Today, the Planning and Zoning Commission will meet at 5 p.m. in Building B of the Clifton Chernier Center at 220 W. Willow St. On the agenda of the meeting is a further proposal from the Capstone company to build yet more student apartments in Freetown. The site of this further development is land that is now the trailer park on the corner of Lamar and Stewart Streets.

No doubt the meeting will be attended by the usual sorry collection of plump, white greedy real estate types, attempting to argue that the development should go ahead, in the face of all logic and reason. They will probably claim that the development will be good for Lafayette, confusing the state of their own pocket books with the well being of the City as a whole.

It is for this reason that it is crucially important that as many people as possible make it out to the meeting and express their opposition to the Capstone proposal. Indeed, if this proposed expansion goes ahead, people living in Freetown will be thrown from their homes, so that Capstone can grab their 'Go Zone' Federal subsidy, to build apartments that are not needed.

Please make every effort to attend.

More Secret Capstone Meetings Planned

2006-07-06T15:23:00.000-05:00

Attorneys representing Capstone Development, the people who want to turn Freetown into a student ghetto, are making calls inviting Planning and Zoning Commissioners to secret meetings. This appears to be in anticipation of the Planning and Zoning Commission meeting scheduled for Monday the 10th of July. At this meeting the Planning and Zoning Commission will consider a request for Capstone II. This is a further development of 70 units that they propose to site in an area now occupied by a trailer park at the corner of Lamar and Stewart Streets. This development is in addition to the 142 unit proposal, that was approved, under suspicious circumstances by Lafayette City Parish Council on the 27th of June.

All the objections that applied to the first Capstone proposal will also apply to this second one. However, it is curious that Capstone should continue this strategy of secret meetings, given that it has got them in hot water in the past.

In a bizarre legal case reported by the 11th circuit Court of Appeals (the .pdf is available here), Capstone and one of their contractors sued each other. The story is quite complicated, but the bottom line of it is that the parties initially had an arbitration which was then confirmed in court. Later this arbitration was challenged. The basis of this challenge was that there had been some meetings that the Court ruled problematic between officials from Capstone and one of the official arbitrators. These meetings were sufficient for the Court of Appeal to order that the arbitration award be vacated and the case be remanded for further proceedings.

Despite the problems that secret meetings have caused in the past, it seems that this is the preferred method of operation by Capstone. What is it that they have to hide?

So-Called 'Reasoning'

2006-07-04T21:10:00.000-05:00

Today, this country celebrates independence. Yet, one week ago today, the historic Freetown neighborhood was sold out to developers by a few members of Lafayette City Parish Council. In the intervening week, through many discussions, telephone conversations and e-mails, a rough sketch of the 'reasoning' that lay behind this sell out has come to light. These will be amplified here.

One thing which helped confuse members of the Council was a report from a prominent citizen that he had chatted with neighbors of the Capstone property in Baton Rouge and heard no complaints from them. This report was, at the very least misleading, as the Baton Rouge property is surrounded by trees on three sides, as can be seen from the image here. Moreover, these anecdotal reports are contradicted by first hand reports of the tenants, available here. This distraction notwithstanding, there appear to have been other errors of judgment by some of our Councilmen.

Early on in the fatal Lafayette City Parish Council meeting Louis Benjamin, the Councilor for the area where the proposed construction is sited, suggested that the appeal by the developers be halted until residents had the opportunity to request that the land be rezoned as something other than I-1, light industrial. This could have been done, perfectly legally, under La. R.S. 33:113. No other Councilor supported Benjamin's proposal, so it failed. However, it appears that the I-1 zoning featured largely in the so-called reasoning of the Councilors who had become catamites to the developers.

According to received reports, the catamites voted for the developers, in order to prevent more problematic construction in the area. It is true that I-1 zoning would permit all sorts of industrial horrors, that would clearly not be good for the area. However, any such future proposal would also have to pass through the Planning and Zoning Commission, at which residents could have expressed objections. So, the threat of some entirely theoretical, potential future problem was used to justify approving the current nightmare. This clearly is not smart and is also clearly not the much vaunted 'smart growth'.

A more improbable bit of dumb reasoning from the Councilmen catamites concerns the fact that the developers appear to have satisfied all the conditions for construction under an area zoned I-1. They seem to believe that being able to read and follow the rules entitles a corporation to engage in destructive and speculative property development, to the detriment of a historic neighborhood. The fact that the duty of checking the facts on these issues lies with Planning and Zoning staff, seems to have not caught their attention. This oversight also suggests that the Capstone fans see no real apparent role for the Planning and Zoning Commission. However, the men who sold out Freetown believe that they can justify their action on this basis. This is sad. What makes the situation truly culpable is that this error was brought to the attention of the councilmen in a written submission, that was included in their information packet. The submission said,

"One line of argument that Capstone might attempt to advance is that, given that they are in compliance with all the relevant statutes and ordinances, their project should be allowed to proceed. Such a line of argument rests upon a simple logical confusion between necessary and sufficient conditions. A condition is necessary if it must be satisfied for a particular result to arise. For instance, it is a necessary condition of holding a Bachelor's degree that an individual attends a university or college. This though is not a sufficient condition, as the individual must also pass their classes, etc. in order to get a Bachelor's degree....If Capstone claims that satisfying all the statutes and ordinances should allow their project to proceed, then they are like the student who argues that they should be given a Bachelor's degree, because they were admitted to a college, or university. Clearly, this is a logical error."

Now, it seems that our Councilmen wish to appeal to precisely this logical error to justify their actions! This is arrogant, culpable and unforgivable. They should know that this is a mistake. Maybe, they were too busy having secret meetings to actually read the materials provided to them? Perhaps, they are not bright enough to follow this reasoning? Who knows. It still stinks.

So, this was some of the so-called 'reasoning' that our civic leaders used to sell out the residents of Freetown. Did they reason so badly because of lack of rational capacity, or were they dazzled by the slick words of the developers and their lackeys? We will probably never know the answer on this. However, it should be obvious that the men who sold Freetown should not be trusted with future important choices about the future of our community, nor should they be trusted in any other important political role, at any time in the future.

The Price of Lafayette History? $200,000, According to the City-Parish Council!

2006-06-27T22:17:00.000-05:00

At the City-Parish Council meeting this evening, the Council reversed a unanimous decision by the Planning and Zoning Commission. The Council approved a proposal by Crapstone Development to build the 400 bedroom student apartment complex in the historic Freetown neighborhood. The 'sweetener' to the deal? The company will put up $200,000 to be spent at the discretion of a committee made up of two Freetown 'resident property owners' and one person designated by the developer. The money will be spent on neighborhood improvements, "consistent with the cultural and historical nature and significance" of the area. If there are 400 bedrooms in the development and they each rent for an average of $500 per month, then $200,000 is exactly equivalent one months rental revenue for the developers. Assuming that Freetown has roughly 800 residents, this means that their history and peace has been sold out for an approximate price of $250 per head. What a deal for the neighborhood (NOT).

Many people spoke at the meeting. Most people in favor of the developer were white, male real estate agents and property speculators. The fact that more people (from more diverse backgrounds) spoke against the proposal and gained very loud applause, did not impress many of the Councilmen.

After hours of comments, Bruce Conque delivered a rambling summing up, describing his childhood on Vermilion Street, but bizarrely concluding by supporting the developers. Then Chris Williams proposed a motion in favor of the developers proposal, with the amendment that the developers should adhere to the revisions that were recommended by the Planning and Zoning Commission Staff and containing the $200,000 bribe to the neighborhood.

When it came to the vote, councilors Badeaux, Benjamin and Stevenson voted against the motion. All the other councilors voted in favor, making the appeal successful by a 6 to 3 vote. Thus was Lafayette's history squandered. Of course, there are a few less public details to the story. These will be outlined here. None of these presented facts have been verified, but are believed to be fully accurate, according to the whispering in the hallways. Readers should feel free to verify the facts for themselves, or post comments with corrections.

It appears that in the very recent past there was a meeting between the developers and Bruce Conque. It is unclear who else was present, but it seems likely that Glenn Armentor, a lawyer who initially was against the proposed development, was also there. It seems that it was at this meeting that some minor architectural changes were made to the development and it was at this meeting that the $200,000 bribe was arranged. Thus, Armentor's role in this travesty is equivocal. What is amazing is that when concerned residents contacted Conque, his response was to have a council employee return their calls with the message that Mr. Conque would make his decision after hearing both sides at the council meeting. It may be infered from this that out of town developers are more worthy of Mr. Conque's attention than Lafayette residents. So much for representative democracy.

Chris Williams also admitted that he met privately with the developers. In addition, Mr. Williams claimed to have e-mailed various 'people in the area'. No doubt one of these people was Coach@state.la.us. However, there are also a number of instances in which Williams failed to return phone messages from concerned residents. One of the Crapstone supporters claimed that he had met 'with residents'. Nobody seems to know who these mystery 'residents' are. In all likelihood, the only person the developers really met with was the equivocal Mr. Armentor. However, he is not a resident of Freetown, living instead on West Bayou Parkway, although his law office is located in the neighborhood. Thus, through various closed door meetings and private lobbying sessions (what about Sunshine laws?), Crapstone managed to sway at least two councilmen. Residents of the area (other than the mystery ones) were not invited to these meetings. They did not even get their messages returned! There may have been other meetings, but no details, or even rumors, are known on these currently. Probably the only concrete evidence will come from closely looking at campaign contributions for the councilors who agreed to sell the history of the City of Lafayette for so little.

Three councilors, Stevenson, Benjamin and Badeaux can hold their heads high. They did the right thing. The other six, should hang their heads in shame. One even admitted to not having read all the materials submitted to them, until during the meeting itself! Clearly, the Planning and Zoning Commission listens to the residents of Lafayette, whilst the larger City-Parish Coucil does not. This is a depressing conclusion.

The really disturbing part about all this comes from the fact that residents of Freetown, and surrounding areas have just voted on a neighborhood plan, as part of the Lafayette into the New century (LINC) proposal. Exit polls suggest that this plan will be approved with 10 to 1 residents voting in favor of the plan. The key to the neighborhood plan was to be a park, located where Crapstone will now build student slums. Every single council region has at least one neighborhood plan in the works (some regions have several). The Freetown area, Region 7, was the first to be considered and voted on by residents. Yet it appears that six of our elected city officials care not a fig, for the opinions of the residents. Please remember this when it comes time to vote [them out of office].

Council Meeting Tuesday

2006-06-25T15:34:00.000-05:00

As has been mentioned before, the crucial Council meeting will be on Tuesday the 27th of June at 5.30 pm. There the appeal by Capstone Development of the Planning and Zoning Commissions rejection of their proposal will be considered. Flyers about the meeting have been delivered to every home in Freetown. Hopefully, a large number of people will attend the meeting to show their opposition to the proposed development.

Not everybody will be familiar with how Council meetings work. In order to have an opportunity to speak, it is necessary to fill out a speaker card. This is crucial. If one has the opportunity of addressing the Council, it is important to know that one only has 3 mins. in which to make one's points. Although it is possible that time can be extended, do not bank upon this happening. For this reason, it is very important to have figured out what one wishes to say in advance. In fact, it is even a good idea to practice to ensure the points can be made effectively within the time limit.

Another point to keep in mind is that it can get boring if the same point is made over and over again. If you wish to speak on say, three topics and by the time your turn comes two of the topics have already been covered, then just address your remaining topic. Doing this will enable the largest number of people to speak. It will also prevent the meeting going on too long. Being able to present a case against the proposed development is important. However, also presenting that case in a disciplined manner also matters.

It is also important to be respectful to the Council members and even the developers. This is an obvious point, but if people get overly passionate on a topic, it can be overlooked. A well reasoned coherent case made to the Council is always going to be more effective than a lot of people yelling.

Hopefully, if everyone keeps these points in mind, we will be able to persuade the Council to uphold the decision of the Planning and Zoning Commission. If this can be achieved, then the threat from Capstone Development and their tax relief fuelled dreams of student slums in Freetown can be fought off once and for all.

Time to Lobby

2006-06-20T15:45:00.000-05:00

One week from today that appeal of the Planning and Zoning Commission decision on the Capstone student apartment development will be heard by Lafayette City-Parish Council. Everyone is encouraged to attend the meeting, which will be held at 5.30 pm at 705 W. University Ave., Lafayette, LA, 70506. It is also crucially important that the residents of Lafayette let the members of the Council know their views on the development. For this reason, everyone is encouraged to call, write, or e-mail their own Council Member, as well as other Council Members.

If you are unsure who your own Council Member is, you can find out using a tool available here (requires JavaScript).

District 1, Council Member Bobby Badeaux, Tel: 291-8801, E-mail: district1@lafayettegov.com
District 2, Council Member Dale Bourgeois, Tel: 291-8802, E-mail:district2@lafayettegov.com
District 3, Council Member Chris Williams, Tel: 291-8803, E-mail:chriswilliams06@yahoo.com
District 4, Council Member Louis Benjamin, Tel: 291-8804, E-mail: district4@lafayettegov.com
District 5, Council Member Lenwood Broussard, Tel: 291-8805, E-mail: district5@lafayettegov.com
District 6, Council Member Bruce Conque, Tel: 291-8806, E-mail: district6@lafayettegov.com
District 7, Council Member Marc F. Mouton, Tel: 291-8807, E-mail: district7@lafayettegov.com
District 8, Council Member Rob Stevenson, Tel: 291-8808, E-mail: district8@lafayettegov.com
District 9, Council Member Randy Menard, Tel: 291-8809, E-mail, district9@lafayettegov.com

Councillors can be also be contacted by U.S. Mail at P.O. Box 4017-C, Lafayette, LA, 70502.

Please contact as many Council Members as you can and let them know that you oppose the development in the historic Freetown neighborhood.

Neighborhood No. 7 - Why Voting Matters

2006-06-18T15:34:00.000-05:00

On Thursday the 15th of June a meeting was held to consider the neighborhood plan for the LINC Neighborhood No. 7 Plan. This region is bounded by University Ave, Johnston St., Garfield St. (by the railroad tracks) and Pinhook Rd. All residents in this area are eligible to vote on the Neighborhood Plan.

Although the meeting was well attended, there were fewer people there than are eligible to vote on the proposed Plan. It is vital that as many eligible households as possible vote, so that the will of the people is known. People who missed the meeting can cast their ballots at the Planning Office, at the Rosa Parks Transportation Center.

One reason this ballot is crucial is that the adoption of a neighborhood plan provides a crucial tool to guide the Planning and Zoning Commission, when they consider applications for development in the area. For instance, had the plan been in place, it would have been much harder for Capstone Development to propose their students apartment blocks.

It is important to realize that voting in favor of the plan merely has the effect of telling the City that you favor having a plan. The current plan is not set in stone. It is merely a set of ideas that can be subject to change and amendment. If the plan is approved, then a whole set of administrative structures, including a 'Coterie' will be created to implement and advise upon the details of the plan. The Coterie is an elected body, made up of property owners and residents in the area. Thus, even if one has issues with certain aspects of the plan, these concerns can be addressed by raising these issues with the Coterie.

Without a plan, the area is likely to continually fall prey to out of State property speculators, like Capstone. With the plan, these threats can be neutralized. Thus, for the future of the region, it is important that residents cast their votes. Please do so.

Capstone and Facts

2006-06-09T00:35:00.000-05:00

Today June 8th, KATC TV-3 gave the issue of the proposed development of student apartments in Freetown some coverage. The story is available here (you will need to have JavaScript enabled to see the story). When interviewed for the story, Kent Campbell, Executive Vice President of Capstone Development said, "This will be the first development in decades that is on the campus edge - students can walk to campus". It appears that Capstone has not heard about the Legacy Park apartments, that are owned and operated by UL. They also seem to have unrealistic views about student behavior -- students who live in Freetown currently, do not 'walk to campus' (see the discussion of the traffic issue, below). Of course, this is the same gentleman who (totally implausibly) claimed that Capstone had spent "hundreds of thousands of dollars" on plans for the proposed project, at the Planning and Zoning Commission meeting at which their application was unanimously denied. If Capstone executives are prepared to be 'economical with the truth' on such simple matters, what are we to make of their claims that their development will be 'upscale' and 'beneficial to the neighborhood'?

More Freetown Development Proposed

2006-06-06T18:54:00.000-05:00

Another proposal for major development in Freetown has been delivered to the Planning and Zoning Commission. It appears that Capstone Development of Birmingham, AL are determined to inflict student residences on Freetown. The latest proposal, for so-called 'Capstone Phase II', is for a 70 unit student housing complex to be built on Stewart Street, at the site that is currently occupied by the trailer park. This will be considered by the Planning and Zoning Commission at their July meeting. This is scheduled for July 10th, 2006. It appears that Capstone have learned nothing from their previous proposal being unanimously declined by the Commission. They are hell-bent on getting their hands on the money that is available in the Lafayette 'Go-Zone'. As with their previous application, this development would have detrimental effects upon the neighborhood (see below) and it should be resisted strenuously.

Neighborhood Meeting

2006-06-01T22:04:00.000-05:00

There will be a neighborhood meeting on Thursday the 15th of June at 6 p.m. The meeting will be held at the C.J. Angelle Hall, which is on the corner of Jefferson and Taft Streets. The purpose of this meeting is to consider and vote on the Neighborhood Plan for Freetown and surrounding neighborhoods. It is important that as many households as possible are represented at this meeting. The adoption of the neighborhood plan is an important step in preventing speculative development, like the one proposed by Capstone Development, in Freetown.

Freetown Under Threat

2006-05-25T14:58:00.000-05:00

N.B. for the latest updates, go to savefreetown.blogspot.com

The historic Freetown neighborhood in Lafayette, Louisiana is under threat. Capstone Development, a property company based in Birmingham, Alabama is proposing to build a 400 bedroom, three storey student apartment complex at the corner of Garfield and Taft Streets. The initial planning request was denied by a unanimous vote. However, Capstone are now appealing this decision to the City of Lafayette Consolidated Government Council. The hearing date is set for the 27th of June, 2006. This development threatens to radically alter the nature of the neighborhood. The purpose of this web site is to provide interested citizens with information relevant to the proposal. It also serves as a forum for community members. Please feel free to leave comments, or send useful information, either on this page in the comments section below, or send it to savefreetown@yahoo.com.

About Freetown
- Glenn Armentor's "History of Freetown and The Good Hope Hall"

- Where is Freetown? The name 'Freetown' is not an official designation. As such, there is no clearly defined boundary to the area. The name though goes back over one hundred years. Roughly, Freetown is the area of Lafayette bounded to the South by Jefferson Street, as far as Johnston Street. The Western boundary runs from Jefferson Street, along Johnston Street as far as Garfield Street. Garfield Street forms the Northern boundary of Freetown, along the railroad tracks, as far as Taft Street. The Eastern boundary runs along Taft Street, back to Jefferson Street. An illustration of this area can be found here.

About The Developers
The Developers of the proposed property, Capstone Development Corp. "...was founded in 1990 to concentrate exclusively on providing housing for college and university students", according to their web site. It is clear that Capstone Development have a very strong marketing team. As for their success in providing student housing, this can be assessed by the comments of their tenants, their Better Business Bureau ratings and the stories from the press, listed below.

- List of Other Properties

-Information on Capstone Properties:

Tuscaloosa, AL -- Tenant Ratings -- BBB Rating
Gainesville, FL -- Tenant Ratings -- BBB Rating -- Press (Scroll Down)
Athens, GA -- Tenant Ratings -- BBB Rating
Urbana, IL -- Tenant Ratings -- BBB Unrated
Bloomington, IN -- Tenant Ratings -- BBB Rating
Lexington, KY -- Tenant Ratings -- BBB Rating -- Press 1, Press 2
Baton Rouge, LA -- Tenant Ratings -- BBB Rating -- Press
East Lansing, MI -- Tenant Ratings -- BBB Unrated
Starkville, MS -- Tenant Ratings -- BBB Unrated
Eugene, OR -- Tenant Ratings -- BBB Listing -- Press 1, Press 2 (Scroll Down)
Columbia, SC -- Tenant Ratings -- BBB Rating -- Press
College Station, TX -- Tenant Ratings -- BBB Rating -- Press 1, Press 2
Austin, TX -- Tenant Ratings -- BBB Rating

- The timing behind this project proposal is also revealing. Recently, Congress passed The Gulf Opportunity Zone Act. The idea behind this legislation was to encourage rebuilding in the areas of the Gulf Coast that were devastated by the storms of 2005. One provision in this Act creates so-called 'Go Zones'. Lafayette falls within a Go Zone. In a Go Zone, the Act provides for a bonus depreciation of 50% on construction projects that started after August 2005 and completed by the end of 2008, according to a story in The Independent, published on the 10th of May 2005. What this means in practice for the developers is that for every $10 Million Dollars they invest, they will receive a tax credit of approximately $5.3 Million Dollars. So, if this project goes ahead, a Birmingham, AL corporation will see significant tax advantages. However, these facts also give cause for concern about the long term commitment of the company to the development.

The Issues
- Traffic
One important concern for the residents of Freetown about the proposed development, has to do with traffic issues. The proposed development is very close to not one, but two railroad crossings. These are illustrated here. It will be necessary for students living in the proposed development to cross the rail road to access the major East-West highway (I-10) and the major North-South highway (I-49/Highway 90). The increased traffic will make accidents at the railroad crossing more likely. This is a particular concern given that this State has a poor safety record with railroad crossings.

Another very important issue concerns traffic from the development itself. According to what they said at the Planning and Zoning Commission meeting, the developers are under the impression that students in their proposed property will walk to the University. This assumption is incorrect. As a matter of fact, students almost always drive, due to the heat and humidity, the ever present danger of rain, the need to carry laptop computers and other expensive, water sensitive, technological devices and the desire not to arrive in class too sweaty. One of the reasons that the developers are under this delusion is because they believe that their development is a mere six blocks from the campus. Their error comes from assuming that students wish to get to Martin Hall. This though is the administration building, seldom visited by students. Most classes at UL take place Griffin Hall, which is significantly further away. The image available here illustrates the difference in distance. For these reasons then, the development is likely to dramatically increase the traffic in the streets in and around Freetown.

- Drainage
Although the area of the proposed development technically falls in the 500 year flood zone, the area is subject to significant street flooding, whenever there are heavy rains. Stewart Street, in particular, is prone to flooding, as is the corner of Taft and Garfield Streets. Although drainage issues such as this are governed by statute (La. C. C., 655, 'Natural Drainage'), this issue is a concern to Freetown residents, who may be affected by excess water. The proposed development will in all likelihood exacerbate preexisting drainage issues. As they stand, the developer's plans have no space dedicated to holding ponds. At the Planning and Zoning Commission meeting, the developers made some vague comments about underground retention facilities. The drainage issue still needs to be substantially addressed.

- Intoxication
It is a well known fact that intoxication can be a problem amongst college students. For example, in a study reported by Inside Higher Education, it was noted that "...almost 30 percent of all freshmen regularly drink two times the amount of alcohol that defines traditional binge drinking." (The full story is available here). Whilst this is not a problem for all students, the location of the proposed development is such that it is likely to make it especially attractive to individuals who like to 'party'. This is because the development is close to both the McKinley Street 'Strip' and the bars Downtown which are popular with students. In fact, the location provides better access to these locations than it does to the campus! This is plainly illustrated by the image available here. The problems associated with intoxicated individuals include noise, litter, drug use, lewd behavior and a host of other social evils. Indeed, residents on Stewart Street already have to put up with some of these problems, due to their proximity to the McKinley Strip. These facts alone constitute a powerful set of reasons why the development should not be permitted.

- Long Term Impact
At the current time, the Freetown neighborhood is a relatively quiet one, with many families and children. Indeed, it is common to see children and adults riding bicycles and walking around the streets. There are even chickens that wander free, from time to time. An important question is how this state of affairs is likely to be impacted by the proposed development. There appear to be a couple of scenarios.

There can be little doubt that the addition of four hundred students to the neighborhood will produce significant effects. There are roughly 890 households in Freetown. Assuming the U.S. Census Bureau average of 2.6 individuals per household, this means that the population of Freetown can be estimated to be 2,314. Thus, if the students move in, they will be adding nearly 20% to the population. The effect of this kind of invasion is discussed in a study conducted at Penn State. The Penn State Indicators Report (2000) notes that,

"[I]t appears that the spill-over of Penn State's expanding student population [including two Capstone properties] has contributed significantly to the fragmentation of the Highlands Neighborhood...Indeed, on some streets, the family neighborhood character has ceased to exist...Approximately 45% of all the residential space in the Highlands neighborhood is now occupied by apartment buildings/townhouses or fraternities and one-third of all homes are now rental properties."

So, if this pattern is repeated in Freetown, it is likely that the nature of the neighborhood will be radically altered by the proposed development. Such an outcome seems hard to reconcile with the philosophy of so-called 'Smart Growth'.

This is not the only possible outcome though. This is because another important issue which has not been addressed is whether or not there is even the demand for such a development. Capstone Development are convinced that if they build, then students will come. They have no evidence to support this contention though. In fact, prior to the beginning of the Fall 2005 semester, there were plenty of affordable apartments and houses available for rent, close to UL. One reason for this was the opening of the Legacy Park development by UL (against which the proposed development would directly compete). Things naturally changed after the storms of 2005. However, there is no direct evidence that there has been a significant and persistent change in the underlying circumstance. This being the case, it is quite possible that there will not be sufficient demand to make the proposed development financially viable in the medium to long term.

If the proposed development is constructed and their is insufficient demand to make it pay it's way, what will then become of it? The type and layout of the proposed construction is such that it will be difficult to convert for use, for example, as condominiums. What would happen to the buildings and the surrounding neighborhood under these circumstances is radically unclear. However, what should be fairly obvious is that the consequences would not be good. Thus, this development, which is fundamentally speculative in nature, represents a potential for quick profit for the developer, but at a huge potential cost to those who live close to it. Whereas the developer will be in a position to walk away in adverse circumstances, the people of Freetown will have little choice but to shoulder the consequences.

So, it appears whatever the final outcome, the proposed development will have a detrimental effect upon Freetown. If the development is built and fills with students, then the residents of Freetown can anticipate being squeezed out of their neighborhood over time. If the development is built and is not successful, then Freetown will be blighted by a White Elephant and whatever ills that may bring. Under either scenario, the developers get their tax credits, whilst the residents of Freetown pay the real price.