Looking into the future the Pelican feeding its young from a self-induced wound in its own breast (as depicted, mysteriously, on the state flag of Louisiana) is accepted as an appropriate symbol of both self-sacrifice and rebirth. Through his selfless efforts, man is raised from the slavery of ignorance to the condition of freedom conferred by wisdom. Given the current state of affairs in Louisiana, one hopes that the understanding of the Pelican as a symbol shall point the way towards a new consciousness of ourselves as a whole, and lead us to face our futures with strength, grace, wisdom and faith, to learn from our mistakes and carry our successes and zest for living to future generations.

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Oak Harbor East Fight Continues with Lawsuit

1. By Paul Bartels
2. September 23, 1998
3. Source: The Times-Picayune

Dusting off an old argument and switching judicial jurisdictions, a doggedly determined environmental group insisted anew Monday that much of Oak Harbor East south of Slidell is public land protected from private development.

In a lawsuit filed in state District Court in Baton Rouge, Save Our Wetlands, Inc. contends that at least 1,000 of the 2,981 acres owned primarily by Tammany Holding Corp. actually belongs to the state.

The land should be held publicly because it once was part of Lake Pontchartrain but was drained illegally several times since the 1920’s, according to the declaratory judgment petition filed by attorney Arthur A. Lemann IV of New Orleans and Melinda Leonard of Port Allen.

Tammany Holding recently received federal and state permits to develop 617 acres of the tract as an exclusive waterfront subdivision and marina, Lakeshore Estates at Oak Harbor, with at least 400 home sites and multifamily residential and commercial developments.

In addition to Tammany Holding, the state and Attorney General Richard Ieyoub are named as defendants. No hearing date has been set.

Although written opposition from environmental groups and others were substantial during the permit process, neither the Army Corps of Engineers nor the state departments of Environmental Quality and Natural Resources held a public hearing.

Principal owner Bob Torres said Monday that he was unaware of the suit.

“They (environmentalists) can certainly make it (the land) public if they have the cash” to buy it from him, he said. “But I guess they can file a suit if they want to”.

Torres said Save Our Wetlands doesn’t have a legal leg to stand on and insisted that Oak Harbor East isn’t an arm of the lake. Other than that, he left any further comment to his attorneys.

The tract, in which only a handful of people own small parcels, is bordered generally by the lake, Interstate 10 and Louisiana 433. It’s on the east side of the interstate from Eden Isles and Oak Harbor Estates.

Among other things, the Save Our Wetlands litigation filed in 19th Judicial District Court contends:

1. - The 1,000-plus acres were drained illegally by St. Tammany Drainage District 2, which still exists. Torres’ son is its president. The levees, canals, and pumping stations were completed in 1929.

2. - The land and levees eroded from the impact of hurricanes, beginning with the big one in 1947, and the effects of tidal flow from the lake. “This area again gradually became submerged and part of the waters, bottoms and seashores” of the lake.

3. - In 1964, the levee district “once again began to illegally maintain the levees, dredge and drain this area.” As a result, the once-navigable Bayou Rousseau that traversed the property and emptied into the lake “dried up and disappeared.”

4. - State law, plus the old 1921 state Constitution and the newer 1974 one, considers the waters and bottoms of natural navigable water bodies, the territorial sea – “Lake Pontchartrain is an arm of the sea” – and the seashore to be “public things…not susceptible to private ownership.

The argument isn’t a new one. Members of Save Our Wetlands periodically have used it before to little avail. And Lemann submitted a separate, lengthy memo in support of the claim as part of his opposition comments submitted to the corps this year.

The Save Our Wetlands suit also came as something of a surprise for two reasons. One, many observers thought the group had finally tired of what had been a losing fight for years and was ready to give up. Two, most of the organization’s previous efforts have been through public agencies and courts on the federal level.

The group was formed in 1974. It has fought proposals to privately develop the eastern coastal plain off and on since then. The group intensified its efforts in the 1990s, when the land went on the federal market after the savings and loan association that owned it went belly up.

Slidell area businessman Bill Garrett bought Oak Harbor East in 1996 after a consortium that included Save Our Wetlands and several other public and private agencies were unable to raise enough money to buy the land for preservation as public wetlands, Garrett immediately sold the property to Torres on credit.