Pending changes to an agreement between a developer and the City of Broussard may violate state law, an Attorney General's Opinion has found.
Mayor Ray Bourque asked for the opinion to determine if there could be problems with changes to the agreement, which was approved by the city council back in 2024. That approval was subject to the AG's opinion.
AG opinions do not have the force of law.
According to the opinion, the Mayor told the AG's office that the agreement in question was created between a developer and the city in June 2023. The developer was constructing a market-rate, single-family, built-to-rent development in the city, and the agreement made that developer responsible for traffic issues, including the construction of a turn lane.
But in February 2024, the developer asked that the traffic requirements be removed from the agreement; the developer wanted to pay only 10 percent of the cost of the turn lane. The council approved that agreement in March 2024, subject to the AG opinion on the question.
The anticipated cost of the lane was $700,000. The city would be taking over $630,000 of it.
Bourque asked several questions. The first one asked if the change would violate the state Constitution's ban on the transfer of property or things of value.
The AG's answer? Yes.
"It is the opinion of this office that, by relieving the Developer of the obligation to pay the full cost of constructing a turn lane, the Amended Agreement constitutes a transfer of "property or things of value" as contemplated by La. Const. art. VII, §14(A)," the opinion states.
Bourque also asked if the change would violate the state Constitution's ban on "gratuitous alienation." That part of the Constitution requires that public funds to be for a public purpose, not gratuitous, and the entity must expect a benefit equivalent to the amount spent.
The answer to that? Maybe.
"The Amended Agreement may constitute a prohibited gratuitous alienation under La. Const. art. VII, § 14(A) unless the City can reasonably demonstrate that in exchange for assuming the bulk of the Developer's obligation to pay the turn lane construction costs the City will receive a real and substantial benefit," the opinion states.
And lastly, the Mayor wanted to know if the change might violate any other provision of law?
The answer? No.
"This transfer does not appear to violate any other provision of Louisiana law," the opinion states.
We reached out to Broussard Mayor Ray Bourque for a statement regarding the AG's opinion. Here's what he had to say: “The City of Broussard recently received the Attorney General’s opinion. Over the next few weeks, we will determine the best path forward that is in the best interest of the city. It would be inappropriate to make any other comments until further consideration is given to this issue, and thorough discussions are complete.”
Here's the opinion:
