The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals backs ruling in favor of Jefferson Parish zoning law
Bars looking to buck Fat City's strong zoning restrictions took another blow Monday when a federal appeals court upheld an earlier decision to toss out their lawsuits against Jefferson Parish. The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals agreed that U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman was right to dismiss two lawsuits asserting the Parish Council's ordinance violated the business owners' constitutional rights.
Bartender Teegan Gerhart mixes drinks in the mostly empty live music venue The Bar in Fat City on April 2 around 11:30 p.m."It's a great deal of foresight and courage that the council exercised in taking this step, and the court saw that," said Thomas Anzelmo Sr., an attorney who represented the parish in the case.
In September 2010, the council passed a broad ordinance meant to steer Fat City's future development away from its sordid nightlife reputation. Bars operating in the four-block wide section of Metairie had to close by midnight during the week and 1 a.m. on weekends. They also had to watch noise levels, install surveillance cameras, clean up litter and report suspicious activity to police, among other tasks.
City Bar owner Anthony Marullo sued soon after the council's action, as did other bar owners in separate litigation. The two cases were consolidated in Feldman's court.
The bar owners argued that the ordinance would kill their profits and give bars nearby, but outside Fat City's boundaries, the unfair advantage of later hours of operation. The ordinance violated their constitutional rights to due process and equal protection, and it amounted to the government's illegal taking of private property, they said, calling the council's action "arbitrary and capricious."
Feldman disagreed when he heard the cases in December, and the appeals court backed him up Monday. (Read PDF of the 5th Circuit's ruling.)
Fat City, which is bounded by Severn and West Esplanade avenues, Veterans Memorial Boulevard and Division Street, has some historical significance, and the council took the time to hold public hearings and deliberate on its plan for the area. This undermined the bar owners' allegation that the council was illegally "spot-zoning," according to the appellate court.
Its ruling also stated that any boundary was bound to have establishments on both sides, and that to negate the Fat City ordinance because one bar had an advantage over another would open almost all borders to legal questions.
Additionally, the council's decision didn't amount to the government's taking of property by undercutting the owners' ability to make a buck.
"The limitations imposed by the ordinance might have some adverse economic effect on appellants' businesses by decreasing revenue and increasing costs," the panel wrote. However, "they are still able to operate bars and other businesses, as they did prior to the enactment of the new zoning rules."
The panel of appellate judges -- 5th Circuit Judges Edith Jones of Houston and Catharina Haynes of Dallas and District Judge Kurt Engelhardt of Metairie, specially designated for the Fat City case -- also stated that a reduction in crime and bad behavior associated with the late-night hours would benefit the community as a whole, despite the economic blow to the bars.
"That, in essence, is what the council sought about to do," Anzelmo said.
Anthony Glorioso, an attorney representing City Bar, didn't return a message left Monday seeking comment.
Should similar cases make their way through the courts, Anzelmo said Monday's decision will serve as precedent.
Jones and Feldman were nominated by President Reagan, Haynes and Engelhardt by President George W. Bush.