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Louisiana IBTS: Regional Building Departments

The Regional Approach - Regional Building Departments

The challenges presented in Louisiana are unique due to a number of factors. Of the 64 parishes in the state, 57 have no building code compliance departments or enforcement of any kind, and the few that do are overwhelmed due to the devastating effects of the Hurricanes. With only a handful of building code professionals in the state, there is simply no way to staff 57 additional building departments, not to mention those independent jurisdictions (larger cities and incorporated towns) within the parishes. The need for a Regional Approach is mandated by the numbers.

IBTS recognized immediately that neighboring parishes would need to join together to accomplish the requirements of Act 12, but we also recognized that parishes and jurisdictions, out of concern for their constituents, might be hesitant to "give up" control of decision making. Therefore, we addressed those issues at numerous parish and town meetings by showing that Regional Building Departments:

  • Provide for high degree of local control, shared among participating parishes.
  • Reduce set-up and operation costs exponentially.
  • Reduce competition for experienced and qualified code professionals.
  • Provide larger pool of resources, offering the greatest impact for the longest period of time, for the lowest cost.

Enabling Legislation:

Chapter 1 of Title 33 - Subpart IV - 1950

--"The legislative bodies of any municipality and a surrounding or contiguous parish; of any two or more contiguous municipalities; or of any one or more municipalities and one or more parishes all forming a single urbanized or sub-urbanized area are hereby authorized to create a regional planning area out of their combined territories. Such regional planning areas shall be created by identical ordinances which shall be adopted by each of the local legislative bodies desiring to cooperate in regional planning."

Executive Order No. 27 - Authorized by Governor Edwin Edwards - 1973

--"Existing planning and administrative programs being conducted by the state departments, agencies and other instrumentalities of the state government shall be so designed as to conform with the official State Planning Districts, except where judgment of the Governor there is clear justification for failure to conform to these districts."

State Act No. 472 - Authored by Mr. Tauzin - 1977

--"It is the purpose of this Act to facilitate intergovernmental cooperation and to insure the orderly and harmonious coordination of state, federal, and local comprehensive planning and development programs for the solutions and resolution of economic, social, physical, and governmental problems of the state and its citizens by providing for the creation and recognition of regional planning and development commission."