HR 335

ENROLLED
2026 Regular Session
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 335
BY REPRESENTATIVE MUSCARELLO
  A RESOLUTION
To direct the Louisiana State Law Institute to study the prescription of actions to enforce
        zoning restrictions, building restrictions, and subdivision regulations by parishes and
        municipalities and to submit recommendations for proposed legislation to the House
        of Representatives no later than March 1, 2027.
        WHEREAS, parishes and municipalities regulate land use through zoning,
comprehensive plans, building codes, environmental regulations, and development approvals
to ensure the orderly growth of the area included within their respective jurisdictions and to
preserve the public health, safety, and welfare of their citizens; and
        WHEREAS, parishes and municipalities are authorized to adopt master plans for the
physical development of their respective jurisdictions, including the adoption of zoning
restrictions and subdivision regulations; and
        WHEREAS, zoning restrictions divide land into zones or districts, specifying
permitted uses such as residential, commercial, industrial, or agricultural and these
restrictions further set density limits, building heights, and lot sizes; and
        WHEREAS, subdivision regulations govern how land is divided into smaller lots,
addressing street layouts, infrastructure, and utility requirements and may require site plan
approvals, design standards, and development review procedures to ensure that new projects
comply with zoning and comprehensive plan objectives; and
        WHEREAS, parishes and municipalities are also authorized to adopt building
restrictions to establish minimal standards for building design, construction, and
maintenance, which are essential for preventing accidents, injuries, and fatalities and these
restrictions also address risks from natural disasters by ensuring that structures are sound and
have properly functioning systems; and
        WHEREAS, parishes and municipalities are authorized to enforce compliance with
zoning restrictions, building restrictions, and subdivision regulations and to bring civil or
criminal actions for the violations of such restrictions and regulations; and
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HR NO. 335  ENROLLED
       WHEREAS, R.S. 9:5625 requires parishes and municipalities to bring such actions
for violations within five years from the first act constituting the commission of the
violation; and
       WHEREAS, R.S. 9:5625 further provides that once prescription has accrued, the
particular property involved in the violation of the zoning restriction, building restriction,
or subdivision regulation shall enjoy the same legal status as land uses and construction
features of buildings or subdivisions made nonconforming by the adoption of any zoning
restriction, building restriction, or subdivision regulation; and
       WHEREAS, there has been disagreement as to which activity is the first act that
constitutes the commission of a violation and thus the commencement of the prescriptive
period; and
       WHEREAS, the issue was recently litigated in the La. Supreme Court case
McCormick v. Ford (La. 5/9/2025), 408 So.3d 932 in which property owners filed a
mandamus action seeking a court order requiring the Bossier Parish police jury to issue a
building permit to allow owners to build a new residence on their property after the parish
denied the building permit in part due to the property's violation of the parish's subdivision
code; and
       WHEREAS, the property owners acquired the property in question in 2014 from the
previous owner who sold them a split-out tract which included approximately one hundred
and twenty eight acres; and
       WHEREAS, the deed for split-out to the property owners was recorded in the
conveyance records of the parish in 2014 and failed to satisfy the subdivision regulations
enacted by the police jury; and
       WHEREAS, no action was taken by the parish to address the violation of the
subdivision regulations until more than five years later when the property owners sought a
building permit for a new residence on the property; and
       WHEREAS, the property owners argued that the violation of the subdivision
regulations occurred at the time the deed for split-out to the property owners was recorded
in the conveyance records of the parish and that any action to address the violation of
subdivision regulations had prescribed; and
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HR NO. 335  ENROLLED
        WHEREAS, the police jury questioned whether the recording of the deed was the
first act that constituted the commencement of the prescriptive period, and a local parish
official testified during the trial that because the local parish office is small, local officials
do not normally receive notice that a subdivision has been illegally split-out until the
property owner seeks a building permit; and
        WHEREAS, the police jury argued that the court of appeal incorrectly applied the
public records doctrine and the theory of constructive knowledge to hold that the five-year
prescriptive period commenced on the date that the deed was recorded in the conveyance
records; and
        WHEREAS, the police jury also argued that it was entitled to rely on the property
owners, the notary public who notarized the property owner's deed, and the parish clerk of
court to comply with R.S. 33:5051 and 5052 as R.S. 33:5052 expressly charges clerks of
court and notaries public with the legal obligation not to record deeds that fail to comply
with R.S. 33:5051; and
        WHEREAS, the La. Supreme Court sided with the property owners and held that the
violation of the subdivision regulations occurred when the property owners filed the deed
in the conveyance records of the parish and that any action to enforce the subdivision
regulations had prescribed and as such the property enjoyed a non-conforming status by
operation of R.S. 9:5625; and
        WHEREAS, the issue of prescription was also litigated in the La. Second Circuit
Court of Appeal case Bossier Parish Policy Jury v. Hicks, (La. App. 2 Cir., 11/19/2025), 425
So.3d 252 in which the Bossier Parish police jury filed a petition for injunctive relief in 2021
alleging that a property owner constructed a concrete driveway on parish property without
the knowledge or consent of the parish, in violation of a parish ordinance that required the
property owner to request a driveway permit; and
        WHEREAS, counsel for the property owner stated that the affidavits of the previous
owners of the property showed a historical use of the driveway, that a prior owner
constructed it pursuant to a 1979 servitude, and that the current property owner resurfaced
it in March 2021; and
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HR NO. 335  ENROLLED
       WHEREAS, the property owner argued that the district court failed to apply the
five-year prescriptive period provided in R.S. 9:5625, and that the accrual of prescription had
extinguished any enforcement action brought after 1984, when the driveway had already
existed for five years without challenge and thus the driveway became a statutorily lawful,
vested nonconforming improvement; and
       WHEREAS, the police jury argued that the five-year prescriptive period did not
apply because the particular ordinance at issue was not a zoning restriction, building
restriction, or subdivision regulation but, rather, a condition on the use of public property
and that applying R.S. 9:5625 would undermine fundamental principles of public ownership;
and
       WHEREAS, the court held that the prescriptive period set forth in R.S. 9:5625 was
applicable to the case as the ordinance at issue was a building restriction and that the first
act constituting the commission of the violation was the original construction of the
driveway in 1979 without a permit and thus the driveway enjoyed nonconforming status; and
       WHEREAS, local government officials possess a substantial and legitimate stake in
the outcome of cases involving the prescriptive period for the enforcement of zoning
restrictions, building restrictions, and subdivision regulations; and
       WHEREAS, there is a need for updated legislation regarding the prescription of
actions to enforce zoning restrictions, building restrictions, and subdivision regulations that
balances the public purpose of regulating land use and the right of property owners not to
be deprived of property without due process of law and just compensation.
       THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
Legislature of Louisiana does hereby direct the Louisiana State Law Institute to study the
prescription of actions to enforce zoning restrictions, building restrictions, and subdivision
regulations by parishes and municipalities and to submit recommendations for proposed
legislation to the House of Representatives no later than March 1, 2027.
  SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
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