Marigny Avenue ‘NO PARKING,’ ‘NO DUMPING’ signs removed

Residents report warning from council member, police over leaves, parking in median

Signs appeared in recent weeks before confrontation with council member

Mayor never received request for signs to be erected, ordered them removed

MANDEVILLE — A series of recently installed “NO PARKING” and “NO DUMPING” signs have been removed from the historic Marigny Avenue median, at the direction of Mayor Clay Madden.

Some residents claim they were video-recorded and confronted by officials from the city recently, which included Councilman at Large Scott Discon, over leaves being blown onto the Marigny Avenue median in front of their homes.

Madden said he never received a request to install the signs, and he was therefore directing the Public Works Department to remove them as soon as possible.

The installation of the signs was not sanctioned by the City Council via ordinance either.

Mandeville Daily inquired with Discon about the Marigny Avenue signage and the alleged confrontation with residents. However, Discon clarified that it’s illegal to park and litter on Mandeville streets. He also mentioned that the Public Works Department installed the signs, and he had requested a reduction or consolidation of the signage after they were installed. His statement made no mention of a confrontation with homeowners nor who ordered the signs in the first place.

“Please see the attached (statements from the city legal department) and remember there is no parking and/or littering on public thoroughfares in the City of Mandeville. Public Works put the signs out; I only suggested a reduction in the number of signs and placement to work with the residents of both of Mandeville’s historic avenues,” Discon said in a statement to Mandeville Daily.

But according to previous on-the-record comments by Public Works Director Keith LaGrange in 2021 and 2023, City Council approval via ordinance is required to erect no-parking signs.

Section 9-2 of the code or ordinances does prohibit dumping of various types, including leaves, but there is no provision for posting “NO DUMPING” or “NO PARKING” signs.

Parking addressed by council in 2021 and 2023

In 2021, the City Council may have unwittingly outlawed parking on all medians throughout the city when it adopted Ordinance 21-30, which reads in part “parking on any median strip, within the city limits of the City of Mandeville … is prohibited.”

Ordinance 21-30 created Section 10-73 in the Code of Ordinances, defining medians as “the strip of land between lanes of opposing traffic on a divided highway.”

According to the discussion held during the October 28th, 2021, (1:37:20) City Council meeting, the purpose of Ordinance 21-30 was to specifically address parking problems at only two locations: Weldon Park and Golden Glen.

But there was no provision in the ordinance to erect no-parking signs, despite the sponsor, former District II Councilman Dr. Skelly Kreller, mentioning at the meeting that he had forgotten to include them and wanted them erected.

In fact, just before the vote on that ordinance, LaGrange informed the council that if they intended to install no-parking signs, the council would need to adopt that measure as well (1:38:33), presumably as an amendment before final adoption.

“Just for housekeeping purposes … If there’s ever gonna be a need to put a sign in the median, now would be the time to pass that, because no signs can be installed without your approval,” LaGrange told the council at the meeting.

However, Madden responded to the suggestion with concern that the residents of those two areas, based on conversations he had with them, would likely oppose the signage.

Ordinance 21-30 was adopted unanimously, without a provision for erecting no-parking signs.

In Discon’s statement to Mandeville Daily, he forwarded an additional statement from attorney Stephanie Hough of the Blue Williams Law Firm, who presumably acts as an assistant to City Attorney Elizabeth Sconzert.

According to the forwarded emails, Hough had been asked to research the matter by Sconzert. Her finding was that the aforementioned Ordinance 21-30 or Section 10-73 made it illegal to park in medians.

The last attempt by the council to order permanent no-parking signs in Old Mandeville was on Claiborne Street with Ordinance 23-28, which failed unanimously.

At that July 27th, 2023, City Council meeting, LaGrange said “all ‘no parking’ has to be done and set by ordinance.” (18:09)

LaGrange also said, “We allow parking on the sides of streets,” which would seem to contradict Discon’s statement that “there is no parking and/or littering on public thoroughfares.”

Officials confronted residents over leaves

A Marigny Avenue resident who requested to remain anonymous informed Mandeville Daily that the commotion appears to be primarily centered around the “no dumping” rule, as residents have consistently taken it upon themselves to create mulch around the trees in the median, as well as other minor landscaping improvements in front of their homes.

During heavy rains and hurricanes, flood waters frequently carry significant debris onto the median and their yards, according to local residents. Historically, they and their neighbors have taken it upon themselves to clean up these areas, they said.

The homeowner said she was video-recorded by a public works department employee recently as she was blowing leaves onto the median, and a short time later what she described as a Mandeville code enforcement official showed up to give her a warning.

She said Discon arrived about the same time and also warned her about doing work in the median. She said Discon told her the signs may be removed if the locals were to stop dumping and parking in the median.

However, the signs installed on Marigny Avenue were the permanent, official street signs, conforming to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD).

Another Marigny Avenue resident, who also requested anonymity, informed Mandeville Daily that a police officer visited their home to caution them against continuing to clean up the median. The resident expressed their surprise, stating that this issue has never been a concern in their four-plus-decades of home ownership on Marigny Avenue.

Signs detracted from historic street

Some say the signs ruined the character of one of the most historic streets in the city, which was named after Mandeville’s founder, Bernard Xavier Philippe de Marigny de Mandeville.

Councilman at Large Jason Zuckerman said he didn’t believe the signs in the Marigny Avenue median were needed and ruined the aesthetic of what is supposed to be one of Mandeville’s most historic sites.

“Installing permanent signs such as ‘no parking’ and ‘no dumping’ — especially on the street named after our founder — is something that should have come before the council as a whole,” Zuckerman said.

The decades-old practice of parking in the median of Marigny Avenue has been heavily relied upon by attendees of local events like the “Light Up The Lake” Independence Day celebration, the “Mandeville Family Reunion,” the “Sunset Symphony,” and other regionally popular happenings.

Some estimates suggest that the median on Marigny Avenue can accommodate parking for about 200 vehicles. Consequently, a ban on parking there could affect Mandeville’s capacity to host large events on the lakefront.

Mandeville’s Code of Ordinances Section 10-64 authorizes city officials to temporarily restrict parking without ordinance “from time to time,” which is why locals see the now-familiar paper no-parking signs attached to wooden sticks during special events at the lakefront.

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