I guess I’ve been watching too many reruns of “Braveheart,” so I have a poor opinion of fiefdoms. While fiefdoms may have gone out of style centuries ago, I am always on the lookout for their return.
Lafayette Centre Development District, or Downtown Development Authority, is as close to a fiefdom as I can find. It is controlled by a board with a powerful CEO that grants or denies permission to property owners and developers about what they can and can’t do in the downtown district.
It recently filed a lawsuit against its own government’s Board of Zoning Adjustment, using some of its professional services money for a lawyer to fight its claim. It didn’t agree with BOZA’s decision to grant a developer’s variance. DDA lost in district court…