North Lafayette Redevelopment Authority said senate bill 480 takes away their ownership and control. The organization suggests development of the Northside should be under the leadership of those from the community. 

LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY)-- The continuing saga of senate bill 480 has North Lafayette leaders calling on people to voice their opposition of the bill to the capital.

North Lafayette Redevelopment Authority said senate bill 480 takes away their ownership and control. The organization suggests development of the Northside should be under the leadership of those from the community. 

"It's like taking a seed out of the hands of us and our children right before it's had a chance to grow," Cory Levier, partner with North Lafayette Redevelopment Team, said. "We know that this can grow into something special. All it needs is support, right? And that support has not been present in the main form of our Senator Gerald Boudreaux." 

The organization was created in 2008 by the state statute. Senator Gerald Boudreaux said the organization has been dormant and has not met for over seven years. 

"The Lafayette North redevelopment does not have an office, does not have a staff, and they have no funds to operate on," Boudreaux said.

Boudreaux said senate bill 480 moves the organization under the Lafayette Economic Development Authority which is an authority that has proven to be successful in the community. 

"Would you ask that to the Downtown Development Authority to turn over all of their power and authority that's building downtown for the last 40 years? Would you ask them to step down so that LEDA could build downtown? If they're not going to do it for downtown, why do it for the north side," Bishop Carlos Harvin of the New Beginnings Christian Church and North Lafayette Redevelopment Team said.

Members who support the North Lafayette Redevelopment Authority are encouraged to attend Thursday's hearing in Baton Rouge and voice their support.

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