re: Company Wants BR to Annex 630 Acres Near L'Auberge

The city can't annex any areas that would dilute minority voting power or else be subject to the wrath of the federal DOJ. It doesn't matter that the city/parish have a unified government. It is therefore in the city's best interest to incorporate as much unincorporated commercial land as possible into the city while avoiding as much residential land as possible. Remember, in annexation efforts, a majority of the property owners must vote to request annexation in order to be considered by the council. By bypassing residential property owners, those people don't get a say in what gets incorporated. The city government can annex sales tax producing properties and prevent them from ever being able to be used by a hypothetical St. George. It's vindictive, but effective if legal.