St. George: Louisiana's Newest City
The Louisiana Supreme Court ruled in favor of the incorporation of the city of St. George on April 26, 2024. With a population of about 86,000, St. George becomes the 5th largest city in the state of Louisiana.
The new city was a previously unincorporated area on the outskirts of Baton Rouge proper. While those residing in the unincorporated area owned Baton Rouge addresses, they were not zoned as part of the city of Baton Rouge. The Louisiana Supreme Court verdict now allows the incorporation of the city of St. George to move forward while remaining in East Baton Rouge Parish. While the vote passed to form the city then, lawsuits and appeals were filed with the decision working its way up the court system until the Louisiana Supreme Court ultimately ruled in favor of the voters who approved the city in 2019.
There are many questions as to what this means and we will do our best to answer them.
Boundaries: How do I know if I live in the new city of St. George?
Check the maps. There is a map of the boundaries on the city's website here or you can go directly to the Google Map here. The city extends East to the Amite River, West to the Mississippi River, North to the southern border of Baton Rouge, and South to Ascension Parish and Iberville Parish.
Boundaries could be subject to change pending annexations that were filed after the 2019 vote. On the map, you will notice the boundary area is interrupted at the Mall of Louisiana and Siegen Marketplace as those properties were annexed into the city of Baton Rouge prior to the 2019 vote.
Schools: Will the city of St. George have a separate School District?
In the immediate term, no. The city does plan to create a school district in the very near future per their website.
Due to Louisiana legislators failing to approve a new school district in the Shenandoah/Woodlawn area since it wasn't aligned with a city (source), citizens joined together to form a movement in favor of creating a new city.
The process of forming a school district could be a lengthy one. For precedent, the city of Central, also located in East Baton Rouge Parish, was incorporated on April 23, 2005; a constitutional amendment to authorize the creation of a new school district and to authorize the city to govern the school district was passed by voters in November 2006; the school district opened on July 1, 2007.
It is an unclear how those who attend magnet schools or gifted programs will be affected by the creation of the city and a potential independent school district. A 2019 WAFB article states that the decision may be up to the parish school board.
In a press conference on Monday, April 29, 2024, St. George organizers stated that they had pushed to allow students to finish their academic careers in East Baton Rouge Parish if they chose to do so at the time of their 2013 bill that would have created a new school district. Those district boundaries that were proposed in 2013 are no longer being considered by St. George city organizers as the boundaries of the city are much larger now per their press conference on April 29, 2024. In the same press conference, St. George organizers stated that in the original 2013 school district bill that was passed, students were allowed to finish their academic career at the school they were currently at.
A new school district would need to be voted on by the people and the boundaries of the school district may not match the exact boundaries of the city. While there is precedent with Central's school district timeline, the processes and obstacles to form a new district could change due to the proposed House Bill #6. For the current steps needed to create a St. George school district, read here.
Utility Service and Funding in St. George
Baton Rouge Water Company and Entergy will continue to provide services (source).
Water, sewerage, and garbage services will still be operated by the city-parish which is paid through your water bill and also funded by a parish-wide sales tax (source).
Policing & Safety in St. George
The city of St. George will continue to be policed by the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office through already-existing property taxes (source).
Fire protection will be provided by the already existing St. George and East Side fire departments via already-existing property taxes (source).
Emergency Medical Services are also already funded by parish-wide taxes (source).
Government
Governor Jeff Landry will appoint an interim Mayor and 5 council members with an election to follow. There is currently no timeline for this (source).
Other Services
Libraries and parks (BREC) will continue to be funded by existing parish-wide taxes as you see in the cities of Baker, Central, and Zachary in East Baton Rouge Parish. Tax Assessor and Council on Aging are also funded by existing parish taxes (source).
Mailing Address
Post offices deliver mail based on the zip code provided in the recipient and return addresses. Your zip code will not change. Whether you list Baton Rouge or St. George as the city should have no effect on the intended delivery (source).
Real Estate and Homes Available in St. George
A list of some of the subdivisions and homes available for sale in the new city of St. George can be found here. The city of St. George intends to create its own planning and zoning commission per their April 29 press conference.