## Facts

- Joseph Impastato owned a building at the corner of Chartres and St. Louis Streets in the Vieux Carré (French Quarter) section of New Orleans.
- The City had enacted Ordinance No. 14,538, Commission Council Series, as amended by Ordinance No. 15,085, which required owners to obtain approval through the Vieux Carré Commission process before making certain exterior alterations within the district.
- The ordinance implemented La. Const. of 1921 art. XIV, § 22A (added in 1936), which authorized creation of the Vieux Carré Commission and required that applications for permits for new buildings or alterations in the Vieux Carré be submitted for review of exterior appearance (including color, materials, and architectural design).
- Impastato enlarged a lavatory attached to the rear of his building without first obtaining the required permit/approval under the ordinance.
- The City prosecuted Impastato in the First Recorder’s Court of New Orleans for violating the ordinance.
- The recorder’s court found Impastato guilty and imposed a fine.
- Impastato appealed on constitutional grounds, arguing the ordinance was invalid because it granted the Vieux Carré Commission authority broader than the Constitution permitted.

## Issues

1. Whether New Orleans’s Vieux Carré permit ordinance was unconstitutional because it conferred powers on the Vieux Carré Commission beyond those authorized by La. Const. art. XIV, § 22A, thereby invalidating Impastato’s conviction for making alterations without a permit.

## Decision

- The Louisiana Supreme Court held the ordinance constitutional because it implemented, and did not exceed, the authority granted by La. Const. art. XIV, § 22A.
- The court rejected the argument that the ordinance vested unlawful or overly broad discretion in the Vieux Carré Commission, concluding the Commission’s role and the ordinance’s review criteria were tied to the Constitution’s stated objectives and limits.
- Because the ordinance was valid and Impastato made alterations without the required permit, the court affirmed the judgment of conviction and the fine.

## Legal Principles

- When the state constitution expressly authorizes a municipality to create a preservation commission and regulate exterior alterations in a defined historic district, an ordinance tracking that authorization is a valid exercise of municipal authority.
- Regulation of exterior appearance in a designated historic area—aimed at preserving buildings of architectural and historical value and maintaining the district’s distinctive character—may serve public welfare objectives recognized by constitutional text.
- A delegation of review functions to a commission is permissible where the delegation operates within constitutionally stated purposes and boundaries (such as district limits and review of exterior design features), rather than granting unlimited power.

## Conclusion

City of New Orleans v. Impastato upheld New Orleans’s Vieux Carré permit and design-review ordinance as a constitutional implementation of La. Const. art. XIV, § 22A, and the Louisiana Supreme Court affirmed Impastato’s conviction for enlarging a structure on his French Quarter property without obtaining the required Commission-related permit approval.


City of New Orleans v. Impastato, 3 So. 2d 559 (1941)