By John Summers | WBR Independent April 16, 2026

ADDIS — When the Addis Town Council approved the First Baptist Church of Addis land subdivision in January, it appeared to resolve a long-standing drainage access problem along the Acadian Crossing canal. It didn't.

The church property provided access to one side of the drainage canal. The property directly adjacent — a privately owned residential lot at 4254 Friendship Acres Road — remains a sticking point, and Tuesday night it came to a head.

The property owner appeared before the council with a list of disputed demands, a constitutional law argument, and a story about dead goats. The town has no written record of what was promised.

The Canal and Who Maintains It

The Acadian Crossing drainage canal begins on the other side of Highway 1, runs along the storage buildings off the highway, continues along Acadian Crossing all the way to the railroad tracks, passes underneath, and drains into the Coulee Canal.

West Baton Rouge Parish — not the town of Addis — maintains the canal. But getting parish equipment in to do that work requires access through private property, and right now the town doesn't have enough of it.

"There is a servitude there that is only about 15 feet on top of bank," Mayor David Toups told WBR Independent Thursday. "Which is not enough to maintain a drainage ditch — in case they've got to get a big excavator in there to muck out the canal."

The town has been working to expand that access. The January church subdivision included a 25-foot drainage servitude as a required condition — standard practice under Addis ordinance when property borders a drainage canal. That covered the church side.

The personal property of Thomas A. Shepard, directly adjacent, is a separate matter entirely.

The Background

WBR Independent first reported on the First Baptist Church subdivision in January, when the council approved splitting approximately 34 acres of church property along Highway 1 South. The final plat was approved the following month, with Councilwoman Bliss Bernard casting the lone dissenting vote.

Negotiations over access to the Shepard personal property date back to former town attorney Dana Larpenteur, who retired in September 2025. Those discussions were never reduced to writing.

"Mr. Larpenteur was negotiating on behalf of the town and had discussions," Toups said. "I wasn't part of those discussions."

When current town attorney Karen White presented the dispute to the council Tuesday, she cited Shepard's last formal demand — dated September 19, 2025 — as including a $32,000 payment for access, a 10-foot double-sided privacy fence with two access gates constructed and maintained by the town in perpetuity, full replacement value for any trees removed, and landscape restoration.

Shepard disputed that characterization Thursday when reached by phone.

"There was no demand letter," he said. "Those were his ideas — what Dana Larpenteur had suggested — that I gave to her. Those were not demands by me."

What Happened Tuesday

Shepard appeared before the council and made clear he is willing to work with the town — but not at the cost of his property value.

He described an incident in August when surveyors entered the property without notice, startling a horse that crushed and killed several goats in the process.

"Nobody told us anything about this," he said.

He also argued that cutting a 25-foot maintenance corridor through his property would remove a row of 75-foot oak and pecan trees, exposing his backyard and those of his Acadian Crossing neighbors to direct view from the drainage ditch.

The home's current public appraisal is $444,000, Shepard confirmed to WBR Independent. "We finished putting a pool in," Shepard told the council, and a more recent private appraisal placed the value at $554,000 as a result. He said removing the tree line could reduce that value significantly.

Shepard also noted that the church gave the town roughly 1,000 feet of free canal access through the church property subdivision — a gesture he said reflects the family's cooperative intent.

"I personally made the statement three times while standing there that I want to work with the city to find the easiest way they can get access," he said Thursday. "Without devaluing the property."

Town attorney White pushed back on the constitutional argument Shepard raised, noting that what the town is seeking is a right of access — not an expropriation.

"This is not a taking," she said. "This is a simple right of access."

Where Things Stand

No vote was taken Tuesday. White said she would continue negotiations and report back to the council.

Toups was direct about the town's current position.

"Right now, that's all we have," he said. "There is nothing unless he wants to deal on giving a right-of-way."

The mayor also noted that a third property — owned by the storage building operators adjacent to the canal — is another access point the town will eventually need to address as well.

This is a developing story. WBR Independent will continue to follow negotiations as they progress.

WBR Independent previously reported on the First Baptist Church of Addis land subdivision in January 2026. That story is available at WBRIndependent.com.

The full Addis Town Council meeting from April 14, 2026 is available on the WBR Independent YouTube channel.

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