Greg Lemoine spoke to the Natchitoches Lions Club at its meeting Oct. 10. Lemoine is a flood plane manager, building official and director of the Parish’s Planning and Zoning Department.

A diverse job set, he utilizes planning and zoning codes to regulate development in an orderly way. This promotes safety when structures are built, because as Lemoine said, building codes go back to biblical days. The Code of Hammurabi dates back to 1754 BC. Some of its provisions set the terms of a transaction, establishing the liability of a builder for a house that collapses, for example, or property that is damaged while left in the care of another.

He also explained how codes are cyclical. No codes leads to poor construction, which becomes an unescapable catastrophe during a fire. This leads to public outcry and stricter codes.

“There’s a reason for what I make homeowners do,” he said. “Safety.”