St. Bernard Parish residents and property owners now have a new surveying tool at their disposal, thanks to a donation from the Arlene and Joseph Meraux Foundation to the parish.

The Meraux Foundation recently presented St. Bernard Parish with a full set of Tobin Ownership Survey Maps, a well-known line of maps that depict the property layout in every St. Bernard community. The maps offer range and section lines and reflect historical land ownership throughout the parish.

The maps also serve as documentation of historic land mass of the parish, thus highlighting changes to that geography over time.

“I had the Tobin maps before Katrina,” said St. Bernard Parish Clerk of Court Lena Torres. Because of budget constraints after Katrina, her office was never able to purchase a replacement set.

Because of the role the Meraux Foundation plays in land development throughout the parish, the organization was a perfect fit for donating the maps.

“As one of the major land owners in St. Bernard Parish, the Meraux Foundation is committed to future land improvements based on smart growth and sustainable development principles,” said Rita O. Gue, president of the Meraux Foundation, in an April 23 press release. “These maps will be a useful aid in researching land ownership for those who share our goal of a better, bigger, stronger St. Bernard Parish.”

Several of the Tobin maps depict the parish as a whole, while dozens of smaller maps offer property layout of individual communities in St. Bernard. The maps are kept in the Clerk of Court office, located at 9061 West Judge Perez Drive in Chalmette. Clerk of Court Lena Torres said she is thrilled to be able to offer the public the maps once again.

“People use these quite a bit,” said Torres, who said the maps can often serve in place of a professional surveyor.

Torres said she hopes to soon publicly display the larger maps. Residents may make copies of maps in the Clerk of Court office.

“We thank the foundation for this extraordinary public donations,” Torres said in the press release.