Nagin raps deadline on gutting homes (Katrina Mold)

[Guest guest]

Nagin raps deadline on gutting homes

Aug. 29 too soon, he says of ordinance

Saturday, April 22, 2006

By Bruce Eggler

Staff writer

The New Orleans City Council's vote this week to

require homeowners to clean, gut and board up flooded

homes by the first anniversary of Hurricane Katrina

came as welcome news to some but drew fire from

others, including Mayor Ray Nagin.

Advertisement

The measure gives residents until Aug. 29 to clean out

mold, tear out ruined walls and board up what remains

of their homes, or risk having the city seize and

demolish their houses.

Councilman Jay Batt, sponsor of the council's

ordinance, said it was necessary because ravaged,

mold-infested houses, especially if not boarded up,

can become " environmental biohazards " that will slow

the recovery of whole neighborhoods by discouraging

nearby owners from moving back or making repairs.

But Nagin said he thinks Aug. 29 is too early for such

a deadline, though he did not say whether he would

veto the ordinance, which passed 7-0. It would take

five council votes to override a veto.

" Homeowners are already making decisions. They're

moving forward. They're not waiting on anything, "

Nagin said in Thursday night's televised mayoral

debate. " We had 125,000 homes that had some type of

damage with Katrina. About 60 percent of those homes

had less than 50 percent damage. So those folks have

already gotten their permits; they're rockin' and

rollin'; they're ready to go.

" The rest are a combination of people who are spread

out all over the country, particularly senior

citizens. I think they need special treatment, and I

think Aug. 29 is too soon. And by year's end, we

should have a program in place to contact those

residents and make sure they're coming back. "

Despite the mayor's objection, the council's action

pleased many residents who have been worried for

months that their efforts to repair or rebuild their

homes would be undermined if neighbors leave their

properties to molder and rot.

Former City Councilman Shea and Leland

Champagne, next-door neighbors in Lakeview, said in

February they were concerned that the money they were

spending to renovate their properties could go for

naught if nearby homes continue to sit blighted and

abandoned, potential breeding grounds for rodents and

havens for vagrants. Champagne moves today into his

Argonne Street home, which remains surrounded by vast

swaths of damaged homes.

Mired in uncertainty

But the owners of some untouched houses said Friday

there are good reasons they have yet to do anything to

their properties. Chief among them, they said, is the

fact that thousands of homeowners are still waiting

for insurance settlements or Small Business

Administration loans, and waiting for the state to

decide who will qualify for repair grants or buyouts

as part of Gov. Kathleen Blanco's recovery program.

" Many homeowners are going through the process of

borrowing money from the SBA, which is giving us

hell, " one frustrated homeowner said in an e-mail to

The Times-Picayune.

There is also widespread confusion about whether some

neighborhoods will be rebuilt at all, and if so, how

high residents will have to elevate their homes.

" I do not have the money nor the time to do anything

to the house until FEMA and everyone else decides what

I can do, and funding becomes available for such

actions, " said Trachtenberg, a Gentilly

resident now living in Metairie. " It does not make

economic sense to gut, then tear down. "

Trachtenberg said he thinks the ordinance " is an

unconstitutional taking, is overly broad and a power

grab by those with the money and the impatience to

return too fast. Any attempts to take my property will

result in federal court action. "

Eastern New Orleans resident Diane Calamia said it

might make sense to require cleaning and boarding up

of houses in neighborhoods such as Lakeview, where it

seems probable that large numbers of residents will

return and the neighborhoods will be substantially

rebuilt.

But in many parts of eastern New Orleans, Calamia

said, residents have no idea whether their

neighborhood will ever come back, and many see no

point in spending thousands of dollars on a house that

could end up being bulldozed along with all of its

neighbors. " Right now you can't even sell the

property, " she said.

Town house dilemma

Fellow eastern New Orleans resident Rosemary

said she owns one of seven Tara Lane town houses, all

under a common roof but owned separately. Although she

has cleaned out her unit, she said, the owners of most

of the others have done nothing, and she fears the

entire building might be declared blighted no matter

how much money she spends on her townhouse.

Other owners questioned whether the city would seize

and sell their land, or simply demolish the house and

leave the land in their possession. " Will the land be

confiscated or will it still belong to the owner? " one

resident asked.

The ordinance provides no answer to that question.

To help homeowners who need financial assistance to

remediate their property, Batt said, a Web site will

be set up listing nonprofit organizations that can

work with them. The council also added an amendment to

provide a process for reviewing hardship cases. When a

notice is sent out telling an owner that a property is

being considered for designation as a public nuisance,

information on the review process will be included.

In addition to a possible veto by Nagin, the ordinance

could be altered or scrapped if the new council,

scheduled to take office by the beginning of June,

objects to it in its current form.

.. . . . . . .

Bruce Eggler can be reached at

beggler@... or (504) 826-3320.

__________________________________________________