As discussed in the following Times-Picayune article St. Bernard Parish will begin fining and assessing liens in increments of $1,000 on properties that remain blighted since Hurricane Katrina.

St. Bernard starts fines against blighted property

St. Bernard Parish has started fining property owners who haven't cut their grass or secured their Katrina-damaged properties.

The Parish Council recently approved an emergency ordinance fining property owners $100 a day. The council is scheduled to conduct a public hearing and vote on making the law permanent during its Thursday night meeting in Chalmette. Fines mount daily until the property is cleaned or the fines exceed the property's assessed value and the parish seizes it.

Parish Chief Administrative Officer Dave Peralta said the parish will list the properties on the parish Web site later this week so owners can see them before the parish files liens against neglected properties. Liens will be filed in increments of $1,000.

"I haven't had anybody complain to me," Peralta said. "Every person who came to me said they applauded the effort. They want to see it happen."

Although a five-person team of compliance officers has fanned out across the parish, Peralta said the parish is also focusing on complaints by residents living near neglected properties.

Councilman Craig Taffaro sponsored the measure as an amendment to the law the council approved last summer that set an Aug. 29, 2006, deadline for gutting and securing properties.

The law allows the parish to forgive fines once owners have verified the work is done and they keep the property maintained.

"The point is if the properties are taken care of, the government isn't interested in taking people's money or in taking individuals' property," Taffaro said. "People who absolutely refuse to do that: Those are the properties that will wind up feeling the teeth of the ordinance."

One neighborhood group, Rediscover District C, is compiling a list of properties in violation to turn over to the parish, said Howard Luna, who heads the group.

Because the group wants to give returning residents a chance to clean up and focus on abandoned properties, Luna said anyone returning to the parish should register with the group's Web site at www.rediscoverdistrictc.com

"It's important because we want to keep the people who are here already. It would be a travesty to lose anyone who has returned but has become frustrated by what is happening," Luna said.

To view the online article, please click here.

This ordinance has now become permanent. For additional information, please click here.