A recent report in the Times-Picayune discusses efforts to address abandoned properties in Kenner LA (70062-65)due to Hurricane Katrina.

Kenner may step up blight fight
New rules pondered for post-K dilemma

Kenner City Council members are considering regulations that would give the city's inspections and code enforcement department more leverage to go after people who haven't begun to repair their hurricane-damaged houses.

"We need to be compassionate, but we need to be concerned that everybody is going to do what they're supposed to do to bring their homes back to code," Councilwoman Michele Branigan said.

It's a tricky issue that Jefferson Parish also is addressing: Homeowners still legitimately stymied by insurance, contractor or other problems want more time. But those who have made their repairs are frustrated living on blocks pocked with empty, eyesore structures and are worried their property values are being sunk by their absent neighbors.

In Kenner, the issue came up before the council recently when University City resident Stephanie Ledet implored members to help force her neighbor to cut backyard weeds that had grown to the roof of his one-story ungutted, moldy home.

"As a law-abiding citizen, my rights are being violated," she said. Although the high weeds are addressed by the current code, his ungutted home is not, and Ledet said setting a deadline to begin work on flooded houses is a good idea.

Ledet, whose home in the 4200 block of West Loyola Drive has been raised and renovated since it received 2 ½ feet of water from Hurricane Katrina, said city officials should have compassion for people interested in their property values.

"We're investing in Kenner," she said.

With no hurricane-specific guidelines set by the council, Kenner code enforcement inspectors have been citing hurricane-damaged homes that are a threat to public health or safety and violate the city's code, said Tim Walker, the department's director.

"We're getting calls, and we're taking action," he said. Some hurricane-ravaged homes that are dangerous have been boarded up by the public works department and the bills for that work sent to the landowner, Walker said.

Walker said he didn't know how many hurricane-damaged houses have been cited or when the citations started.

Asking for explanations

In unincorporated sections of Jefferson Parish, the government has taken a different approach.

No more than a few citations have been issued. Starting June 1, parish government began taking complaints from residents whose neighbors haven't repaired their homes, said Code Enforcement Director Louis Savoye. Those property owners will be notified that their home is in disrepair and given time to fill out a statement informing the parish why the structure has not been fixed.

With complaints on 200 properties already in hand, parish officials are developing a list of circumstances so inspectors can uniformly decide when a citation will be issued. The goal is to be compassionate for hard-hit victims but aggressive enough to satisfy neighbors, Savoye said.

"It's going to be a very difficult balancing act," he said.

Walker said some guidance from the Kenner City Council would be welcome and that the code enforcement department still is getting first-time requests for city permits to repair homes, sometimes because of just-settled insurance claims or trouble getting contractors to do the work.

A matter of time

Phil Ramon, chief of staff for Mayor Phil Capitano, echoed the call for compassion, saying the council should push people not to let flooded houses sit dormant, but that people shouldn't be punished because they can't get insurance money or workers.

"I think it's a good idea to set a deadline," he said. "They should set some parameters and give people enough notice that they should at least start on the reconstruction of our community."

Branigan said one option might be to set a deadline to stop offering free permits to repair hurricane-damaged homes.

"The whole intent is to make sure people are moving forward," she said.

Councilman Marc Johnson suggested giving residents until Aug. 29, the anniversary of Katrina, to begin work.

"It's not fair to allow some properties to remain in disrepair when other people are spending insurance money or savings to try and bring property in compliance with the code," he said. Johnson said he believes the number of property owners who haven't started repairs is small.

"I don't see it widespread," he said.

For Mack Williams, the civic association president of badly flooded Lincoln Manor subdivision, a deadline would be a good idea as long as it gives enough time for out-of-town landowners to learn about it.

"There should be some leniency," he said.

To view the online article please click on the following link.

Kenner LA Blight