The St. Bernard Parish Council voted Thursday to notify the owners of 7,833 properties that their structures are considered blighted and unsafe, starting the process for the parish to eventually demolish the structures whether or not their owners agree.

The list includes properties whose owners have not asked the parish to remove debris, gut or demolish their homes, and haven't applied for building permits to start repairs, said Mike Hunnicutt, director of the parish Department of Community Development.

The council said it wanted to push owners of the properties, spread all over St. Bernard, to indicate whether they intend to repair or demolish the buildings. Owners of most of the parish's 45,000 structures, including commercial and residential, have already stated their plans for their properties, officials said.

Though the council's adoption of the list starts the demolition process, it is unclear when the structures on it would be razed. The list must still be published in the parish's legal journal, and homeowners will have a period in which to appeal before any demolitions would begin.

The council's action to begin the involuntary demolition process was one of several hurricane recovery items the council handled Thursday.

Also Thursday, Parish President Henry "Junior" Rodriguez told the council that the Federal Emergency Management Agency has sent formal notice clearing the way for the Christian Contractors Association to resume its free home-demolishing program. That program had been halted over concerns that household wastes such as toxic cleaners and "white goods" were not being properly handled during demolition.

Rodriguez said FEMA also has given permission to begin demolishing properties in the area involving the Murphy Oil spill class-action lawsuit.

About 4,400 property owners in St. Bernard have called the Christian Contractors' toll-free number at (800) 278-7703 to have their homes demolished. The group has demolished nearly 240 homes.

Another 3,500 homeowners are signed up for demolition under the FEMA-financed program. About 830 homes have been demolished under that program by the contractor Unified Recovery Group.

As for the list of properties the council has now declared blighted, Hunnicutt acknowledged there may be addresses on the list whose owners actually have cleaned their property or who may have started repairs without notifying the parish.

Nonetheless, property owners on the list will not be able to get off it unless they visit the parish's Office of Community Development in the Recovery Department trailer behind the government complex, show proof of ownership and spell out their plans for conforming with the Aug. 29 deadline the parish has set for having properties gutted and secured.

"I want people to know they can't call the office and think it's going to be solved," Hunnicutt said.

The council voted 6-1 to adopt the blighted list. Only Council Chairman Lynn Dean opposed.

The list of blighted properties is now on www.nola.com and also will be posted on the parish Web site at www.sbpg.net. By Monday, the list will be available in Hunnicutt's office and also will be published in the parish journal and posted at the courthouse.

For information, call Hunnicutt's office at (504) 278-4301 or (504) 278-4307.

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St. Bernard Parish Blighted Structures