As previously discussed (click here), Jefferson Parish has begun to log complaints aimed at home or business owners who have not secured their property since Katrina and have allowed their structure or yard to deteriorate.

A recent article (below) discusses the current status of the project.

Please click on the following to view the current listing of blighted properties.

 Jefferson Parish Katrina Unrepaired Property.xls

To run a property report for properties housed in the Safeguard database please click on the following link.

Safeguard FEMA Reports
***Please note you will need to be logged in for access. 

Abandoned homes snag demolition processs

Homeowners barbecue, mow their lawns and occasionally stop for a friendly chat with neighbors in the 4500 block of Ithaca Street in Metairie.

Yet, the home at 4504 Ithaca St. still sits in post-Hurricane Katrina misery, complete with a tattered red flag flapping in the wind from a twisted playground set. In the backyard, knee-high grass shelters rusted sprockets sitting in an open toolbox while a broken lawnmower rests on a wooden block.

Similar homes exist in dozens of neighborhoods in Jefferson Parish, where the Office of Inspection and Code Enforcement has released a list of 249 apparently abandoned homes. The list fluctuates as officials are contacted or homes are sold.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has permission to tear down about 360 homes in Jefferson Parish, but the owners of deserted homes on the list can’t be found to sign a right-of-entry agreement, said Louis Savoye, director of Jefferson Parish Code Enforcement.

“Probably the vast majority of these are truly vacant homes but it’s hard to tell,” Savoye said. “We just can’t find the homeowners.”

Parish officials have chased phone tips and Internet messages from concerned neighbors and taped signs to the front doors of dilapidated homes advising homeowners to contact the parish immediately.

Inspectors plan to return in two weeks to reinspect the homes if no one responds, said Savoye. Parish officials will then spend two more weeks trying to locate the homeowner before deciding whether to issue fines or citations, condemn and demolish the house or allow more time for a response.

“We’re hoping that this proactive approach will get us some sort of answers,” Savoye said. “But we’re going to have to get pretty aggressive with some of these things. If we don’t get answers, we’ll go to hearings.”

Hearings will allow responding homeowners to plead for more time under threat of fines, citations or demolition.

Savoye said he is sympathetic to residents who suffered in the natural disaster. But he said he must also consider the health risks abandoned properties pose to neighbors and the effects on property values.

“Ten months should have given plenty of time to deal with insurance companies or gut your home,” said Parish Attorney John Luck. “If you still haven’t done anything, the vast majority of residents are saying we need to get these people moving.”

Cathy Wright agrees. Her mother’s home on Avron Street in Metairie is next door to a derelict home.

“It’s just not safe,” said Wright, eying her son playing in the yard. “I mean, you might have rats eating out of cereal boxes in there. You don’t know.”

Of the potentially abandoned homes in the parish, Savoye said 92 are in total disrepair. Another 147 have tall grass and litter in the yards.

Trent Anderson sees safety concerns firsthand every day. The manager of Super Popeye’s on Veterans Boulevard works next to the only commercial property on the Jefferson Parish demolition list. Anderson’s employees pick up debris tumbling into his parking lot every day from the damaged building at 3848 Veterans Blvd., which once housed a Nextel retail site, a jewelry store and karate studio.

“Am I mad? Absolutely. Do I want something done? Absolutely. It looks terrible,” said Anderson. “Not to mention my guests have to sit and look at that.”

While waiting for parish action, Raymond Rhode is doing something on his own. He hasn’t seen his neighbor on Avron Street since he returned home in October. Once the grass grew a foot high, he began taking care of the property with the help of another neighbor.

“I don’t know where she is,” he said of a neighbor he’s known for more than 30 years. “Obviously she hasn’t seen the notice because she hasn’t come back.”

Rhode said he feels sorry for anyone in her position.

“We’re tying to help her out,” he said, taking a break to fix his lawnmower. “I have no complaints. We’re helping her, at least trying to ... wherever she is.”•