If New Orleans is to fully recover from Hurricane Katrina, we must solve longstanding problems associated with having more than 50,000 blighted properties in our community. How can we expect residents to invest in rebuilding their properties when a blighted house or lot remains next door? A relentless campaign to reduce blight will be a clear sign that our recovery is on track.
Mitch Landrieu agrees with Forward New Orleans and other groups that say blighted properties present a significant obstacle to economic growth, broadcast a lack of respect and responsibility by property owners and offer evidence of the inability of our current local government to manage the problem.
As Mayor, Mitch will work aggressively to eradicate the more than 50,000 blighted properties as quickly as possible while avoiding legal pitfalls that could stall the effort.
Aggressive code enforcement, neighborhood surveys, homebuyer incentive programs and sheriff’s sales are among the tools that Mitch’s administration will employ to address this issue. Additionally, large numbers of abandoned properties can be returned to market through the use of the Lot Next Door sales program. He will:
- Strengthen City Hall efforts
- Build partnerships with others
Strengthen City Hall efforts
- Reorganize city employees working in housing or code enforcement offices to ensure that elimination of blight is a central goal. This includes making sure the city attorney’s office has adequate staffing to support blight hearings.
- Hire more property inspectors, improve their training and make better use of technology to sustain an aggressive program of property inspections and enforcement.
- Increase blight enforcement hearings and recruit pro bono help from law firms in providing hearing officers.
- Place fines, fees and hearing costs collected as a result of code violations into a Neighborhood Revitalization Fund, already authorized in the city code, thereby reserving monies for code enforcement work.
Build partnerships with others
- Open a dialogue with the Preservation Resource Center and civic leaders to identify buildings of architectural or historical significance that should not be demolished.
- Work with the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority to provide technical assistance to homebuyers willing to take over blighted properties.
- Make sure the city’s legislative delegation is educated and supported on efforts to remove any obstacles to blight removal posed by the state Constitution.
