[StBernard] Put Road Home lots in St. Bernard Parish back into commerce: An editorial

[Westley Annis]

Put Road Home lots in St. Bernard Parish back into commerce: An editorial

Published: Sunday, July 08, 2012, 7:56 AM

 By Editorial page staff, The Times-Picayune 

When Louisiana bought thousands of properties from Road Home applicants
after Hurricane Katrina, the aim was to clear the lots or remediate flooded
homes and eventually to put them all back into commerce.

But almost seven years after the disaster, the state is still facing
obstacles from some local governments -- and taxpayers are getting stuck
with the hefty costs of maintaining thousands of properties.

The latest example of this problem is in St. Bernard Parish, and it's time
for parish officials to sell the vacant lots there.

The Louisiana Land Trust, the entity created to temporarily hold Road Home
properties, still has 2,400 lots in St. Bernard. State officials have been
pushing to sell these properties and had told parish officials they would
hold an auction in August. But the parish is resisting that plan.

The Parish Council last week authorized Parish President Dave Peralta to
sign an agreement with the state to transfer the properties to parish
control. Parish officials argue they want to sell the properties at fair
market price and at a much slower pace to control development.

Trying to get more money for the properties than what an auction would bring
is understandable, but the parish's timetable wouldn't put the lots up for
sale until October. In the meantime, taxpayers would be stuck spending
$400,000 a month to maintain the properties. This is an exorbitant and
unsustainable expense.

Parish officials cite concerns about glutting the market with vacant lots
and hurting property values for residents who rebuilt their homes. But the
government was supposed to be selling these properties all along, not
hoarding them. The large costs of continuing to maintain the lots in the
future can't be justified. In addition, not returning these empty lots to
private commerce stops their redevelopment, and that's unfair to people who
have rebuilt.

Some residents who live nearby may be concerned about nearby empty lots
getting overgrown if an irresponsible buyer fails to maintain them. That's a
legitimate worry, but some properties under the Land Trust's control have
been neglected anyway, despite the gargantuan amount of money the state is
spending to maintain them. Parish officials should enforce local codes to
prevent neglect -- as they're supposed to do.

The St. Bernard Parish Council, for example, approved a requirement that
would let officials try to recoup a Road Home property if the new owner
racks up substantial liens for failure to maintain the property. The trigger
would be if liens reach 50 percent of the property's purchase price. Parish
officials should also set deadlines and other parameters for buyers to build
on these vacant lots.

State officials are obviously running short on patience, and it's
understandable considering the huge expense of maintaining these properties.
St. Bernard's leaders need to get ready to take these lots and to sell them
as quickly as possible.

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