[StBernard] Razing deadline may be extended

[Westley Annis]

Razing deadline may be extended
St. Bernard residents wait on flood data 
Sunday, March 12, 2006
By Karen Turni Bazile
St. Bernard/Plaquemines bureau 
St. Bernard Parish officials say they expect to extend the deadline for
residents to request that Katrina-damaged homes be demolished at government
expense because many people are waiting for federal flood elevation
advisories before deciding. 

 
Council Vice Chairman Joey DiFatta said he will ask the council to extend
the demolition request deadline from March 31 to at least May 31. 

More than 300 people crowded into a tent behind the St. Bernard Parish
government complex in Chalmette on Saturday morning for a meeting about
neighborhood buyouts. 

District A Councilman Mark Madary called the meeting to discuss buying out
homes on both sides of Benjamin Street in Arabi and on the Guerenger Canal
side of Cougar Drive in Arabi. Those homes could be bought under a state
mitigation program that would pay residents 75 percent of the homes'
pre-Katrina market value, with the parish paying residents the remaining 25
percent. 

Other residents could still be bought out under the plan being proposed by
Gov. Kathleen Blanco and the Louisiana Recovery Authority. However,
residents said it's unfair that their insurance settlements would be
deducted from any grants for buyouts or repairs. 

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has promised to release local flood
elevation advisories this week. Without the advisories, many residents have
put off decisions about what to do with their homes. 

Residents at the meeting wanted to know how their houses would be appraised
for a buyout if they sign up for the federally-sponsored demolition program.


DiFatta said state officials have told him that appraisals will be based on
a house's square footage and that a per-square-foot value will be applied to
each neighborhood, allowing for a value to be calculated even if a house has
been razed. At several points during the meeting, Madary and DiFatta said
residents with homes beside canals should not rebuild. 

DiFatta said homes on the northernmost streets in Buccaneer Villa North
subdivision in Chalmette, such as Norwood, Dominique and Hamlet streets,
should not be rebuilt because the land is low and has flooded several times.


Madary told residents he would not vote for forced buyouts if residents want
to stay, but he cautioned that ultimately it might be costly or difficult
for residents to obtain home loans or insurance in certain areas. 

"I'll defend your right to stay there," Madary said to one resident from the
northern part of Buccaneer Villa North. "But when you go to the bank and
want to get financing, the bank may not want to loan you money. You can live
there and tell the government to kiss your butt. But eventually you may not
get your flood insurance, and then you will have to go to the private
industry to get flood insurance. . . . And you may not be able to sell the
house. That's a factor you have to consider." 

FEMA will cover demolition costs for properties with damage totaling at
least 50 percent of their pre-Katrina value. Parish officials have said no
home will be demolished without the owner's permission. So far, owners of
2,500 of the parish's 27,000 homes have asked that the homes be demolished,
said Mike Hunnicutt, director of the parish's Department of Community
Development. Owners of 1,500 to 2,000 homes and about 50 businesses have
indicated they are renovating, he said. 

Officials have said it is essential for people to decide because FEMA has
said it will pay for demolitions only through June 30. 

Under a council measure approved in January, owners of badly-damaged homes
who don't sign demolition consent forms by March 31 would have their
properties placed on a parish blighted-housing list. With that designation
in hand, the parish would monitor the progress of repairs, and if work
stalls or never occurs, owners could be forced to demolish. 

Hunnicutt said it will take the parish more than six months to carry out a
widespread demolition program, razing about 30 homes a day, regardless of
what choices homeowners make. In addition to 2,500 homes already signed up
for demolition, Hunnicutt said, another 3,000 to 4,000 homes ultimately will
have to be razed, even if owners don't agree, because of the extent of their
damage. 

Home inspection results can be obtained through the parish Web site,
www.sbpg.net, or by calling the parish's development office at (504)
278-4310. 

. . . . . . . 


Karen Turni Bazile can be reached at kturni at timespicayune.com or (504)
352-2539.