[StBernard] Housing deal offered

[Westley Annis]

Editor's Note:  Follow the link at the bottom for a photo of Craig Tafaro,
Joey Difatta, Walter Leger, and Andy Kopplin


Housing deal offered

Legislature to get LRA compromise

By MICHELLE MILLHOLLON
Capitol news bureau
Published: Apr 27, 2006

Homeowners in the hurricane-affected areas would only get half of the money
they are due - up to $75,000 at first - under a revamped housing plan
approved Wednesday by the Louisiana Recovery Authority.

Officials characterized it as a down-payment on the $150,000 ceiling on
assistance they intend to implement should Congress agree to an additional
$4.2 billion in recovery relief for Louisiana. A decision from Capitol Hill
is expected by Memorial Day.

"We stand united behind efforts to return people to their homes," a jubilant
Gov. Kathleen Blanco said at the State Capitol surrounded by lawmakers and
LRA members.

Now that the LRA has approved the plan, the Legislature must OK it. The
housing scheme then goes to the federal government for final consent.

Senate President Don Hines and Speaker of the House Joe Salter said the
Legislature could vote on the plan early next week.

Blanco said homeowners probably won't begin receiving checks until this
summer.

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita destroyed or severely damaged more than 122,000
homes owned by the occupants.

Blanco wants to spend $7.5 billion to rebuild, repair and buy out homes,
plus $1.5 billion to create affordable rental units.

The ceiling on homeowner assistance would be $150,000. Owners who sell to
the state would get 60 percent of their homes' pre-storm value.

In calculating assistance, insurance payments and aid from the Federal
Emergency Management Agency would be deducted.

The problem is that the plan hinges on the approval of the additional $4.2
billion.

That forced the LRA to build a contingency into the plan to prepare for the
possibility that the extra money might not materialize.

The original contingency was that only homeowners who lived outside the
flood plain or those on a low income would get help if Congress didn't come
through with more money.

Lawmakers, led by Republican and black legislative leaders, objected to the
doomsday scenario that would have excluded thousands of storm victims.

They threatened to vote against the plan when it reached the floors of the
Senate and House.

LRA members spent hours talking to lawmakers in the days leading up to
Wednesday's board meeting. The talks did not yield much movement.

Finally, Blanco called Republican leaders over to the Governor's Mansion on
Tuesday night and reached a compromise.

Rather than an income limit, the state would parcel out assistance in
halves. A calculation would be made of how much a homeowner is due by
factoring in damage, the pre-Katrina value of a home, insurance and FEMA
payments. The final sum would be split in two, with the homeowner receiving
half up front and half if Congress acts favorably.

LRA Chairman Norman Francis said Blanco officials were open to suggestions.

"We weren't so arrogant that we ignored the responses we got," Francis said.

House Republican leader Jim Tucker of Terrytown said it was LRA member
Walter Leger who came up with the compromise.

Tucker said he doesn't think the plan will meet much resistance in the
House.

However, he said, he will keep an eye on how the money is distributed.

Sen. Walter Boasso, R-Arabi, expects smooth sailing for the plan in the
Senate.

"I'm ecstatic," he said. "This is the way to do it."

Boasso said the original contingency excluded homeowners. The compromise
ensures that everyone gets at least something, he said.

There was discontent over other parts of the plan at the LRA's meeting.

The plan would require homeowners to comply with the state construction code
and with the latest available FEMA guidelines on base flood elevations
unless the LRA grants an exception.

The guidelines call for many homes in the New Orleans area to be elevated at
least 3 feet even though that may not be necessary in four years when the
levees are deemed capable of withstanding a 100-year flood.

Two councilmen from the devastated St. Bernard Parish questioned whether it
is fair to force homeowners to take on the expense of building to a standard
that might disappear in less than five years.

Councilman Joey DiFatta Jr. said the requirement could result in many St.
Bernard Parish homeowners not returning.

DiFatta said homeowners could be forced to elevate their homes 13 feet above
sea level when they only needed a 9-foot boost.

"We need latitude on putting something permanent on a homebuilder that's
temporary," he said.

Councilman Craig Taffaro Jr. predicted dire consequences.

"This is a backhanded way of saying reduce your population," Taffaro said.

Leger, whose Arabi home got 14 feet of water during Katrina, sympathized.

"I don't know about you, but I'm not climbing 20 feet of stairs," he joked.

Another LRA member, John T. Landry, pointed out that the watermark on
flooded homes could be reason enough to elevate an extra 3 feet.

DiFatta argued that the watermarks won't appear again when the levees are
repaired.

Landry disagreed.

"I'm going to believe in the watermark," he said.
 
  
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