[StBernard] FEMA trailer parks & rentals in SBP

[Westley Annis]

from www.sbpg.net





St. Bernard Parish Council members are starting to discuss plans to
systematically close FEMA grout site trailer parks in the parish.

 At a committee meeting on Thursday, April 12, Council members said
de-authorizing FEMA group site parks would be a step toward normalizing the
parish again and would help the parish rental property industry back on its
feet by providing a market for rental  apartments and houses.

 The plans wouldn't have any effect on FEMA trailers on residents' property
or on commercial trailer parks in the parish, Council members said.

 No deadlines have been set but the Council will discuss the issue again at
another committee meeting in the Parish Council office at 1 p.m. on Monday,
April 16.

 There are eight FEMA group site trailer parks in the parish, lived in by
those who don't own property to place FEMA trailers on.

 Council Chairman Joseph DiFatta and Council members Craig Taffaro Jr. and
Judy Hoffmeister voiced support for getting residents out of group FEMA
trailer parks and back into houses or apartments, saying FEMA might be able
to offer rental assistance to many of the residents in group sites and help
the parish's rental property market come back to life.

 Programs for first-time home buyers would also be possible, they said.

 Hoffmeister said she is also concerned about so many people living in FEMA
trailers with hurricane season about to start again.

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For DiFatta, Hoffmeister and Taffaro:

Where does anyone plan to advertise these rentals to bring the rental
business back?  There was a website listed in a nola.com article about
regional rental housing which indicated it would include Orleans, St.
Bernard, Jefferson parishes.  A search on that website yielded nothing in
SBP.  The two local "newspapers" do not have a web presence to  view
possible rentals.  Subscriptions would be extremely slow via snail  mail and
I doubt if anyone was searching for a rental that way it would even be
available once the newspaper was recv'd.

anonymous