[StBernard] Louisiana's Road Home Program Pays First Elevation Checks to Homeowners

Westley Annis Westley at da-parish.com
Wed Apr 9 00:03:28 EDT 2008


Louisiana's Road Home Program Pays First Elevation Checks to Homeowners


Applicants Encouraged to Return Commitment Letters




BATON ROUGE, La. (April 8, 2008) - The state last week distributed the first checks for home elevations through the Road Home program to homeowners, just six weeks after announcing it was reactivating its elevation program and speeding the process of getting aid by forgoing award calculations and offering a flat amount for elevation.

"Homeowners should take this as a sign that the state of Louisiana is committed to helping them to rebuild safer, stronger and smarter than before," said Walter Leger, chair of the Louisiana Recovery Authority's (LRA) Housing Task Force. "Applicants should consider their options and return their elevation letters to the Road Home so that we can quickly move to get them the funds they need to elevate their homes."

Louisiana put its elevation program on hold in April 2007 after serving 2,000 homeowners because of concerns over a potential shortfall in the Road Home budget. The LRA and the Office of Community Development (OCD) announced in late February 2008 that the state was reactivating the elevation program and notifying homeowners who qualified for elevation awards by letter.

To date, the Road Home has mailed more than 22,000 of 70,000 letters to homeowners. The rest will be mailed in the next few weeks. At this time, more than 2,000 people have returned their letters indicating that they would like to participate in the program. The state estimates that 35,000 to 40,000 people will elect to participate in the Road Home Elevation Program.

Homeowners with questions about their letters or their eligibility for elevation funding should contact their Road Home Personal Applicant Liaison.

Rather than each homeowner having an individual elevation grant calculation, homeowners will receive standard elevation amounts through the Road Home program, based on the type of home they have, at the following levels:

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Site built homes and modular homes: up to $30,000 elevation allowance;
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Mobile homes: up to $20,000 elevation allowance.

Homeowner compensation through the Road Home is capped at $150,000 per applicant. Those homeowners who have already closed on their Road Home grants will receive elevation funds as a second disbursement from the program. Eligible applicants who have not closed will receive elevation funds during their Road Home closing. These funds are made possible through Community Development Block Grant funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Louisiana will also issue a request for proposals in the coming weeks for a contractor to run a second elevation program using Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) funds beginning this summer. This program will help some eligible Road Home applicants cover the gap between their Road Home elevation awards and the actual cost of elevation.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency recently announced new program rules to allow property owners who have already begun or completed elevation to be eligible for this hazard mitigation funding.

Homes damaged by Hurricanes Katrina or Rita may be eligible for the retroactive funding through this second elevation program as well, provided that they meet all other federal requirements. This exemption applies to property owners who completed or started mitigation work on their property by March 16, 2008, and whose properties fall into one of the following categories:

*
Properties identified as eligible for elevation through the state's Road Home program, which will be included in the OCD's HMGP application; or
*
Properties included in an HMGP application proposed by a parish and submitted to the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness.

To date, the state has disbursed $6.2 billion to more than 105,000 homeowners through the Road Home program, making it the largest home rebuilding program in American history.

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated South Louisiana, claiming 1,464 lives, destroying more than 200,000 homes and 18,000 businesses. The Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA) is the planning and coordinating body that was created in the aftermath of these storms to lead one of the most extensive rebuilding efforts in the world. The LRA is a 33-member body which is coordinating across jurisdictions, supporting community recovery and resurgence, ensuring integrity and effectiveness, and planning for the recovery and rebuilding of Louisiana.

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