[StBernard] Neighbors Fed Up With Ugly State Properties

[Westley Annis]

Neighbors Fed Up With Ugly State Properties
TheNewOrleansChannel.com
updated 10:51 a.m. CT, Mon., April. 28, 2008
NEW ORLEANS - In a lakefront New Orleans neighborhood, signs of progress can
been seen on almost every street. Homeowners are rebuilding. Click Here:
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But dream homes are going up next door to lots some people say are a
nightmare. 

Roger Javier rebuilt his flooded home just a few months after Hurricane
Katrina hit the area and the levee near his house gave way. 

"It's very disappointing for all of us here,? Javier said. ?The people that
have come back after the storm that have fought hard to build our property
back to where it used to be, if not better, and you see a property like this
in such disarray, it's upsetting.? 

The grass all around the home right next door to Javier's home was
overgrown, with weeds standing almost 4 feet tall. 

What's more upsetting to Javier, is who owns the land. 

"I didn't realize the state actually bought that,? Javier said. 

It's marked with a sign on the front yard. The Louisiana Land Trust owns the
property. 

The Louisiana Land Trust is the state agency that manages property sold to
the Road Home Program. 

The state owns and maintains 7,176 properties. Of those, 3,217 are in New
Orleans. 

?Right now the land trust holds those properties and is maintaining those
properties," said Walter Leger, a board member with the Louisiana Recovery
Authority. 

Leger said Land Trust leaders tell him all property is properly maintained. 

"If you see property out there that is dilapidated and grass hasn't been
cut, they're probably not owned by the land trust,? Leger said. 

But that's not what WDSU found in Lakeview. 

While some property owned by the state is cut and kept up, almost a dozen
other pieces of land are filled with overgrown grass, high weeds and trashy
lots. 

"What I'd like to see them do during the transition of the property is at
least maintain it,? Javier said. ?That would be nice, since they're required
to do." 

By law, Louisiana is responsible for maintaining all property in it's
possession. 

It costs the state more than $800,000 each month to keep property in New
Orleans insured, maintained and secure. 

Some New Orleans lawmakers want to know where that money is going. 

"It's very concerning, it's their responsibility to keep that property up,"
State Rep. Austin Badon said. 

It's a situation that could lead to an investigation. 

"When you try to get in touch with the land trust you get the run around and
passing the buck and it's something we are going to have to look into," said
Henry. 

A spokesperson for the Louisiana Land Trust says the agency is in
transition. 

It's director, Dr. Nadine Jarmon recently resigned. 

The Land Trust office in Baton Rouge is not marked with any outside signs to
let home owners know where the office is. Until recently, the Land Trust did
not post a working phone number on its web site. 

The Louisiana Land Trust chose not to comment on camera about this story.
But a spokesperson said they are working on new initiatives to make it
easier for homeowners to find information and register complaints. 

"We can bring (Land Trust officials) in and make sure they are fulfilling
their responsibility, bring them in and drag them on the carpet and make
sure they have the capabilities to do the work," Badon said. 

One question a lot of people are asking is: Why doesn't the state just hand
the homes over to the city and let New Orleans re-develop them? That's the
long-term plan. The New Orleans Redevelopment Authority, NORA, plans to take
the homes and sell them to people in these communities and to developers,
but it can't happen just yet. 

"The difficulty is, NORA doesn't have the money to manage the property, cut
the grass, manage it keep it maintained and safe maybe even tear down the
building and insure them," Leger said. 

A board member for the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority said that?s true.


"We're going to have to be very careful that when they are turned over to
us, we have the money to maintain them,? said NORA Board Member Rob Couhig.
?The worst thing for us to do is to take them and not maintain them." 

Neighbors in Lakeview said that's exactly what the state is doing. 

"It winds up decreasing the property value, but also people's emotional
spirits," Javier said. 

A Louisiana Land Trust spokesperson said most of the work for security and
upkeep of homes owned by the state is done by subcontractors. The Land Trust
has three staff inspectors that are responsible for visiting the more then
7,000 properties each month.