[StBernard] St. Bernard homeowners get chance to expand lots

[Westley Annis]

St. Bernard homeowners get chance to expand lots
by Mary Elise DeCoursey, The Times-Picayune 
Saturday July 12, 2008, 9:16 PM
For Chalmette resident Chris Holmes, the concrete slab and driveway left
standing in the grass next to his Despaux Drive home aren't really a
nuisance. Instead, he sees progress, and opportunity. 



To Holmes, 48, those remnants of Hurricane Katrina could become a larger
yard. Maybe a bigger garage or a chance to extend his house. Perhaps even a
swimming pool. 

Holmes is among several St. Bernard Parish residents who are interested in
joining the parish's Lot Next Door program, which seeks to put
hurricane-damaged properties sold to the Louisiana Land Trust into the hands
of neighbors. 

"Having it available gives us a lot of options in the future," Holmes said.
"Who knows what those may be." 

St. Bernard is one of several local parishes, including Orleans, pushing
programs in which neighbors would be given first shot at buying
hurricane-damaged properties. The aim, at least in St. Bernard, is to create
streets lined with fewer houses and larger properties. 

Clay Cosse, St. Bernard Parish's director of housing and redevelopment, said
administrators have already heard from more than 500 people since launching
a hotline two weeks ago to gauge interest in the program. The response from
residents eager to explore buying the land next door was so overwhelming
that the parish had to change the hotline number on Thursday because the
hundreds of calls were tying up the main line to Cosse's office. 

The parish is making a list of names in hopes of selling the properties more
quickly once they become available to the Redevelopment Commission, the
public body established in St. Bernard to handle the properties. 

"What we're trying to avoid is stockpiling the Redevelopment Commission's
portfolio with a whole lot of properties that we have to hold on to for an
extended period of time," St. Bernard Parish President Craig Taffaro said.
"Obviously, the commission becomes responsible for maintaining them and
insuring them." 

Awaiting approval 

The Lot Next Door programs aren't done deals. A general plan from the
Louisiana Recovery Authority is under review by the U.S. Department of
Housing and Urban Development. In addition, each parish needs a specific
disposition plan for the properties approved by the LRA, which will be
working with FEMA to pay for slab removal and demolition, LRA spokeswoman
Christina Stephens said. 

St. Bernard's plan, of which the Lot Next Door is a part, is still pending
approval from the LRA board, but it is expected to come before the board
soon, along with plans from Plaquemines, St. Tammany and Cameron parishes,
she said. Stephens said Orleans and Jefferson parishes' plans have received
approval. 

A Lot Next Door program, managed by the New Orleans Recovery Authority, got
under way in Orleans Parish last year after being approved by the City
Council. 

There, neighborhood groups such as the Lakeview Civic Association are
working with NORA and residents to compile a list of interested buyers. 

The Jefferson Parish Council approved a plan in November that would auction
off the properties. 

Once approved by HUD, the Louisiana Land Trust, the group set up by the LRA
to disperse properties bought under the Road Home program, can begin
releasing properties to parishes whose plans have been approved. Taffaro
expects St. Bernard Parish to begin receiving properties from the land trust
in September. 

The trust has also taken over 4,000 properties in St. Bernard Parish and
likely will add 1,000 more, Taffaro said. Once the properties are turned
over to the parish, Taffaro said officials hope to have a system ironed out
to put those properties into the hands of neighbors within 45 to 60 days. 

'We can move on' 

Under St. Bernard's program, some properties eligible for public use will be
removed from the pack. Of the others, neighbors sharing a common frontage
with a Louisiana Land Trust property will get first crack. If two neighbors
want the property, it will be split equally between the two. Neighbors
sharing a common back boundary with a property will get the next chance to
buy. 

In St. Bernard, lots will be sold at fair market value as determined by an
appraisal, Taffaro said. 

Charles Rufino, a private appraiser in St. Bernard, said he has appraised
eight lots in the parish in a range of $11,000 to $17,500 in the past year.
Nonetheless, Rufino said any number of variables can drive those appraisals
higher or lower. 

For Holmes, the fate of his expansion lies in that price. He hopes to get
something in the range of $10,000. 

After all, he said, "with all the hardships after the storm, nobody has
money to go around buying extra property." 

Holmes said he is the only original homeowner on his block who has returned.


"We're on the way back. We come home from work and see another house gone.
Some people don't see that as progress," Holmes said. "But, once that house
is gone, we can move on." 

Mary Elise DeCoursey can be reached at mdecoursey at timespicayune.com or
504.826.3362.