[StBernard] St. Bernard weighs stiffer enforcement of tall-grass rules

[Westley Annis]

St. Bernard weighs stiffer enforcement of tall-grass rules

By Chris Kirkham, The Times-Picayune 

October 11, 2009, 7:01AM

In the heart of Chalmette, the abandoned lots on Phillip Court have given
way to the forces of nature. 

Tangled weeds and 10-foot-high grass have turned parts of the cul-de-sac
into a suburban forest that no riding lawnmower could hope to attack. In
summer the rats and snakes come often, and Fourth of July fireworks almost
spawned a major blaze on a blighted lot next to Ethel LeBlanc's apartment. 

"The grass ... it's like trees now," she said. "How would you even cut
that?" 

On vacant slabs and gutted houses across St. Bernard Parish, unkempt lawns
have been a growing headache for residents who have re-invested in
neighborhoods but are struggling to attract new buyers. 

The parish has grass-cutting laws on the books, but the Parish Council is
exploring ways to beef up enforcement to address the magnitude of the
problem since Hurricane Katrina. The St. Bernard Parish Council delayed
approving an ordinance last week that would have targeted violators by
garnishing wages, cutting utilities and attempting to embarrass grass
scofflaws by putting signs in the front yards that read: "This property is
managed by St. Bernard Parish Government due to non-compliance by owner." 

Councilman Mike Ginart and Parish President Craig Taffaro urged the council
to table the matter, worried that such measures could prove too costly in
the long run. 

"Right now we're dangerously close ... to telling people, 'If you don't take
care of your property, we're coming to take care of it for you,'" Taffaro
told the council. "I want you to be aware of the cost that comes with that.
There's no silver bullet to this. Just because you put it on paper and file
it with the St. Bernard clerk's office, that doesn't mean that somebody's
going to show up with a check." 

Taffaro also pointed out to the council that parish government had addressed
more than 500 derelict properties last month. 

Councilman George Cavignac agreed with the decision to refine the ordinance
but said the council needs to overhaul the system quickly to address what he
called an "overwhelming" problem. 

"You want the deterrents to try to be as strong as you can legally make
them," Cavignac said. "But it's almost a trial and error at this point. I
don't think any municipality has ever had to deal with anything of this
nature before." 

Administratively, the process of fining and notifying owners can be
burdensome. Technically, according to pre-Katrina parish ordinances, the
parish has the authority to continue cutting grass and fining owners on a
monthly basis after the first violation. 

But a look down any street shows that the method isn't being enforced. Some
Parish Council members and residents have also complained that fines or
liens against violating properties are reduced or dismissed in an arbitrary
way. 

Cavignac said he wants the council to have the final word on whether the
penalties can be removed. 

Polly Boudreaux, who heads Meraux's Lexington Place civic group, said the
parish needs a better system of notifying homeowners exactly how fees will
be assessed. In some cases in her neighborhood, homeowners told her that
they didn't receive notice until fines had already ratcheted up to nearly
$10,000. 

By the time the fines mount that high, often the parish has no choice but to
reduce them, thereby negating the law's impact, she said. 

"It's not just high grass. If a neighborhood looks neglected, somebody's
going to be much less likely to buy the property that's in it," Boudreaux
said. "We're starting to take for granted what things look like. In many
other places in the country this would not be tolerated, and I don't think
it should be tolerated by us."