OP/ED: Halt demolitions till system is fixed
Posted August 6, 2009 | Contact pr@nthp.org or 202-588-6141
By Walter W. Gallas and Bob Brown | August 15, 2007
New Orleans, La. Published in the Times-Picayune.
The drastic cuts in New Orleans government after Hurricane Katrina adversely affected some of the very services a recovering city needs the most: building inspections, comprehensive planning and protection of our irreplaceable historic districts.
Today we are seeing the effects of these curtailed services, in particular city-mandated demolitions where the damage from errors and incorrect evaluations is irrevocable.
A demolished home is gone forever, and in a majority of cases the resulting vacant lot detracts greatly from neighborhood recovery efforts.
City officials, owning up to their woeful lack of staff and resources to carry out the process effectively, should support a moratorium on demolitions until procedures are established to eliminate any chance of mistaken demolitions of homes.
We must clarify and achieve consensus on what really constitutes an "imminent health threat." We must be sure that "imminent danger of collapse" means the same thing for every structure. We must know that buildings will not be cited where owners have valid building permits and are making repairs. We must make sure that mistaken demolitions are a thing of the past.
Up until now, many homeowners weren't even aware they needed to take action. It was only through the determined efforts of neighborhood associations and grassroots community activists such as Squandered Heritage (www.squanderedheritage.com) that many people learned that their homes could be lost.
Katrina's fury and its aftermath affected all of our citizens. In one day, the rug was pulled out from under thousands of people who were living quiet, ordinary lives.
Many flood victims, particularly older citizens, have been overwhelmed by a city bureaucracy that has proved to be arbitrary and capricious, difficult to understand and almost impossible to change.
Nearly all of these citizens are also still struggling mightily with other daunting issues related to the hurricane and its aftermath -- dealing with insurance settlements, dual households and scattered families.
While the law was enacted with the best of intentions, its implementation has been sporadic and inconsistent.
At a minimum, the administration must:
-- Increase the staff devoted to inspection and code enforcement;
-- Define and achieve consensus on what constitutes "an imminent health threat" and warrants demolition;
-- Update inspections of all properties using qualified teams of structural, environmental and preservation experts;
-- Organize and prioritize inspections by neighborhood;
-- Create a master list that integrates all relevant city property databases and assessors' lists to enable cross-checking among departments for building permits and ownership information;
-- Assure a means by which property owners truly receive personal notification of the city's intentions to demolish their property and the reasons why;
-- Offer property owners easy-to-understand written instructions on what to do if they receive a demolition notification;
-- Dedicate sufficient staff to help owners with appeals and questions;
-- Provide uniform verification in writing when a property is removed from the demolition list; and
-- Provide the public with on-line access to a master property list showing the status of proposed demolitions.
If the city is unable to implement the above policies and procedures, the City Council should suspend the entire process until it is fixed.
The city must go to whatever lengths necessary to make sure that not a single property owner is harmed by mistakes of the system, even if that might inconvenience the system's administrators.
Doing any less is unacceptable.
Walter W. Gallas, AICP, is the director of the New Orleans field office of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Bob Brown is president of the Board of Directors of the Preservation Resource Center.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a non-profit membership organization bringing people together to protect, enhance and enjoy the places that matter to them. By saving the places where great moments from history – and the important moments of everyday life – took place, the National Trust for Historic Preservation helps revitalize neighborhoods and communities, spark economic development and promote environmental sustainability. With headquarters in Washington, DC, nine regional and field offices, 29 historic sites, and partner organizations in all 50 states, the National Trust for Historic Preservation provides leadership, education, advocacy and resources to a national network of people, organizations and local communities committed to saving places, connecting us to our history and collectively shaping the future of America’s stories. For more information visit www.PreservationNation.org.
