SLS 21RS-1417 ORIGINAL
2021 Regular Session
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 197
BY SENATOR HARRIS
SANITARY CODE. Requests the New Orleans City Council to implement a comprehensive
plan to address property blight in New Orleans East.
1 A RESOLUTION
2 To urge and request the New Orleans City Council to implement a comprehensive plan to
3 address property blight in New Orleans East.
4 WHEREAS, dilapidated properties and overgrown lots, otherwise known as blight,
5 have long been among New Orleans' most vexing challenges; and
6 WHEREAS, concentrations of blighted properties reduce property values, harm
7 quality of life, and threaten public safety; and
8 WHEREAS, New Orleans East was once a thriving area with quality real estate and
9 a unique place to live, work, play, and do business; and
10 WHEREAS, "blighted properties" as described in Chapter 26 of the New Orleans
11 City Code specifies the minimum standards to which property owners must comply and
12 provides for enforcement by the city's code enforcement and hearings bureau; and
13 WHEREAS, in 2010, a strategic plan was implemented by the mayor and city council
14 to reduce blight within the city of New Orleans; and
15 WHEREAS, the strategy consisted of data-driven decision-making, blight tool
16 alignment and improvement, organizational architecture and processes, strategic deployment
17 of resources and place-based revitalization; and
18 WHEREAS, in 2012, the strategy put in place to abate the blight problem within the
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1 city of New Orleans reduced blight by thousands of properties, and won the prestigious
2 Bright Idea in Government award presented by Harvard University's Ash Center for
3 Democratic Governance and Innovation; and
4 WHEREAS, that same blight abatement plan also won the Department of Housing
5 and Urban Development Secretary's Award; and
6 WHEREAS, part of the 2012 plan focused on code enforcement and lien foreclosure
7 sales and a monthly meeting called Blight Stat, and with code enforcement, the New Orleans
8 Redevelopment Authority and other city department officials tracking the project's progress;
9 and
10 WHEREAS, as of May 2021, Blight Stat and the other award winning initiatives are
11 no longer in operation and blighted properties in New Orleans East remain extremely high;
12 and
13 WHEREAS, state statute authorizes the city of New Orleans to issue sanitation
14 tickets as an enforcement tool for violations of nuisance, sanitation, health, safety, and
15 welfare ordinances of Orleans Parish; and
16 WHEREAS, state statute also authorizes the use of criminal enforcement when the
17 blighted property owner intentionally or in a criminally negligent manner permits the
18 existence of a condition of deterioration of his property, which is deemed to have occurred
19 when the property has been declared or certified as blighted after an administrative hearing,
20 and after all reviews or appeals have occurred; and
21 WHEREAS, the city council is encouraged to seek ways to eliminate blight in New
22 Orleans East in order for the area to once again become a thriving place with a pro business
23 climate and an unmatched quality of life which offers the essential elements to ensure the
24 growth and development of the community.
25 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
26 does hereby urge and request the New Orleans City Council to implement a comprehensive
27 plan to address property blight in New Orleans East.
28 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the comprehensive plan includes a mechanism
29 to address the following:
30 (1) The appropriate city officials who may issue sanitation tickets in accordance with
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1 La. R.S. 13:2575.6.
2 (2) Expanding the authority of the city's code enforcement department and its
3 employees so as to provide for a more consistent enforcement of the city's sanitation and
4 zoning ordinances and enhance the city's ability to collect payment for fines imposed for
5 violations of these ordinances.
6 (3) Consideration of enforcing La. R.S. 14:107.3 when the property has been
7 declared or certified as blighted and the property owner has been granted an administrative
8 hearing and all reviews or appeals have occurred.
9 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to
10 New Orleans City Council President Helena Moreno.
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Michael Bell.
DIGEST
SR 197 Original 2021 Regular Session Harris
Urges and requests the New Orleans City Council to implement a comprehensive plan to
address property blight in New Orleans East.
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