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