Police Jury decides on blight ordinance
An ordinance, more than six months in the making, pertaining to abandoned and blighted or run-down residential properties was finally completed and accepted by the Vermilion Parish Police Jury Public Works Committee.
The ordinance will not become official, however until Monday night when the entire jury ratifies the decision.
The previous jury started looking at a way to rid the parish of abandoned homes that are posing either a safety hazard or a health threat to others and put legal council Paul Moresy III to the task of creating a suitable ordinance.
Abbeville City Council passed a similar ordinance in 2007.
Initially, Juror Wayne Touchet, who has been an advocate of the ordinance since the inception of the idea, proposed that the jury, apply it only to recognized subdivisions in the parish. However, Juror Nathan Granger asked, “What do we have to lose by making this parish-wide?”
The committee unanimously agreed to allow the ordinance to apply to the entire parish.
Once it is ratified, the new ordinance will have to be published in the Abbeville Meridional and then goes into affect after 30 days.
Once the blight ordinance is in place, citizens will be able to contact the jury in writing to report an abandoned and blighted residential property.
A list will then be created, the property investigated and a letter will be sent to the legal property owner requesting his or her presence at an administrative hearing to allow the owner to show cause why a rehabilitation plan for the residential housing property should not be prepared and implemented or will be determined that if the property is confirmed a blighted property, an alternate plan can be decided upon and implemented.
The process, according to Abbeville City Public Works Director, Clay Menard who also serves on the parish Public Works Committee, is similar to what the city has in place.
“We give property owners an opportunity to take control of the situation and get it resolved first,” Menard stated. “If the mayor and council don’t see progress or completion of a project, then we take it to the next level.”
According to the ordinance, a property designated as blighted will be contacted by certified mail and added to the blighted housing properties list which may also appear on the jury website.
“This is going to be a good thing for the parish,” Touchet stated.
“We want to get rid of the safety and health hazards, but we will work closely with the property owners to make this the best situation possible.”
The public officer will identify residential housing properties that are uninhabited. The ordinance also states, no residential housing property in an area impacted by Hurricane Katrina or Rita which was occupied as of August 28, 2005, shall be included on the inventory as a blighted housing property if the owner is eligible for and receives assistance under the Road Home Housing Program. Evidence of utility connection, including sewer, water, electric or gas and billings to an occupant for the month of July or August shall be presumptive evidence that a residential housing property was occupied as of August 28, 2005.