P.O. Box 24378 New Orleans, LA 70184 504.324.2270
Dear Neighbor,
I am asking you to contact your City Council Members with an important note.
Last week, the “Lot Next Door” Ordinance which gives homeowners across the city the right of first refusal to purchase adjacent lots sold to the Road Home Program or which are abandoned, was supposed to come up for a vote to the City Council. However, the Council deferred the Ordinance (Calendar #26,367) until April 19th because there were last minute changes requested by the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority (NORA) and other agencies in the City that will likely make it very difficult for a homeowner to purchase a lot next door to expand their home, have a larger yard/garage, build a pool, or build a second house for a relative. The proposed changes also made it much easier for NORA or the City to package the lots for sale to large developers or to Wall Street banks without ever having to offer the lot to the next door neighbor.
The lot next door program was a very popular idea which came out of our neighborhood planning process. The program is particularly beneficial to (and fully supported by) most neighborhood planning districts, including Lakeview, Gentilly and New Orleans East. If you want to see this ordinance pass in a way that it may actually help neighbors purchase abandoned properties in Lakeview, (and those in adjacent planning districts), and thereby expand and retain property ownership from within our city neighborhoods, we recommend that you send a note to your City Council members showing support for the Ordinance, with the following points.
I support the Lot Next Door Program, which at a minimum, should include the following protections for neighbors:
- The Ordinance should require NORA or the City to send a certified letter to the adjoining homeowners notifying them that the lot is for sale, information about the lot, what the fair market purchase price is, and provide people a reasonable time period (60 days) to decide if they want to purchase the lot.
- The Ordinance should not allow NORA or the City to sell a lot at a lower purchase price than the one initially provided to the next door neighbor without giving the next door neighbor the option of buying the lot at the lower purchase price first.
- The Ordinance should require NORA and the City to turn around lots for sale as soon as they gain title or control of the lots. No land banking.
- The Ordinance should cover every residential property in the City without any option for NORA or the City to hold lots for pooling to use as collateral on Wall Street or for developer pools. They can pool the properties after the right of first refusal for the adjoining homeowners has expired.
- The Ordinance should not include any reversion requirement where NORA or the City can take back the lot if a family turns around and sells the lot in the first five years after it is sold to them. This reversionary right of NORA makes obtaining a loan for an expansion, new home, etc. very difficult if not impossible.
- The Ordinance should include a reasonable time period for people to build or bring the property into compliance with current codes.
The reason why the recovery of Lakeview has been as successful as it has to date is only because of the continued investment and concerted efforts of the residents of the neighborhood. A functioning and community oriented Lot Next Door program is another important way the City can help the community further along neighborhood based investment. Changes to the Ordinance which allow properties to be held off the market, or which do not require adequate notification, or which restrict what can be done with the properties to such an extent that it makes no sense for neighbors to buy the property are not helping the recovery of Lakeview or the other City neighborhoods, and we hope that you will approve a clear and simple Lot Next Door program which takes into account the points noted above.
The e-mail can be sent to:
Thanks.
Martin E. Landrieu
District 5 Neighborhood Recovery Group
Phone: 504-582-1111
Fax: 504-582-1121