New Orleans, La

The New Orleans Vacant Properties Initiative (NOVPI), a joint venture of the National Vacant Properties Campaign (NVPC) and the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), is dedicated to aiding New Orleans public, private, and nonprofit institutions in their efforts to strengthen the city and its neighborhoods by returning vacant, deteriorated, and abandoned properties to commerce.

The NOVPI is an outgrowth of work the Campaign began in 2004, when officials were working to improve systems to deal with more than 20,000 vacant and abandoned properties throughout the city (scroll to the bottom to read the Campaign’s report from 2005.) Since hurricanes Katrina and Rita, those efforts to assess and provide recommendations to streamline existing legal powers, operating policies and procedures, and programs that guide the City’s property acquisition and disposition have become even more critical.

NOVPI is working with the city of New Orleans to:

• Support the enhancement and implementation of long-term code enforcement strategies;
• Facilitate effective use of existing recovery programs and the development of new programs;
• Enhance transparency and consistency of public policies and programs; and
• Facilitate real estate development.

As way to help the city improve and streamline its procedures for inspecting and abating troubled properties, NOVPI is working closely with city officials at Code Enforcement, Health, and the Historic District Landmarks Commissions, and its for-profit and non-profit partners to “diagnose” current procedures and recommend changes.

To ensure that the City of New Orleans doesn’t struggle alone in solving the problems associated with vacant and abandoned properties, NOVPI has engaged our partners, practitioners, and national experts in a range of training and technical assistance services. In the past two years, the Initiative has convened workshops and conducted in-depth policy assessments and in 2010 is beginning a comprehensive strategic planning session for Code Enforcement.

Over the past six months the Initiative has worked closely with the Department of Code Enforcement to increase its effectiveness through a number enhancements:

• Working with the City Council to adopt Chapter 28 of the City’s code, instituting a new broad set of housing standards and allowing the Department to give meaningful penalties to violators, including daily fines of $100 to $500.
• Increasing staffing and increasing the number of monthly hearings and inspections.
• Implementing a new inspection method based on ‘sweeps,’ during which an entire area of the city is inspected and all properties in violation are worked through the enforcement process. By inspecting entire areas instead of individual properties, the department hopes to stabilize the areas and make them catalysts for recovery in the surrounding neighborhoods.
• Adopting Accela software, digitizing the inspection and case building system and significantly increasing productivity.
• Working with a non-profit consulting firm who is helping the Department research and adopt best practices of code enforcement departments in other cities.
• Teaming up with the New Orleans Police Department to create a criminal task force to reduce criminal activity in vacant properties and lots. The task force meets once a week and inspects properties that the NOPD has cited for criminal activity and suspects of harboring criminal activity. Members of the Code Enforcement, Environmental Health and Safety and Permits departments site them for all violations.

In 2009, the NOVPI produced the New Orleans Property Acquisition and Redevelopment Guide to help New Orleans residents and small developers interested in rehabilitating property within the city. These developers are a critical piece of the city’s revitalization, but often need help navigating the acquisition, financing, and construction process.

In April of 2009, statistical researcher Greg Rigamer with GCR & Associates confirmed that a startling 35 percent of unique addresses—about 66,000 lots—in New Orleans are vacant. Vacant properties represent a significant challenge for New Orleans’ revitalization. Empty lots have been strongly correlated with increased rates of crime, violence, and public safety hazards. Further, abandoned properties can stifle the revitalization efforts of neighborhoods by deterring new residents from moving in and by pulling down surrounding home values.3 New Orleans residents interested in purchasing a home within the city, or small -scale developers interested in developing a property are a critical piece of the city’s revitalization. This guide is intended to support developers as they go through the development process to access the resources and programs they need to be successful.

Additional New Orleans Resources:

• Greater New Orleans Community Data Center
• City Of New Orleans Department of Code Enforcement
• New Orleans Redevelopment Authority

NVPC Work in 2004-2005

Read the draft report.

Client: City of New Orleans and New Orleans Neighborhood Development Collaborative (NONDC)

Team of experts: Frank Alexander, Emory University School of Law; Lisa Mueller Levy, Local Initiative Support Corporation; Joseph Schilling, Virginia Tech’s Metropolitan Institute

Description of work: New Orleans has been actively seeking to improve its ability to quickly and efficiently return its large inventory of vacant and abandoned properties to productive use. The TA team conducted an assessment visit in July 2004 and produced a set of recommendations to streamline New Orleans’ acquisition and disposition of vacant, tax delinquent and blighted properties. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, our ongoing work will focus on supporting redevelopment efforts of the City of New Orleans by helping to implement strategies to help create housing opportunities in New Orleans.