New Orleans Isn’t Razing Homes Yet

Under pressure from community activists, the city agreed Wednesday not to begin demolishing thousands of hurricane-damaged homes before a court hearing next week.

The agreement came hours after activists sued to stop the city from moving ahead with plans to raze buildings without court hearings or owners’ consent.

A hearing is set for Jan. 6 before a state judge.

Last week, city officials announced their intention to demolish within weeks about 2,500 buildings that inspectors found to be dangerously unstable after they were flooded by Hurricane Katrina.

The city claims it has the authority to act without the approval of the owners or a court order because the structures pose an imminent threat. But the plaintiffs said the city is overstepping its authority and violating the law.

Bill Quigley, a Loyola University New Orleans School of Law professor and the plaintiffs’ lawyer, said that Wednesday’s agreement suggested the city could be inclined to “do the right thing for these people” and adopt a “fair, legal and constitutional” demolition process that takes into consideration the wishes of property owners.

Brenda Breaux, a city attorney, declined to discuss the dispute.

The plaintiffs also charge that the inspection process that determined which buildings are unsafe was flawed. Several of the plaintiffs contend their buildings were mistakenly red-tagged for demolition.

The city says it placed red stickers on 5,534 buildings on New Orleans’ east bank. Greg Meffert, who oversees the city’s department of safety and permits, said the plan was to inspect 3,000 of those buildings a second time to make sure they needed to be brought down.