Code Enforcement Holding Hearings for 900 Properties this Week

The City of New Orleans Office of Code Enforcement is in its third day of a week long hearing blitz for more than 900 properties reported through the City's 311 system.

The hearings, held at St. Maria Goretti Church, 7300 Crowder Boulevard, include a range of reported property violations, such as overgrown grass, deteriorated structures and unsecured properties. During the hearing process, homeowners may enter into an agreement with the City to make repairs by a specified date. If a hearing officer determines a property owner is guilty, penalties may range from fines to entry into the expropriation process.

"The hearing process gives property owners an opportunity to tell their side of the story and to share relevant information," said Winston Reid, Director of Code Enforcement. "The City of New Orleans is committed to ensuring that property owners are treated fairly, but we also are serious about eradicating blight conditions that lower the quality of life for citizens and serve as a deterrent to economic development."

Of the properties scheduled for hearings, 440 are from District D, which is comprised primarily of Gentilly and a portion of New Orleans East, and 217 are from District E, which is made up of the Lower 9th Ward and the remainder of New Orleans East. Other properties are from throughout New Orleans.

Property owners were notified of the hearings by mail, via a posting on on cityofno.com, and by an advertisement in the Times-Picayune. A similar blitz of 800 properties was held in July at the East Bank Criminal Sheriff's Office.

The hearings begin at 9 a.m. daily and will continue through Friday.