Lafayette Consolidated Government wants to restart the process for getting long-abandoned, tax-adjudicated properties back into use, and it's holding a public meeting on the proposed changes Wednesday, Nov. 4, at 6 p.m. (via LCG).
The meeting is in the Ted A. Ardoin City-Parish Council Auditorium, 705 W. University Ave. LCG staff and its consultant, E&P Consulting Services LLC, will walk through how adjudication works now, what's causing the delays, the backlog of properties, and the changes they're proposing. LCG is inviting property owners, neighbors, people with properties in adjudication, developers and community groups to ask questions and weigh in. The administration ties the effort to Mayor-President Monique Boulet's broader push against blight across the parish.
Some background. An adjudicated property is one where the owner stopped paying property taxes and nobody bid on it at the tax sale, so it was adjudicated to the local government. Under state law, LCG can transfer those properties to new owners through public bid, sale to a qualified adjoining owner, donation to a qualified nonprofit or an arm's-length transfer, according to the city's property disposition page. The title that comes with it is non-warranty, meaning the government doesn't guarantee it's clear.
That program is on hold right now. The disposition page says LCG isn't taking new applications or sending them to the councils. The Current reported in April that the administration paused applications after a resident sued LCG and the City Council over a denied application for a property on Ransome Street. At the time, the city had roughly 1,400 adjudicated properties, a backlog of about 200 applications, and one staff member processing them.
The Current followed up in August with details of the draft rules then under discussion. The parish had 1,293 adjudicated properties, mostly inside city limits and concentrated on the Northside. Since 2018, only 46% of the 374 properties approved for sale had actually turned into sales or donations, and state-required notices can cost a buyer up to $10,000. The draft would have E&P handle applications and notices, charge a $1,200 application fee, send properties with more than one applicant to a public bid with a $1,000 entry fee, and start auctions at two-thirds of assessed value or the back taxes owed, whichever is lower. The Lafayette Economic Development Authority would keep first right of refusal on the Northside.
"There's a common misconception that these properties are free or cheap," LCG Chief Administrative Officer Rachel Godeaux said, according to The Current.
LCG hasn't said whether the plan it presents Nov. 4 matches that August draft. Any new rules need approval from both the City and Parish councils, and the old rules have to be repealed first.
Why it matters for Contractors
More than a thousand abandoned lots and houses in one parish is a lot of potential infill and rehab work, and right now almost none of it is moving. If you're a small builder or remodeler in Acadiana who's eyed one of those Northside lots, this meeting is where the new rules for getting them get explained.
Go with numbers in mind. Under the August draft, a single property could mean a $1,200 application fee plus bid costs and back taxes if it goes to auction. Notice costs have been a deal-killer in the past, and the title is non-warranty, so budget for title work too. If the fees make small infill deals pencil out poorly, Nov. 4 is the time to say so, before the councils vote.