Erica Billiot, a resident in one of the New Isle’s new homes, had to buy two new toilets in the last two years because hers weren’t flushing.
“They said it was because of the water system here,” she said.
She told Louisiana’s Office of Community Development (OCD) about the construction issues she and her sisters are facing during a public meeting on its Action Plan Amendment and Sustainability Plan for the New Isle.
The mostly Native American community of Isle de Jean Charles made international headlines when it underwent a first-of-its-kind resettlement program due to coastal land loss. The community moved further inland in Terrebonne Parish, establishing the New Isle. With funding from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, OCD has been managing the resettlement thus far. Now that many have moved to the New Isle, the state is required to outline to HUD how it will set the community up for long-term success.
“They were particularly interested in this idea of … how do we keep people together, right? How do we reestablish them, get ‘em outta harm's way, but reestablish them in a way that allows us to maintain and foster their community, right?” said Gina Campo, the executive director of OCD.
The action plan amendment creates a Residential Assistance Fund with the remaining HUD funding. That money will be used to help residents afford the new housing by paying for homeowners’ insurance for the first five years, but not flood insurance. It will also go towards economic development and public facilities.
“We did put some infrastructure money into creating a retail space at the front of the subdivision. So that needs to be put into commerce in some form or fashion, right? That's an economic development piece to this activity. That's an eligible expense,” said Campo.
OCD is also starting to wean itself off the project. The new amendment includes a Cooperative Endeavor Agreement between the state and South Central Planning and Development Commission. The commission will take over the funding and the land and start managing the resettlement.
“We have been visioning what we can do to carry this effort on to its fruition,” said Kevin Belanger, the South Central’s CEO. “There's a lot more area to be developed here. There’s a lot of acreage that can go into commerce, a lot of acreage that could go into residential development and natural settings.”
Only a handful of residents attended the recent meeting presenting these changes, but after hearing the new plans, they expressed frustration over the new homes they received from the state. Residents own the houses, but the state acts as the lienholder. The mortgage gets forgiven over the course of five years.
Billiot said she’s been having issues with her new home ever since she moved in two years ago.
“We have cracks on the side of our walls. It rains through the doors,” she said. “One of my sisters, her roof, it rains in where the stove's at… Walls are crooked. Floors are crooked.”
She said her sisters and her mother are all having similar issues. Another resident mentioned her air conditioning was not installed properly. Others brought up hurricane damage to A/C units on other new houses built by the New Orleans-based nonprofit Jericho Road Episcopal Housing Initiative.
OCD said the Jericho Road-built homes are still under construction and the A/C units were not fully installed yet which is why they were knocked over by the storm.
It said the other issues should be taken up with the companies that OCD contracted to build the homes.
“They don't answer their phone. So what are [the residents] supposed to do? Who are they supposed to contact?” said chief of the Jean Charles Choctaw Nation, Démé Naquin.
OCD said it would help residents follow up with them. Belanger told WWNO because South Central is also a code enforcement entity, once it takes over the commission, it will be able to help residents get these issues fixed.
“Because construction is critical to sustainability and resiliency and we have seen some, what we say surface flaws, we're going to help them navigate to correct those things,” he said.
OCD urged residents to submit these complaints as public comment so that they are recorded. Public comment is open until Nov. 7.
Residents can submit comments by:
- Emailing ocd@la.gov
- Faxing 225.210.9605, Attn: Janice Lovett
- Mailing to Disaster Recovery Unit, P.O. Box 94095, Baton Rouge, LA 70804-9095, Attn: Janice Lovett
Editor's Note: An earlier version of this story conflated resident's complaints about homes built by the Office of Community Development with the homes built by Jericho Road Episcopal Housing Initiative. Jericho Road's houses have not been lived in yet.
