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Advocates press Crowley to speed demolitions, ask for public tracking of condemned properties
Summary
A resident and community advocate urged the council to accelerate demolitions of condemned properties and to post a public tracker; officials said some rulings and filings have been delayed and hearings will resume in May.
A community advocate asked Crowley officials to accelerate the demolition of dilapidated properties and to publish a simple, public-facing tracker showing each condemned property’s status, filing dates and demolition schedule.
Theresa Richard, who has followed the city’s blight enforcement process, said the city budgeted about $660,000 a year for code enforcement but that many condemned structures remain standing months after hearings. “Most are in worse condition than they were back in November of 2023,” Richard said. She described 30 properties reviewed earlier this year: 15 were condemned, 15 were placed in a conditional status with deadlines; two owners later demolished voluntarily while 13 remain unresolved.
Richard told the committee she supports a transparent, public spreadsheet (even a free Google Sheet) that lists each property and the date each step of the process was completed (hearing date, courthouse filing, final notice, bids, demolition schedule). “Once a property is condemned, it shouldn't take months and months and months to bring it down,” she said.
City staff acknowledged process delays. Richard described several sets of properties required to restart condemnation proceedings because prior notices were not filed timely at the courthouse; staff confirmed some hearings were rescheduled and that April’s hearing cycle had been canceled with hearings set to resume in May. The city said some filings and bids have been completed but that final notices and contractor scheduling remained outstanding for some lots.
The mayor and staff said they will continue the condemnation process and pledged to review outstanding work orders; staff also noted the complexity of property-owner notification, legal steps and bidding for demolition. No new demolition authorizations were issued at the meeting, but the city will return to the committee with updated courthouse filings and next steps after the May hearings.
Richard urged the council to publish a simple public tracker to restore community trust and to show progress on removals; she said the tool would be inexpensive and increase transparency.
The city did not adopt the proposed public tracker at the meeting but acknowledged the request and said staff will report back on courthouse filings and bid status at the next cycle.
