Gulfport mayor and council give veteran homeowner 30 days to pursue funding, delay demolition order

Lehi Cobb, a U.S. Army veteran who said he owns the property at 4622 East Railroad Avenue, asked the Gulfport City Council on Feb. 10 for time to secure nonprofit funding to repair his long-vacant home. Cobb told the council he has been working with several nonprofits but has not yet received promised donations and asked the city to "work with me until we can get this done."

Council members and staff discussed whether Cobb’s property might qualify for emergency home-repair or HUD programs that typically require occupants to have lived in the house at the time of damage. Councilwoman Corbett and others said staff would check program eligibility. The council agreed to give Cobb 30 days and urged him to provide a specific plan or proposal at the next meeting. "Let me just take a look at this," one councilmember said, asking staff to research grants and programs that might apply.

Why it matters: The action postpones a demolition order and gives a homeowner time to seek funding or present a rehabilitation plan; it also highlights limits in many federal/state home-repair programs that require owner-occupancy at time of damage. The council instructed staff to explore HUD and state emergency repair programs and to report back within 30 days.

The procedural outcome: The council closed the code-enforcement hearing portion after recording the extension and instructed the owner to stay in contact with the ward representative and administration. If no substantive progress is reported at the follow-up, the council said the demolition process would resume.