ST. LANDRY PARISH, La. (KLFY) — In St. Landry Parish, code enforcement officials are cracking down on adjudicated and overgrown property violations to continue their mission of keeping the parish beautiful.
Cynthia Fontenot, a code enforcement officer, says property violations have gotten out of hand in the parish and code enforcement will often receive complaints of overgrown grass, debris, or safety hazards at an abandoned house from the neighbors.
“It’s a big issue here. We have a lot of abandoned properties, a lot of overgrown grass. We have a lot of elderly people in the area so it is a major issue in the parish.”
Officers will survey the property and notify the property owner they have 15 days to fix the issue. If that notice goes unanswered, the parish will step in.
“The parish has to step in and go get that property cleaned. If we have to intervene, the property owner is going to get a bill. They have 30 days to pay that bill. If they fail to pay the bill in that time, then a lean will be taken on that property. And we don’t want to do that, believe me,” said Fontenot.
As code enforcement works to maintain the parish owned adjudicated properties and violations from residents, Fontenot says she is working with her fellow officers and Parish President Jessie Bellard to organize plans showcasing the beauty of St. Landry Parish.
“We are going to take it street by street, community by community. We’ll be out in the community trying to get our parish beautiful,” said Fontenot.
Fontenot adds that officials are struggling to keep up with some of the parish owned adjudicated proerties, so they’ll be putting them up for sale. Anyone interested in the properties can reach out to code enforcement. Their contact information is
- (337)948-3688
- their office is located at 118 S. Court St. In Opelousas
