Good news for St. Tammany Parish homeowners and business owners is that they won’t have to “jump through hoops” in order to get their repair and renovation construction off the ground following the historic flood that hit Covington, Louisiana, inundating the city with water from 3 different river sources and shutting down roads and
businesses for several days. The City of Covington has waived the requirement for building permit fees under an ordinance approved by the City Council.
Mayor Mike Cooper said most of the floodwaters had receded by Tuesday and residents were in clean up mode.
“Things are moving,” Cooper said. “The city is doing what it can to help.”
With 100 total structures and counting being reported with flood damage, not only would the fees and requirements be cost prohibitive to the city, but they would hold up the restoration of people’s homes and businesses which would only cause the city to suffer because of the lack of production.
In order to assist homeowners with their repairs, the city is also requiring any contractor or builder working on a flood damaged home who applies for a permit to be a state licensed contractor. This should reduce the amount of fraud that happens when huge storms cause damage in the Greater New Orleans area. Because state licensing
requires proof of general liability insurance, homeowners can also breathe easy while the contractor or builder is working on their home.
The main culprits of the flooding were the Bogue Falaya and Little Tchefuncte Rivers in northern Covington. One of the storm’s casualties was the Bogue Falaya Park in downtown Covington, which will be closed until further notice until the repairs to the wooden pavilion and playground equipment can be done. St. Tammany Parish is applying for disaster relief for the storm that brought so much damage and it is the mayor of Covington’s hope that this funding will be made available to Covington’s residents who need it. Parish-wide, so far it has been counted that 615 structures received flood damage in St. Tammany Parish.
