New Orleans Mayor Backs Building Plan

NEW ORLEANS, March 20 -- Mayor C. Ray Nagin (D) finished work Monday on a plan to rebuild New Orleans, endorsing a proposal that would allow all residents to rebuild their homes in neighborhoods shattered by Hurricane Katrina.

The mayor's advisory commission, formed after Katrina struck Aug. 29, recommended in January that some flooded neighborhoods be replaced with parks and that the city take a go-slow attitude in rebuilding low-lying areas. But that suggestion was greeted with jeers and outrage at public meetings.

Nagin, who is running for reelection on April 22, distanced himself from that plan.

On Monday, he offered to let residents rebuild anywhere but warned that homeowners in flood-prone areas would do so at their own risk. "I'm confident that the citizens can decide intelligently for themselves," Nagin said.

The report also recommended revamping schools, and a wish list of projects included new light-rail systems, new riverfront development and better flood protection.

"It has been controversial in some respects, but I am pleased by the results," Nagin told hundreds of residents who gathered to hear about the plan.

The release of the report came hours after civil rights groups took aim at the state's plan for rebuilding. Critics said that plan gives short shrift to poor and low-income victims, focusing too much on bailing out homeowners and encouraging high-end development at the expense of low-income renters.

If a White House proposal is approved by Congress, the bulk of Louisiana's reconstruction would be funded with $9.2 billion in federal grants using a plan by Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco (D).

Blanco's plan still needs approval by the state legislature, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Louisiana Recovery Authority.