The New Iberia City Council voted to delay demolishing a blighted home on St. Peter Street after the owner agreed to a plan that will bring the structure back to safe conditions. 

Legal counsel Jeff Simon said the council had voted to demolish the house some time ago, and an appeal was filed that is making its way through the court system. However, the owner of the property decided to connect with the city to find out if other possibilities were available. 

“She asked us if we would consider some proposal to let her fix the property, which would be a good thing to do,” Simon said. 

The subject at the meeting was to see if any other proposal was possible, and Simon said a proposed schedule for needed repairs was filled out that the owner would have to commit to. 

That schedule included repairs to the building by late April, completion of electrical work by mid-May and completion of sewer code requirements by late July. 

The agreement states that demolition is the most likely avenue if the repairs don’t get completed in that time frame, and would be more expensive since the city would have to go through public bidding law for demolition. 

Mayor Pro Tem Ricky Gonsoulin said he wouldn’t hesitate to demolish the property if the agreement requirements were not met. 

“I’m not going to hesitate to demo it because a lot of us see it as an eyesore,” Gonsoulin said. “We’re getting complaints from businesses.”

The house, located at 626 E. St. Peter St., has been on the city’s demolition list since at least 2023, where it was voted for demolition after being considered unsafe by the council at that time.