A Plea For Cottages–An Editorial

A Sun-Herald Editorial:

Some officials are still contemplating the fate of Mississippi cottages long after the need for these housing units has been established.

As Gerald Blessey, the Gulf Coast Housing Director for the Mississippi Development Authority, put it in a column on Thanksgiving Day, “over 1,100 families are still living in Mississippi cottages in the 12 coastal cities. Under their leases with the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, cottage residents face mandatory eviction, some as early as January 2009, and all by March 31, 2009… .

“Cottage residents are in a race against time. Cottage residents and their case managers need to know soon whether qualified cottage residents can remain on their own property and whether other options may be available.

“In our prayers of Thanksgiving, let us plea, on humanitarian grounds, to city leaders to allow as many families as reasonably possible to stay on their own property in cottages. After placement on a permanent foundation, these cottages meet all current building codes. Permanent placement is the least costly, most practical and humane housing solution for most cottage residents, especially elderly and disabled citizens on a fixed income. Staying in place helps bring back neighborhoods and the diverse fabric of our coastal society.”

That “fabric” needs the “thread” of cottages.

The boards of aldermen in Pass Christian and Waveland have the cottages on their agendas again today. We urge aldermen in both cities to permit cottages to be part of the solution to the housing needs of their constituents.