Without warning, firemen demolished this 1903 building, the Naval Brigade Hall, in October. (Cassandra Sharpe)

Bulldozers may start demolishing flood-damaged houses in New Orleans as soon as this month, but the city won't be razing as many as it planned to in December.

Preservationists are taking a closer look at a list of red-tagged buildings in New Orleans that the city says are in immediate danger of collapse.

Last month, the city's historic landmarks commission asked the National Trust's New Orleans Field Office and the Preservation Resource Center to inspect the 1,957 houses on a list that was made public last month after a lawsuit settlement. Most of the damaged houses are located in the Ninth Ward.

In the last three weeks, volunteers—architectural historians and other qualified inspectors—have identified about 100 that they say should not be demolished. The city's list of "red-rated" buildings was 5,500, and the recently published list was the "worst of the worst," says Walter Gallas, director of the New Orleans Field Office.

"We looked at properties that were in National Register and local historic districts that were in this initial list," Gallas says. "We started from this list of 5,500, but that number has been whittled down."

The Trust plans to act as a consultant with the Federal Emergency Management Agency in the Section 106 review process, which is required before a federal agency can raze a National Register-listed historic resource.

"When requests for demolition come down, the Trust and Preservation Resource Center will be consulted," Gallas says. "It's just one part of the work we're doing."

To settle a lawsuit, the city agreed on Jan. 17 to notify owners of houses it wants to demolish in 30 days—in a letter, in an ad in the Times-Picayune, and on the newspaper's Web site. Homeowners will also be able to challenge the city's assessment. The lawsuit was filed over 120 Ninth Ward houses that were obstructing sidewalks and roads.

The city last month began notifying homeowners of impending demolitions, so according to the agreement, it can demolish those structures this month.

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