"This land belongs to the people of New Orleans," commission President Willard Dumas said, adding that the issue of removing the encroachments "came to us from the public." It was first raised last year at a public hearing on the future of the park.

At issue are 10 properties in the 200, 300 and 400 blocks of Walnut, between Magazine and Benjamin streets. Many houses in those blocks are worth $500,000 or more.

According to the commission, the encroachments range in depth from 10 feet to 17.5 feet, and in area from 306 square feet to 1,838 square feet. Eight homes have fences on park property, three have patios and one has a wall, the commission said.

The commission voted unanimously Wednesday for a policy that will notify the homeowners that they have until April 30 to remove all "constructed improvements" from park property.

If they want to keep the improvements, the park will lease the land to them for a maximum of 10 years at $3.60 per square foot, with an annual cost-of-living increase. Audubon officials said the value is based on an appraisal of the value of neighborhood land by real estate expert Wade Ragas.

By accepting the lease, a homeowner would waive any claim to use of the land beyond 10 years. The lease would expire automatically if the house were sold.

Two of the homeowners told the commission they realize they are encroaching onto park property but that the improvements were in place when they bought their houses many years ago.

They said they are willing to pay rent for the encroachments but asked the commission to reduce the rate and let the improvements remain beyond 10 years.

Jefferson Parker, whose back fence at 333 Walnut is nearly 13 feet inside the park, said he and his neighbors support the park in many ways, such as by removing unwanted vines and helping to pay the bill for watering and maintaining nearby oak trees.

"It's not an onerous encroachment," he said of his fence, urging the commission to "work something out on a neighborly basis." He offered to pay $1 per square foot provided the lease would be made renewable after 10 years and transferable if his house were sold or passed on to his heirs.

'Like a shakedown'

David Band, whose fence and patio at 315 Walnut protrude 10 feet into the park, said he has lived in his house for 23 years. He said no one from the park ever challenged his right to use the land until he got a letter a few months ago saying he would have to pay $3,000 a year. "It felt like a shakedown," he said. "I resent the idea of having to pay money for something I'm used to."

According to the commission's records, Band's encroachment totals 306 square feet, meaning he would have to pay $1,100 the first year if he decides to lease the land from the park.

Band suggested $250 per year would be a fair price.

Band, a lawyer, raised the possibility of a legal challenge to the policy, probably based on the claim that by ignoring the homeowners' use of the property for many years, Audubon officials allowed the use to become "grandfathered" and therefore legal.

Band and Parker said their encroachments are so small that the park has no real need for the land in question.

"I can't imagine the land would be used for anything under the master plan" now in preparation, Parker said, also questioning whether land that cannot be sold should be valued in the same way as a normal lot.

The issue of the encroachments was raised last year at a public hearing on the master plan. One of those saying the park should force their removal was Keith Hardie Jr., an attorney for the organization Save Audubon Park, which opposed the recent renovation of the Audubon golf course and construction of a new golf clubhouse.

Hardie urged the commission Wednesday not to adopt the new policy until it could be presented to the public as part of the final draft of the master plan.

Roger Ogden, a longtime commission member, said he is sympathetic to the position of the homeowners, many of whom are his friends and neighbors. "But we are a public body with a fiduciary responsibility" to "all the people of New Orleans, not just our neighborhood," he said.

"We don't have a lot of choice," Ogden said. "We would be roundly criticized if we stuck our heads in the sand over this."

'Fair solution' sought

Ron Forman, chief executive of the Audubon Nature Institute, the nonprofit group that operates the park for the Audubon Commission, said park officials will meet with each homeowner to discuss specific problems such as whether removing their back walls would increase flooding and drainage problems on their property.

"We're not trying to extract money from you," Forman told the homeowners. "We're trying to find a fair solution."

Dale Stastny, executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Audubon Nature Institute, said park officials next will turn their attention to encroachments on the park's downriver edge.

Although the owners of some Exposition Boulevard houses have a legal right to use a 30-foot-wide shell road on park property that provides access to their property, Stastny said, the park will remove any sections of the road that exceed the authorized width. The affected area extends about one block on either side of Laurel Street, he said.