Growth vs neighborhoods fight brews in New Orleans

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Neighborhood groups came out strongly Tuesday against a massive overhaul of the codes governing new development in New Orleans, setting the stage for fights over new condominiums along the Mississippi River, the spread of live music into quiet neighborhoods and the balance between economic growth and residents’ wishes.
The groups paid for a new billboard near City Hall calling on city leaders to “Fix the CZO!,” a reference to the new 600-plus page comprehensive zoning ordinance under review. The City Council is expected to adopt the new codes this year.
In recent months opposition to the new laws has grown over concerns that the codes are stacked against neighborhoods in favor of developers.
The groups — coming together as the Riverfront Alliance — called on the City Council to make changes to the codes to safeguard neighborhoods. The groups represent residents in the French Quarter, Faubourg Marigny, Bywater, Holy Cross and Algiers Point, among the city’s most important historic neighborhoods.
The group’s chief concerns were that under the proposed code new high-rise condominiums would be permitted along the Mississippi River banks and dwarf neighborhoods; the historic fabric of the French Quarter could be compromised; restaurants would be allowed to serve alcohol, play music and stay open late across the city. They also warned that the city’s highly-prized urban master plan adopted in 2010 after Hurricane Katrina would be short-circuited.
“Neighborhoods were left out” in drafting the codes, said Lisa Suarez, president of the Faubourg Marigny Improvement Association.
Mark Gonzalez, a lawyer with the Riverfront Alliance, said New Orleans is unique because of its strong neighborhoods and that there is a danger the city could resemble Houston unless residents’ concerns are listened to.
Robert Rivers, the executive director of the City Planning Commission, declined to comment late Tuesday on the neighborhood groups’ criticisms and said only that he would be available to advise the city council. The City Planning Commission is the city agency that drafted the codes. It took hundreds of comments from residents about the proposed codes and held a series of public meetings about the planned changes.
Melissa Ehlinger, the interim CEO of the New Orleans Business Alliance, said the new draft codes would be beneficial for business development. She said the new codes give developers more predictability about what they can expect when they apply for permits. She said they also help level the playing field for businesses. She added that they also encourage more economic diversification.
Since Katrina struck in 2005, there has been a big push by city officials and planners to make New Orleans a model of how development should be governed. The idea has been to strike a balance between residents’ needs and economic development, foster green building, manage the city’s resources more efficiently and make sure uncontrolled growth doesn’t occur.
New Orleans is a city famous for its fights between pro-business factions and neighborhoods with an inclination to preserve their old ways. The new set of zoning codes promises to open up new fronts in this long-running conflict.
The city has seen a wave of development — from new night-life spots to new commercial corridors — and the opposition to the new zoning codes goes to the heart of many of the changes the city is experiencing as it blossoms since the catastrophic failure of the city’s levees during Katrina.
Still, many neighborhoods remain pockmarked by blight and damage left over from the storm.