Good afternoon, everyone.

Welcome to today's City Planning Commission.

Tuesday, September 23rd.

We have a quorum, so we can go ahead and get started.

We don't need to do a roll call because the computer's working.

Great.

All right.

Let's go ahead and read the formal public hearing rules.

The City Planning Commission has established certain rules governing the procedures to be followed at all public hearings.

Before speaking, each person shall give their name, address whom she or he are representing.

Proponents for the proposal will speak for a period of 10 minutes.

Each speaker will be allowed a maximum of two minutes.

Opponents or other interested parties will speak for a period of 15 minutes.

Each speaker will be allowed a maximum of two minutes.

Proponents will be allowed a period of six minutes for rebuttal.

Each speaker shall be a maximum of two minutes.

Opponents will not be allowed to rebut.

No material, written matter, photographs, maps, etcetera will be accepted by the commission or staff at any time during this public hearing.

This procedure shall be followed except at such time when the preceding officer shall with the approval of the commission members present extend such time.

Wow.

Thank you.

Is there a second?

Is there a second for adopting the meeting minutes?

Thank thank you.

Everyone signed in.

Thank you, Commissioner Flick, and Commissioner Brown.

Let's go ahead and vote.

Unless there's any questions.

The motion carries.

We'll keep going.

I want him to be here.

Bye.

All right, we're gonna move to zoning docket 045-25.

So zoning docket 4525 is an item that was deferred from the last meeting.

It's a planned development application uh for this property at 3308 Washington Avenue.

The site is developed with a mid-uh-century uh apartment building with 20 units in the back.

The proposal is to do a new construction piece uh containing about eight units in the front, as you can see here.

Um we've requested uh at staff level several uh redesigns for both aesthetic and functional reasons around traffic circulation.

We received the uh updated plans last Thursday and haven't had an opportunity uh since these reports went out before that to uh update the report to address the revised plans, and so we are requesting that you defer this until the next meeting on October 14th.

Is there anyone here to speak on this matter?

All right, there's no one here to speak if there's um any questions for staff or not, then we're looking for a deferral for October 8th.

14th 14.

I assume that the owner is aware of the deferral.

I'll make a motion for deferral to October 14th.

Thank you, Commissioner Flick.

Is there a second?

Second.

Thank you, Commissioner Lunn.

Any discussion?

Questions?

If not, let's vote.

The motion carries and it will be heard on October 14th.

Thank you.

Zoning Docket 050-25.

This is a request by City Council motion number M25396 for a text amendment to Article 18 of the comprehensive zoning ordinance to create an overlay district to be named the fairgrounds obly district to prohibit all usage except fairground and race tracks to require their fairgrounds and race tracks to be conditionally conditional, conditional uses within this overlay as part of the zoning.

Docket the city planning commission was directed to review prior conditional uses granted to the site as well as custom and best practices to devise use standards for fair grounds and racetracks, which is set for it, which set for allowable accessory uses.

Uh staff have determined that there's a recommendation for approval for the proposed text amendment.

Is there anyone an applicant here to speak?

Everybody that I have in terms of cards are in opposition.

So if there is an applicant and you oh, there is city council motion, so there is no applicant, but we do have unless you're here.

I am you are here please state your name and address, and we'd love to hear from you.

Sure, my name is Claire Bien.

I am uh land use director for Councilmember Joe Jerusal's office, district A.

Um, I'm just here to answer any questions.

Thank you.

I'm assuming you're aware of the opposition.

I am, yes.

Okay.

Yeah.

We can move forward.

Um Sandra Hogan Jones.

Please state your name and address me for two minutes.

Hi, my name is Dr.

Sandra Hogan Jones.

Doctor, thank you.

And I reside at 141 East Greenbrier Drive in East Over Subdivision.

Okay.

Please go ahead.

All right.

So I've worked at the Fairgrounds since 2021, approximately three and a half years.

I was born and raised in the city of New Orleans, and I've raised my son in New Orleans as well.

I currently reside in the East Over Subdivision, and I'm a proud uh New Orleanian.

Over the last three and a half years, I've worked with the fairgrounds.

I've seen this business face many, many challenges, um, to include losing the most recent court case that resulted in 500 historic horse racing machines being removed from our OTB network.

Through it all, the Fairgrounds has remained resilient and has worked very hard to continue to be relevant in the city of New Orleans.

Fairgrounds employs approximately 500 people year-round at the racetrack, the casino, and the trek betting network.

During racing season, that number grows tremendously to almost a thousand team members.

We are proud to offer competitive wages, a robust benefits package, and opportunities for growth and development.

After the difficulties experienced earlier this year, Fairgrounds is working diligently to rebuild its business and prepare for our 154th racing season.

Our entire team is looking forward to racing this season and continuing to deliver a legendary customer service experience.

Fairgrounds needs to support needs the support of the city and the local government to continue to do so.

It seems to me that giving Fairgrounds the latitude to rebuild its business without having new governmental restrictions would be just the type of support that we need from the city of New Orleans.

It is unclear to me what this proposal is trying to accomplish.

And I would like to see the planning commission take more time to research and study exactly what the Fairgrounds does in order to make a more informed decision.

Thank you.

Blake Putney.

Hello.

My name is Blake Punicky.

Um I just purchased a company called Documart Printing just this month.

Um DocuMart has been a locally owned business located right here on Barone Street for the over 40 years.

New Orleans Fairgrounds has been one of our largest customers for over 15 years.

Without that business, I most likely will have to close that location.

The team at the Fairgrounds needs the support of the city and local government without additional government intervention.

I urge you to carefully consider posing additional constraints on the fairgrounds, as it not only affects their ability to conduct business, but also affects local tax-paying businesses that rely on the services that we provide to them.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Could you just state your address, please?

I know it's a document, but I'm sorry, 329 Barone Street.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Donna Britton.

I know I didn't pronounce that correctly.

Donna Billot.

Please state your address, please.

Thank you.

121 Wimberly Way, Home Louisiana.

Please go ahead.

I've been employed by the Fairgrounds as an OTB manager of the HOMA OTB parlor.

The main address for the fairgrounds is 1751 Gentiles Boulevard, but I work at the off-track bedding parlor located at 11 Moss Lane.

I've worked for the fairgrounds since February of 1990.

Over those 35 years, I began my career as a mutual teller.

I was then promoted to the bunny room manager, assistant parlor manager, and 20 years ago I became the home of parlor manager.

Throughout that time, Fairgrounds has provided me with opportunity to grow my career and take care of my family.

After Hurricane Katrina, devastating New Orleans and the surrounding areas.

Churchill Downs, just having purchased the fairgrounds that lost a big part of the roof and was shut down for months along with all the OTB parlors committed to paying all employees the fullest salary as well as insurance benefits, providing how much they care about their employees.

Fairgrounds operates 13 OTBs throughout the region.

Legislation passed in Louisiana several years ago that gave OTBs like the one I manage the abilities to install historical horse racing machines.

At my parlor, we had 15 of the 50 of those machines.

Earlier this year, Fairgrounds lost the court case.

As a result, my OTB removed all 50 of the machines we had.

This has caused a lot of the business we had to no longer come to the OTB.

We're trying very hard to rebuild the business loss by removing this historical horse racing machines, but we have a long way to go.

I'm proud to work for the Fairgrounds, and we put everything we had into hosting a world-class winter horse race meet and offer entertainment experience for all of our guests.

Fairgrounds needs the support of the city and the local government to continue to do so.

Thank you.

Kathy Beading.

Hi, I mean I Donna's 24 second, so I'm gonna reserve that.

My name's Kathy Beating.

I live at 1629 Washington Avenue in New Orleans.

I am the vice president and general manager of the fairgrounds, which includes the racetrack and casino located at 1751 Gentilly Boulevard, as well as the network of 13 off-track bedding parlors located throughout the region.

I've been in this role for 11 months, and wow, what a ride it's been.

Notably, neither definition mentions the operation of slot machines.

To be clear, the fairgrounds holds a license issued by the Louisiana Gaming Control Board to operate slot machines at this property and currently operates approximately 600 slot machines and employs several several hundred New Orleans residents to support that operation.

I would like for you to continue your time's up, but thank you so much.

I'm concerned with the deletion of slot machines from the allowable uses for this property and lack of clarity around this proposal from the council, directing the commission to quote review prior conditional uses granted on this site, as well as custom and best practices to devise use standards for fairgrounds and racetracks, which set forth accessory uses.

The staff reports indicates that limiting the use of the property to fairgrounds and racetracks is inconsistent with the city's master plan and states that quote the zoning applied to the fairgrounds must provide some opportunity for residential development and cannot limit its site solely to non residential development, close quote.

However, the report is completely devoid of any mention of using the property to operate slot machines.

Perhaps this was not studied by the commission staff.

I don't know, but this is a crucial part of the fairgrounds operations, and continuing to operate slot machines is the main method Fairgrounds has to offset financial losses incurred through the operation of a variegating.

Next, I'd like to touch on current residential uses of the property, which is also not mentioned in the motion or the staff report.

Fairgrounds currently houses several hundred horsemen throughout the racing season on the property.

There are multifamily residential structures throughout the property established for that purpose.

Further, there is a single family residence located at the property on 3100 Belfort Street that's occupied year-round by a local family and owned by the fairgrounds.

The staff report indicates that the result of the council motion would disallow the site to be used for single to and small family multi-fam.

I'm trying to rush, I'm so sorry, and small multifamily affordable residences, and goes on to state other prohibited residential uses.

There's no mention in the staff report of the current use of the property as residential, both in terms of single family as well as residential.

Yet the staff report recommends that residential development should only be allowed on this site through the planned development process as outlined in Article 5.

Having just received the staff report yesterday, I'm not familiar with the process outlined in Article 5, but I have abiding concerns that this action will not only leave a local family unable to live in the single family residence existing on the property, but also that the 1,800 or so horses that will be on site in the near future will have no horsemen to reside on site to care for them.

These two uses are just a sample of uses at the property of the property currently that are not mentioned in the staff report.

There are many, many more.

We need the support of the city and all the local stakeholders and residents to do so.

Thanks so much for the extra time and I appreciate it.

Thank you.

I have a question for the um speaker.

Yeah, the the staff, I'm just curious about just specifically.

Um the staff report says that this amendment does not create significant nonconformities, but you're seeing you seem concerned that there will be some non-conformities created specifically with the slot machines and the residential um component.

So and again, I don't mean to interrupt you, Miss Brown, but there are several other uses at the property as well that are not mentioned in the staff report that currently exist on the site.

Okay, thank you.

Sure.

So the the use of this site is governed by several conditional use ordinances that go back decades.

They're cited in the staff report.

Um, the the fairgrounds is sort of the whole of a number of different related uses.

This proposal is not to deprive uh the fairgrounds of any current uses that the city cannot take a use that exists.

The what has been requested of us by the council is to create an overlay district that would govern what happens if the site stops operating and is redeveloped.

And so I think the premise here is that there may be an instance in which the facility shuts down.

And so the council motion suggests that regulations be created that would only allow it to be used as it currently is.

Um we look at it, you know, as you know, we we look to the master plan as sort of the basis for any land use regulation, and so the city's master plan gives us a residential designation.

So primarily this site should it be redeveloped, has a residential designation that allows primarily for residences, but also for other uses as well.

So in our view, any overlay district that is credited here needs to account for the uses that are contemplated by the master plan.

And so what that means is that there needs to be an opportunity for residential redevelopment of the site.

And so that uh in our view should occur through the plan development process for any parcel larger than five acres, um, or through the conditional use process for any parcel smaller than five acres.

And that it should also, the overlay district should also make opportunities for the continued use of the site for you know, as a fairgrounds as a race track, which is what exactly was proposed by the council motion.

Um so I think, like in summary, this is the purpose of the overlay isn't to stop Churchill Downs from operating the facility as it's currently used, it's to say should this stop operating on its own, and there's a proposal to redevelop it, there needs to be boundaries on how uh that redevelopment occurs and and what the result is, and and that needs to include the opportunity for residential redevelopment as well.

So that's fair.

Okay, thanks.

I'll hand it over.

We still have two more speakers.

Um Jason Boulette and then Sheree Temer.

Teamer.

Good afternoon.

My name is Jason Boole.

I reside at 930 Poydra Street.

Uh my role at the fairgrounds is uh senior director of racing, which I've held that position or some kind of racing aspect positions for 18 years.

But beyond that, uh I'm a third generation horse family, so I've been involved in the fairgrounds since uh before I could walk.

So that aspect of it uh brings me to discuss the importance of fairgrounds and what it means to people like me and the people that actually race and are involved with the fairgrounds.

Again, it was stated of uh challenges that we've faced over the years uh with the HRM loss, the critical aspect of what generates purses, purses or the awards that go to the horsemen that race at the fairgrounds.

Um, with the loss of HRMs meaning six to seven million dollars worth of purses that go to our annual uh racing meet, which basically says that the aspect of recruiting horsemen and some of the best horses in the world and the country come to the fairgrounds, but it all is revolves around what is offered as far as the rewards and purse money.

So that aspect of it uh we've we've taken a hit.

We're in currently in the recruiting process as we speak.

Um, along with the challenge of HRM loss, we've also incurred problems uh with a dissent decree involving the EPA and Clean Water Act that we've been involved in for 10 years.

Uh me being the senior director of racing, I'm involved in all aspects of racing.

So uh the hands-on of that aspect has been very challenging.

So challenges on the racing side has been pretty difficult over the last 10 to 20 years.

You see that racing has uh had challenges that involving the horse population over the last 10 to 20 years.

We've seen a double-digit loss of people breeding in that aspect of the game.

Uh we are seeing some comebacks, but it all revolves about what is offered to the horsemen to actually race here in New Orleans and to the state of Louisiana.

The fairgrounds impact so many people.

The impacts of livelihoods of the jockeys, owners, trainers, blacksmiths, uh, grooms, hot walkers, the local businesses around the fairgrounds.

When we're racing, you see the neighborhood thrive.

Um I've worked for fairgrounds, like I said, for 18 years.

Um, Churchill Downs has been a great partner.

I believe that through all this, uh the restrictions are hard.

We're going through some times, but at the end of the day, uh, the further restrictions that you're asking for today, does it really is it really necessary?

Um again, we're about to start our 154th season.

The horses have arrived, some horses.

So we're back in action, we're working hard, and uh the bottom line is we want fairgrounds to be part of our community and neighborhood and how important it is.

And at the end of the day, that's all we're asking.

Just for the record, the HRM loss.

Can you explain, just share what that is?

Just for the public record, yeah.

Over uh it was passed like uh about three or four years ago.

The machines were inputted, and then it came back that the Supreme Court or there were some disputes of the account.

Well, were they legit as far as what were they?

Were they actually part of paramutual wagering where you're betting on a horse where the machines had an impact where you bet and you get in a certain aspect of it?

There's a historical race that shows on the screen versus a slot machine.

So the courts went through it and we went through it for over two to three years, and uh it reached the Louisiana Supreme Court, and we were uh shot down as far as the legitimacy of what the purpose of them were.

Thank you.

Yes.

Sheree Timmer, and then Matt Ryan after that.

Good afternoon.

My name is Sheree Temer, and I'm a consultant that works with the fairgrounds.

First, I want to thank the staff for their analysis in this report.

Um unfortunately, Kathy and I weren't able to review the report until yesterday afternoon and really haven't had a chance to fully review and discuss the potential business and community impacts of the provode's zoning overlay and the recommendations, recommendations of staff.

Um I know that the staff had made a comment that this is supposed these recommendations and this zoning overlay are only going to apply if the racetrack stops operating as a racetrack, but it I'm not so sure that that's necessarily true because if they attempt to put any additional development, if you look at I don't have the map, I mean I can't control the screen, right?

But there's a if you look at the map of the of what area that this covers, the actual track is not it's huge, but it's not the only part, right?

There's all these other pieces to the racetrack.

And um Kathy did a great job of of basically illustrating that there's already people who live on the racetrack at certain times of the year.

There's already homes that are there, and so if they wanted to build another home, or if they wanted to do any additions in that way, or if they wanted to make part of it a restaurant or some other thing, right?

These are gonna be conditional, and they're also gonna be part of the plan development process, which we have not had a chance to discuss, not only amongst ourselves, but also um with the corporation that owns this.

Um and I think that what we're requesting today is for a deferral so that we can at least have the opportunity to sit down and not only talk to each other, because that's important, but also talk to stakeholders.

Kathy and I've already met with members of various neighborhood organizations.

Um we talked to them about this zoning overlay.

Um I'm comfortable with saying that they weren't quite sure what the purpose of it was.

Um, and I haven't seen anyone here today other than staff or council member Jeruso.

So we're respectfully asking for a deferral at this time.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

Matt Ryan.

And that's the last speaker I have.

My name's Matt Ryan, 1017 UTER.

I made a big mistake.

Uh I I meant to have because I was opposing what I was hearing, and then so I wrote an opposition card, but it turns out what I really want to say is in support of the ordinance.

And if that time's passed, I'm fine to sit down.

Okay, thank you.

Okay.

Could it be information early, or that's gone too?

So you are in support of the ordinance for the racetrack overlay.

Yeah, but what I have to say can be couched as information only, too.

Okay.

Okay.

Did you have a comment?

What would you like to say?

What would you like to say in support?

I feel that the council's action is defense against a cut and run by the fairgrounds.

If they say we can't make money for this, we're gonna we're gonna sell it off as a subdivision or hotel or something, and and we're gonna leave.

So all of the articulate voices that just spoke about their jobs and how happy they are, that stuff's not gonna be there.

So it's it's the council's trying to protect the historic racetrack, and they're also trying to protect all these jobs by taking that option off the board for the for the fairgrounds, and that's that's what I feel.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Um would you like to come down and say anything, please?

I'll just say that I this doesn't sit well.

I feel like there's a lot of um misinformation.

You have a lot of heavy hitters here is coming in, and there seems to um be a lot of opposition for this overlay.

So I mean I definitely would say that I'm probably looking for a I would agree to a deferral, but I'd like to hear from you to see where the disconnect is here.

Sure.

I also uh maybe don't understand the disconnect given that the people who are speaking in opposition also benefit from the continuation of fairgrounds and the use of fairgrounds as race course slots what it is now.

Um, as Mr.

Blay said, you know, the the the residents, the neighborhood really supports this company.

They support the fairgrounds being there.

Um, you know, it's just been a long time neighborhood staple.

And uh to Mr.

Matt's point, this is what we're trying to do is keep it that way as we um kind of work through other issues.

One of the reasons Councilmember De Russo suggested this overlay district was to protect the use and to protect the neighborhood moving forward, given the fairgrounds uh or sorry, CDI's um moves earlier this year uh to the state legislator where they um basically threatened to pull out and we wanted to make sure that if that were to happen, if there was a new operator, if anything happened, that essentially status quo would be maintained.

Madam Chair, um first of all, I'd like to say thank you for being present today.

Um often we have um council motions and we don't have representation um from the council office here, so thank you for for being present uh today, and thank you to you know, Councilman uh Jerusalem to for his leadership on this.

Um I think we've kind of heard from the speakers and I understand kind of what's what's going on, but when I think from a uh zoning and land use purpose, um I always want to be comfortable in the decisions that we make because we know that um any changes for zoning could be permanent um and for future use.

Um one thing I've I've heard was that um the other side just had like one day to kind of review the staff uh report.

Um so I see that the date is July date of July 24th.

Staff, can you tell me is is this on data line or when is the deadline for this?

The deadline is uh 60 days from today, so this would be on deadline at the November CPC meeting.

Okay.

Um so I don't know how my other commissioners um what their thoughts are, um, but I think that right now uh my position is that I would like to move for a deferral um so that all parties um can actually sit down and we can make sure that we get this right um anytime we talk about you know uh any type of land use and overlay um as a part of this.

So commissioners if you have anything to add.

I would I do want to ask staff if all of the uses that the opposition was speaking about and that they were concerned about, are those uses included or protected?

Yeah, so the all of those kind of fall under the envelope of of the racetrack and fairgrounds classifications and or the conditional uses that have been granted over the last several decades.

I think one thing we would do should this be deferred is make the staff report exceedingly clear that this does not remove any use permission that exists um to kind of assuage any concerns about that.

I just wanted to make that clear because from the discussions of summer of this year regarding this the fairgrounds, I was of the understanding that the council wanted to protect the fairgrounds with this very motion.

And um, so I just wanted to make it clear with you and if we defer this, that you have a very clear uh uh interaction with the neighborhood and the stakeholders that this is something that's gonna be protect protected going forward.

Yeah, of course.

And um, you know, we are we're fine with a deferral, no problem.

I just would note that um the authors of this motion, council members Helena and Jariso have like 117 days left in office.

So, but if it's November, that's fine, because that should still get to us in time.

So the second question is did it ever get designated as a historic site because that was the other thing that they had proposed at that time.

So the the gates are a locally registered historic landmark.

I as far as I and I'm sorry if that was for Claire.

Um, but as far as I know that the reminder of the site is not designated.

Thank you.

Does our executive director have something to say?

Yeah, I just wanted to reiterate what Stephen said.

I didn't hear anything today that kind of disagreed with our intention in putting the staff for staff report together, that the intention as we understood it from the council member was to um maintain the status quo.

Um and so I'm more than happy to take a deferral to make sure that we get the language right and looking through the staff report and looking through the ordinance while this was going on.

I can see the and I understand the concerns um that um it is not crystal clear that residential and slots and those types of things which are defined in the in the zoning ordinance are not specifically included in the recommendations we made.

So I'm more than happy to um to make sure that that gets right.

And from what I'm hearing from the council members' office, that was their intention too.

So I appreciate everyone coming.

So our next meeting is October 14th, and it may be best to recommend that as a deferral until that date.

I'm sorry, can we get those changes made for the 14th?

Can I I I want to make sure too that the council members office is okay with that deferral um date, and I will make the motion to defer um if that's the case, unless there's other comment.

Um I do want to say that I commend them for this um forward thinking and and contemplating you know something that would happen to that area that might be um not in keeping with with the historic use, and I think that that was the intent here, and I have to say that I would be on board with it today, but I also think it's important that we all correct some of this that that is concerning to the opponents here.

And and I'll second Commissioner Brown's uh motion.

Um, but as far as in coming back, I want to make sure that all the stakeholders are involved, um, and then also that we take time to kind of figure out for future use of future development, what actually takes place so that there's not a burden um on Churchill or the fairgrounds for future expansion development that we involves a plan development process um with the changes.

I wrote across my sheet.

This is very proactive when everyone was speaking, so I appreciate the comments.

Um if there's nothing else, I guess we can go ahead and and vote.

So the motion carries that's gonna be a deferral for all parties to get together um till October 14th.

Thank you.

Um I believe this is your last public hearing um as a commissioner.

And um I just um I have to leave early, and I wanted to make sure that we properly acknowledge your time and your energy and your expertise in always being able to answer the the questions um that need to be answered on so many levels, and especially um water management and the environmental sector.

Um you were the first person to reach out to me when I got approved um to be a commissioner, and I appreciate that very much.

And I hope to extend that to all the new commissioners and moving forward.

And I know that our executive director has something to say, um, but I would like to open up for any of the other commissioners um to bid farewell to Commissioner Lyne.

Thank you, Kathleen.

It's been a pleasure.

I'm sorry your time is short, mine is two, but uh thank you, Seth.

Your expert lifetime sentence, yes, yes.

It's been a pleasure to work with you, um, and I wish you the best.

We'll stay in touch.

Go ahead.

So Bob, do you want to say something or not?

Um I'll go ahead and say well, let me um if I can, I just want to say thank you for all the effort and time and uh energy that you've spent with this commission over the last nine years.

Um I don't know if you remember um those first meetings uh where there was a little roughness, um, but you've grown tremendously, you've been a really thoughtful um commissioner.

Um staff has loved working with you, and um I just wanted to give you a little bit of a token.

Oh yeah.

Okay.

Thanks, everyone.

Well, I'll just I just want to say I don't know how much people realize just like what the staff puts into all of this work, what commissioners put into it, and um I've served in different elements of public service throughout my life, and serving on this board in the past several years has been such a privilege.

I mean, to have people who actually put this much time and effort into trying to make their community better.

I really you all are such a pleasure to serve with is it's just I think you all know what I'm talking about because I see I think we all feel it.

You know, that it's just a pleasure to serve on this board, is a privilege, and um I can't say enough how much I respect the staff.

And you know, are the most unsung of heroes, and um your professionalism and how much we rely on your input in when we are going through making our recommendations.

Um so for for me, this has been a great learning experience.

I love New Orleans.

I always want to try to make it better, and this is one way to to try to help make it better.

So thanks for the opportunity that I've had.

Thank you.

Thank you, Kathleen.

I know you'll be leading in your next role on whatever that may be.

All right.

You can also come to visit and go to as many public hearings as you want and moving forward too.

Okay, keep us on our toes.

All right, let's move on to zoning docket 052.

No, 05125.

This is an amendment uh sought by uh the council for a conditional use that was approved last year.

Uh last year you heard uh zoning docket 8024, which considered the construction of the Greater Works Family Life Center, a community center on um Simon Boulevard and First Street and Phillips Street.

Uh so formerly a church property to be redeveloped as a community center.

Uh as part of the proposal, the the planning commission suggested waiving the parking requirement.

Really, the the parking that was required would have occupied the entirety of the site.

The council added a proviso to require um the parking to be provided at a few off-site lots that the church owned.

Um we sort of learned upon the architect trying to kind of close everything out is that there's just not enough site uh site area at those off-site lots to accommodate the parking requirement.

So this uh is an amendment proposal to basically allow a larger, larger geographic area where the off-site parking can be provided so that it is realistic to get the parking to serve the community center.

Uh the the staff is totally in support of that, and it will allow the council's uh intent of allowing both the community center and parking to serve it to uh be accomplished, and so the staff uh recommends approval with revised language that would uh increase the radius or the distance from the site where the parking can be provided, and also allows uh work to start while uh the the architects are securing and developing those parking areas.

Thank you.

It doesn't look like anyone's here to speak because it is a zip city council motion.

There's no opposition either.

I see.

I'll make a motion for approval.

Is there a second?

Commissioner Fuckle, second.

Thank you.

Is there any discussion?

If not, let's vote.

Motion on the table to approve for staff recommendation.

The motion passed approval, seven years.

Thank you.

Zoning docket 052-25.

Hi.

Um zoning docket uh 0525 is a conditional use request to permit a principal parking lot on a vacant lot located at 1316 Britannia Street.

Applicant is proposing to develop a lot that would house uh 20 parking spaces that includes one handicap accessible space.

The CCO states that principal parking uses are the main or primary purpose for which a structure a lot is designed, arranged or intended.

The lot is in an HM HUMU historic urban neighborhood mixed use district on two lots of record, those being lots three and four on square 189 in Britannia that forms a 7,560 square foot rectangular site with front with one frontage on Britannia Street.

The applicant originally submitted a request to utilize three lots, those being 1300, 1306, and 1316 Britannia, which were lots one through four.

However, the uh applicant has subsequently requested to reduce the amount of lots by three and only put a parking lot on one of the lots, uh or I guess two at this point.

Um the applicant will bring undeveloped property into commerce as well as um the use meets future land use goals of the area, therefore staff recommends approval of the project subject to seven provisos that are listed in the staff report.

Thank you.

My name is Victor Ferrugia.

I am a licensed attorney here in Louisiana, and am not appearing as an attorney, but as a landowner.

And what's your address?

My address is uh 1340 Bordress, suite 2100.

Thank you.

And um this property, uh, this one lot was uh has been vacant since Katrina.

And um uh after I inherited this from my family, um the Nelson building across the street.

Nelson used to be the uh telephone building, and they have a large office building there.

They have been for five years, they leased uh this corner and left it grass, and uh they parked on it for five years.

Well, um now in order to uh I do have plans to build on these lots, my two single family houses on on the two little lots on the corner, and they're not part of this, but this is the large lot which is 7,500 square feet, and it's actually two city lots.

Um so my plan is to um, and I've already had approval by the HDLC to put up a five-unit building on this on these lots.

Um, and also had their HDLC's approval to put a single family next to that one.

Um it got held up about six years ago because of a family matter, and uh um so right now the market's a little different than it was six years ago, so I'm not sure I I'm able to build the family matter will resolve itself next year, but uh I'm able to build on it, but I don't know if the market's ready for it at this point.

So um uh we have been uh getting income from the parking and so we had the NPP meeting.

Okay, and this is your time, but please continue.

No, no, no neighbors uh objected.

We had uh three neighbors that that came in and Matt Ryan was there.

It's very nice.

Um and so they all uh supported the parking lot and they supported leaving it grass, uh the most permeable there is out there um because of the looks and the neighbors with pets like it, and um uh the uh people that parked there for five years did not object to the grass and it it uh didn't get muddy in the rain.

So um we would like to keep it grass uh because of the temporary situation because I am going to build on it and would not uh like to have to pave or gravel or something and then undo it.

Thank you, sir.

Um give a closing comment.

Uh closing comment is uh there's no opposition to it.

They say it it helps with the parking congestion in the neighborhood, and um uh I hope you approve the conditional use request.

I have a have you read the provisos in the report?

Yeah, the provisos uh I'm okay with um uh except the one that I have to resubdivide these two lots and make it one lot, and that doesn't make any sense to me because um, you know, it's always been the two lots, and that it had one property on it before, and it'll have another property.

I don't know why we have to subdivide it and can't have a parking lot on these two lots, but that's my objection to theirs and could we have the staff um comment on the importance of the provisional.

Yeah, I mean that's that's kind of a standard requirement.

I don't because a building is not proposed.

I don't I guess it kind of gets to what the long-term intent here, if there's like a if this is an interim use and the site is to be developed as two lots in the future.

I don't know that it's absolutely required that they be subdivided into one.

So I think you have there's not a building or other code base requirement that the lots be subdivided, and so I think you have discretion to remove that requirement.

Well, if we were to remove that requirement, and then development down the road was such that it would need to be subdivided, you know, one lot of record, then that would happen during the permitting process.

That's correct.

Okay, thank you.

Thank you.

So there is a um comment card and support.

Matt Ryan.

Good afternoon.

I'm Matt Ryan 1017 UTR, and I've filled out the right card for this one.

You did.

You get a gold star.

Thank you.

Um I was president of the Coliseum Square Association for a couple of terms, and uh currently serve on the zoning committee, and I've been I've known Mr.

Ferrugia for 25 years with various things that he's he's asked us for, and and uh I don't know him well at all, rather than uh other than a couple of times every four or five years when he would come before the board with something.

But the one thing I do know about him is he's a man of his word.

And if he says he's gonna do something, he's uh do something.

And normally we are opposed to parking lots in historic districts.

This is HMU, it's different, but but he he gave a made us feel that that this was just an interim deal, and and we're we're very happy to help a neighbor out with support.

So we wholeheartedly support his efforts.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Anyone else here to speak on this matter?

If not, then we're looking for a motion.

And please note there was a discussion about removing the proviso about it coming into one lot of record, two lots of record.

I'll make motion to approve with the exception of proviso number two, which was the requirement that it be made to into one lot of record.

Thank you, Commissioner Brown.

Commissioner Flick, second, any discussion?

I just wanted to ask staff is this a paid parking lot it is not.

It's it's all it's all grass.

No, is it paid?

Is it a paid parking lot?

That uh that would we would have to ask the applicant.

Uh I'm not aware.

Question What's the question?

Is it a paid parking lot?

Is it paid like they pay to park there?

Correct.

Yes.

Yes, that'll that helps pay the taxes.

Yes.

Taxes, insurance, liability.

All right, let's vote.

I'm sorry, I'm against parking lots in historic districts.

I will have that vote again area.

Thank you.

The motion still carries the understanding.

Uh zoning docket 053-25.

At this point, I'm going to remove myself and I'm gonna have Commissioner Jordan take over as chair, and Commissioner Flick as vice chair.

Have a good meeting.

Okay.

Zoning docket 53-25 is a request for a conditional use to permit a gas station at 5330 St.

Claude Ave, which is in an HU das Mu zone.

The site is a single lot in the Holy Cross neighborhood, totaling approximately 38,000 square feet, and is bounded by St.

Claude, Andrew, Agenia, and Ellis Court.

Formerly a church existed at this site.

In 2017, an application for this site was received and docketed as ZD 067-17.

The applicant at that time proposed to convert the church into a gas station with three commercial tenants and retail sale of alcohol.

The city planning commission staff recommended denial, concluding the site and the building design was inconsistent with the site design standards within the zoning ordinance and not compatible with the surrounding historic neighborhood.

City Council denied this application.

Following the denial of the 2017 application, a 2018 application, zoning docket 144-18, was submitted to allow the sale of alcoholic beverages at the retail store proposed for the site.

It did not propose the use of the site by a gas station.

The application was approved by city council.

Since then, the building has undergone renovations to allow its use as a retail store.

These renovations appear to not comply and comply with various design requirements for an HU das MU zone.

Notable among these noncompliances is that the structured front again instead of St.

Claude.

Renovation was permitted by the Department of Safety and Permits under permit 22-11550 dash RNVS.

It is unclear to the staff whether any noncompliance with the zoning district design standards requires variances or if they are considered to be quote grandfathered in to the property.

SET CPC is requesting a 30-day deferral so that staff can coordinate with zoning on the matter of how to proceed.

Thank you.

We have uh no common cards.

Are you here to speak on behalf of the applicant?

Yes, I'm the consultant for the project.

Awesome.

Could you state your name and address for the record, please?

Maddie Charleston, 926 Charter Street, New Orleans, Louisiana.

Awesome.

You can go ahead.

You have two minutes.

Okay.

I actually agree with the deferral.

Um during this time I was in the hospital, so I need a little bit more time to just get everything together and to check on that zoning if that is acceptable to you guys.

Okay.

And uh question for staff what's the date again for deferral?

Uh October 28th.

Okay.

Is that date?

Okay.

Okay.

Okay.

Uh, do you mind just completing a common car for the record?

Yep.

And I'm up for the next one.

Do you want me to uh look at two?

Yeah, you could yeah, we're gonna get to it in a second.

Um are there any questions for staff of the applicant?

If not, I'm looking for a motion.

I'll make a motion for deferral to the 1028 meeting.

Is there a second?

Oh, second.

Okay.

Uh the motion for deferral to October 20th by Commissioner Flick, seconded by Commissioner Lunn.

If there's no further discussion, we'll vote our machines.

Okay.

And the deferral is granted.

Uh next is zoning docket item 05425.

Zoning Docket 05425 is a request for a conditional use to permit a gas station at 4500 Woodland Drive in a C1 General Commercial District.

The site is currently developed as a vacant gas station, and this is a proposal for the addition of a gas canopy and renovation of the previously used commercial site being the gas station.

The subject site is comprised of one lot of record that totals approximately 21,000 square feet of total lot area with a single-story commercial building totaling approximately 2,242 square feet.

The proposed gas canopy will be approximately 1,920 square feet to cover the three gas pumps.

Staff recommends approval of zoning docket 05425, subject to three provisos.

Finding that the proposal meets the standards for approval in Article 4 of the comprehensive zoning ordinance and is consistent with the master plan.

Thank you.

Uh we have no common cards.

Do you Maddie Charleston 926 Charge Street, New Orleans, Louisiana?

Awesome.

Okay.

Anything you want to say?

Nope.

Um we agree with the approval.

We agree with the provisions provided, um, all three of them, including removing the curb cut and the landscaping, and we're currently working on that landscaping drawing to submit to safety and permits.

Awesome.

If approval, of course.

Okay.

Thank you.

Uh, so there are no other common cards in support of opposition.

Are there any questions for staff or the applicant?

Not on looking for a motion.

I'll move approval subject to uh staff report.

Okay, we have uh motion for approval from Commissioner Flick, seconded by Commissioner Josh Gupta.

Um, if there are no other questions, we'll vote our machines.

And the zoning docket is approved.

Uh next a subdivision docket item 04425.

SD 4425 is a subdivision at 14,051, 14,071 Dwyer Road.

It's a request to resubdivide one lot into 17 lots of record, which makes it a major subdivision.

It also proposes the creation of a private street.

Um the parcel is right now entirely undeveloped, but is surrounded uh with established single family development and a place of worship among other uses.

Um like I said, the applicant proposes to create an access uh from Dwayu Boulevard to serve the new development.

All uh the site is zoned SRS, suburban single family residential district, which only allows single family dwelling.

All the lots that are proposed meet the um minimum required size, except one lot, which will have to be brought into compliance um before final approval.

Uh, there's a proviso to that effect in the staff report.

Um, in addition to that, the um subdivision regulation requests that stub streets be replaced with scooter sac to allow vehicle or turnaround space.

Um that is also something that will have to be uh modified before final approval.

Um, but all that said stuff is recommending approval subject to nine provisos.

Thank you.

Um we have no comment cards.

Uh is there an applicant present who would like to speak?

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.

Thank you for let me come here and uh speak something.

Okay, could you just on the before you start?

Could you just state your name and address the first time?

Yes, my name is Hung Fam from uh 14251 Saigon Dry.

Awesome.

Because like when you talk about um Kulot Sack at the end of the street, we own the bigger lot right next to us, and we intend it to be valuable and connect into this one to become the man row all the way to the right now because that lot is OS, so we need to have the zoning before we apply for it.

That's the reason why we keep this strict strictly that in case if you need, we can do the temporary T-shape right there until we we got the other one to reconnect it.

All right.

And uh the lot number four, you're talking about the the narrow one.

We I talked to the um land subway already, and she fixed everything.

And we'd be submissive shortly.

Awesome.

That'll be all.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And uh, do you mind completing a uh comment card?

Uh so we just have it for the record.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Um, is there anyone else here to speak uh in support of this subdivision docket or in opposition?

Okay, that concludes comment portion.

Are there any questions for the applicant or staff?

Okay, if not I'm looking for a motion.

A motion to approve um subdivision docket 044-25.

Subject to nine provisor.

Second that second net motion.

Okay, so we have a uh motion for approval subdivision docket item 04425 with subject nine provisos.

Uh the motion is made by Commissioner Josh Gupta and seconded by Commissioner Lund.

If there's no further discussion, we will vote our machines.

And congratulations that uh the subdivision docket is approved.

Oh next is subdivision docket item 07525.

Subdivision docket 07525 is a request to resubdivide lot RBX into lots RBS1 and RBX2 to accommodate the future construction of a barn and accessory structures and an RE rural residential estate district.

The site is currently undeveloped aside from a driveway constructed on the proposed RBX2 lot.

Due to the request pertaining to a site larger than two acres, this subdivision may be classified and treated as a policy D subdivision.

The proposed lot combination would allow the reconfiguration of one existing lot into two lots of record, both broad fully rectangular in shape.

The resulting lot RBX1 would be 11.83 acres in size, while the resulting lot RBX2 would be roughly five acres in size.

Both proposed lots would meet all pickable standards described in subdivision regulations and the comprehensive zoning ordinance.

Neither the proposed subdivision nor use depart from the intended use of the land.

Therefore, this request is not in conflict with the master plan.

The staff recommends approval of subdivision 07525, subject to one proviso.

Thank you.

We have uh no comment cards on this item.

Is there anyone here to speak?

Afternoon.

Alan Miller 166 English Terra Drive.

Awesome.

Um I'm here, one of the principals of MU management, which is the owner of the five-acre track.

2020, my wife began operating a raised bid micro farm in Independence, Louisiana.

This is right outside the gates of the English Turn, the undeveloped area outside of English Turn subdivision.

We're going to operate the same type of raised bed micro farm there and ask for the approval.

I don't know how we were able to purchase the property without having this process first.

But be that as it may, we currently own it, have built the road.

We have 39 beds built currently and expect to have a fall harvest.

So we ask for approval.

Thank you.

Um you mind just completing the comment card for it out with the record.

Thank you.

Um anyone else would like to speak.

Okay.

Um there any questions for staff of the applicant.

If not, I'm looking for a motion.

I'll uh move for approval of uh recommendation for approval of subdivision docket 7525, subject to one proviso as recommended by staff.

Is there a second?

I'll second.

Is there any discussion?

Okay.

Uh so we have subdivision docket item 07525, uh subject one proviso uh with a motion from Commissioner Lund, seconded by Commissioner Flitt.

With no further discussion, we'll vote on machine.

And the subdivision docket item uh is approved.

Congratulations.

Good luck.

Uh next uh is our land use barrier study review.

All right.

Good afternoon, commissioners.

Today I'm presenting the findings and recommendations of the land use barrier study.

Before I begin, I would like to note that the city planning commission staff and the zoning administrator have identified several non-substantive changes we would like to make prior to submitting the study to city council.

These changes fix typos and would update the implementation status of some of the previous studies recommendations mentioned in the report.

The changes do not affect the staff's recommendations.

If the city planning commission is amenable, the adopted motion could give us a discretion to incorporate these edits into the final version.

And with that, let's get into the presentation.

You gotta do the thing.

On April 10th, 2025, the City Council passed motion M25225 directing the city planning commission to conduct a public hearing to identify barriers and hurdles in the land use process, which unnecessarily complicate and prolong the permitting and licensing process as well as potential paths for removing these hurdles.

The City Planning Commission staff worked with the zoning division of the Department of Safety and Permits, the Council Land Use Officer, Interdepartmental Agencies, and multiple stakeholders to identify a number of reforms within the CPC processes and the comprehensive zoning ordinance that are needed to streamline, clarify, and improve the zoning regulations that govern New Orleans and the systems in place to create land use entitlements.

These recommendations are in recognitions are in recognition that conditional use approval, zoning changes, design reviews, and variances are in and of themselves a barrier to the creation of housing, economic development, and the promotion of small businesses.

Lastly, there is a common thread throughout the study.

Significant resources must be allocated to hiring qualified staff and to retain staff once they're trained.

There are simply not enough staff within the one-stop departments.

The wages are not competitive, and the incentives to stay are minimal.

The turnover this creates is to the detriment of the public who receive inconsistent information and slow responses.

Additionally, educational opportunities and clear public-facing documents are needed to gain trust and understanding.

Empowering developers and small business owners to invest in the city is critical to New Orleans' future success.

As New Orleans continues to evolve, so too must the regulatory systems that shape its neighborhoods and guide development.

Recognizing that significant work has already been conducted to research ways to streamline and improve the permitting process within the Department of CD and permits, the study includes summaries of those previous reports with their recommendations as well as their implementation status.

These are included to avoid duplicating efforts and to ensure the main focus of the study is on the process and regulatory improvements within the City Planning Commission.

However, the study does review processes within the zoning administration subset of the zoning division within safety and permits.

This division works closely with the City Planning Commission and is responsible for enforcing the regulations in the comprehensive zoning ordinance and interpreting text and application of the CZO.

The staff also worked internally with representatives from city departments and with stakeholders to identify the CPC processes that need refinement and streamlining.

Many of those identified in the study have been known barriers for many years.

The largest section of the study delves into barriers within the comprehensive zoning ordinance.

Prior to the initiation of the study, the City Planning Commission maintained a running list of corrections, clarifications, and inconsistencies within the CZO text.

Relevant items from this list were incorporated into the study and grew as a result of the stakeholder and the numerous interdepartmental meetings that were conducted.

The next several slides will delve into the key findings from the study.

The City Services Coalition, the Matrix Report, and the Permitting Task Force Report.

These reports consistently note the same issues: understaffing, inadequate funding, limited resources, and uncompetitive salaries.

The staff reviewed and synthesized the findings in these previous reports, which highlight issues with enforcement, inspections, lack of transparency in the permit review process, and length of time to receive a permit.

Recommendations that resulted from these studies were also reviewed to determine their feasibility and their implementation status.

The zoning administration within the Department of Safety and Permits reviews all permit applications except for solar and roof permits to ensure consistency with the zoning ordinance.

In 2024 alone, the zoning administration reviewed nearly 7,000 building permit applications, inspected 845 reported zoning violations, and processed nearly 4,500 zoning licenses.

In the process of the study, it was noted that staff must pay out of pocket for professional certifications such as the ICC or the zoning inspector certification for zoning plans examiners.

Not all staff have access to the necessary software that would allow digital markups and measurements, and overall simplify the plan review process, and it was noted that sending comments to applicants and reviewing updated plans requires updating and automation.

The one-stop shop was created under the Landry Administration in 2013 to provide a centralized point for applicants to submit and track permits.

This effort was later reenvisioned as the Office of Business and External Services or OBIS in 2020.

However, it was never fully transferred to OBIS, leading to only partial implementation, causing confusion and inconsistent branding.

And despite the intention of a centralized department to help applicants through the permitting and land use processes, many of the departments operate differently from one another.

For example, the Department of Safety and Permits only receives applications through the OneStop app, while the City Planning Commission only receives applications through email or in person.

Individual department pages explain their respective processes, but flow charts and public-facing documents are needed to help guide applicants when multiple reviews from different city departments are necessary.

Although the study's focus is on improving barriers, the City Planning Commission has made meaningful progress in modernizing and adapting New Orleans land use systems to better support housing development and investment since the adoption of the current comprehensive zoning ordinance in 2015.

Recent amendments to the comprehensive zoning ordinance have resulted in a range of common sense zoning reforms.

A few noteworthy amendments the city has adopted in the past several years include the inclusion of two new housing typologies, the Affordable Housing Plan Development, and the small multifamily affordable dwelling, which have delivered hundreds of affordable housing units.

Recently, the residential diversity overlay district was expanded, permitting the adaptive reuse of historic non-residential structures for small-scale commercial uses by right.

And there was a recent tax amendment to allow dwellings above the ground floor as a buy-right use throughout much of the city, removing the barrier of the conditional use process.

These efforts reflect a broader commitment to making the city's land use framework more predictable.

These reforms, although significant, are only a small portion of the identified barriers found in the zoning ordinance.

Important amendments are still needed for the CZO to truly meet the housing demands and development opportunities in the city.

Several changes within the City Planning Commission's own processes were identified throughout the course of the study, many of which expand on known inefficiencies.

One of the main regulatory functions of the department is processing conditional use requests.

There are several aspects of the conditional use process that may be a deterrent to development, particularly as they relate to the cost, time, and uncertainty of the approval process.

Conditional use requests take at least six months to complete, but could take up to a year or more.

After the conditional use application makes its way through the city planning commission and the city council, the applicant must then ensure all provisos or conditions of the approval are met.

Sometimes this is a simple process, but other times it could take months to bring plans into compliance and receive their zoning entitlement.

Only after this is complete can the applicant begin the permitting process.

Conditional uses have a range of impact, but there is an even greater range of impacts for variance requests.

Yet the process to receive a variance is the same if the waiver is for a six-inch rear yard setback or for a single family home or a 75-foot height waiver for a hotel.

Despite the difference, administrative reviews for the smaller, less impactful variances are not permitted.

Additionally, unlike zoning items, there is currently no limit to the number of times a variance can be deferred, placing a burden on staff and applicants.

The design review process, specifically as it relates to the design advisory committee, or DAC, was another common theme heard among stakeholders as necessitating improvement.

This review is important for certain larger scale projects, but certain minor renovations with less impact also trigger DAC review.

The DAC was originally created for the review of public projects, but has since expanded to include mostly private developments.

The advisory committee is comprised of representatives from various city departments who may or may not have a background in design or architecture.

Lastly, the institutional master plan, or IMP, was implemented in 2015 for universities and hospitals in the EC Educational Campus District and the MC Medical Campus District.

There are two types of IMPs, permitted and conditional.

When the IMP is created, it may not capture what will eventually be developed on campus.

Changes to the IMP require a full IMP revision, which may take several months.

Procedural improvements are only one component of a broader framework in which the City Planning Commission operates.

Meaningful changes also require updates to the regulations within the city's comprehensive zoning ordinance.

The majority of recommendations from the city are rooted in proposed changes to the CCO, including reducing off-street parking requirements, enabling a broader range of housing types in more locations, removing conditional use requirements where they create unnecessary barriers, and to allow additional uses in districts where they are currently prohibited but appropriate.

Staff also analyze the Bulganyard regulations to ensure they align with both historic development patterns and contemporary needs.

Several uses that require conditional use approval are consistently approved, such as standard and fast food restaurants, neighborhood commercial establishments, cultural facilities, and community centers.

Certain zoning districts require conditional use approval when uses that are permitted by right are in an existing structure but over a certain size.

This disincentivizes the adaptive reuse of vacant larger structures.

Off-street parking is continually cited as a barrier to development.

Staff notes the following restrictions that may require updating.

The CCO contains a parking exemption for single-family and two-family development on narrow lots with less than 30 feet of lot width, but does not account for narrow lots between 31 and 45 feet in lot width.

The HMC2 and the HMMU historic core districts are the only two of the historic core zoning districts that have a parking requirement.

Certain uses have parking requirements incongruent with the uses need.

For example, medical and dental clinics require one and a half off-street parking spaces per exam room.

Just as off-street parking requirements require a comprehensive overhaul, permitted uses and use permissions also require a comprehensive review.

For example, certain housing types are prohibited in the comprehensive zoning ordinance, despite the need for more flexible housing typologies, such as co-housing and accessory dwelling units, which are prohibited uses, but would help the city address its housing crisis by creating low impact infill development.

Lastly, bulk and yard regulations are rules that dictate the size, placement, and shape of buildings that create the massing of a structure.

There are many instances where the bulk and yard regulations are overly limiting and where small tweaks could improve project viability.

As mentioned, the bulk of the recommendations relate to the CPC processes and zoning code.

The recommendations are broken into categories administrative, staff, procedural, technology, public communication, and zoning and land use.

The city planning commission cannot at this time initiate its own tax amendments, meaning changes to the CZO typically come from the City Council by request, specifically to address one development.

This leads to piecemeal legislation rather than comprehensive changes.

The following recommendations are only a subset of the larger list found in the study.

Many stakeholders suggested having someone in the Department of Safety and Permits who can shepherd applicants through the permitting process.

However, it is unrealistic for one person to hold this position while having a nuanced understanding of the thousands of permits that come through safety and permits.

Alternatively, each division within the Department of Safety and Permits could have a dedicated staff assisting the public.

The staff recommends amending the institutional master plan process, create limits for variance deferrals, and approve certain minor variances administratively.

The staff also recommends allowing the city planning commission to give final approval for certain conditional uses, revise the design advisory committee process to reduce a number of projects that require DAC review, define and formalize the makeup of the DAC committee members, and establish and maintain consistency among all documents governing DAC.

To enhance operational efficiency and user experience across departments, CPC staff recommends that all staff have access to the necessary software to more efficiently complete their duties.

The utilization of the one-stop app should be standardized throughout the departments and allow for automated assignment and review comment workflows.

To foster greater communication between the public and the city, the city's website should be should incorporate chat functions.

Lastly, hyperlinks should be added to the CCO to link text amendment updates with their corresponding zoning ordinance.

The staff found a lack of public-facing materials and education opportunities between the various city departments.

The city planning commission recently created a community engagement planner position who is actively working to strengthen the relationship between the CPC and the community by creating these documents and providing the public with public educational opportunities.

As mentioned, the bulk of the recommendations in the study relate to changes in the comprehensive zoning ordinance.

They include removing conditional uses that are almost always approved, such as neighborhood commercial establishments and restaurants, including include more housing use typologies in the CZO, and incentivizing the reuse of vacant commercial structures by removing the conditional use requirement if located above a certain square footage.

Recommendations also include allowing residential uses in more zoning districts where appropriate, such as the HUB1 Historic Urban Neighborhood Commercial District, and reducing the number of units in a development to be considered an affordable housing plan development.

Many recommendations to the bulk and yard regulations are suggested in the study, such as removing ambiguous front yard setbacks and adjusting other requirements to create consistency across zoning districts.

The staff recommends reducing required off-street parking requirements throughout the zoning ordinance.

Ways in which to accomplish this could include expanding the parking exemptions to include lots under 35 feet of lot width for single and two-family development, exempting parking for all historic core districts, or at the very least, ensuring they are congruent with their historic urban counterparts.

Lastly, the staff recommends a comprehensive review to determine if a use's off-street parking requirement is congruent with its need or if adjustments are warranted.

After the city planning commission votes on the study, it will be transmitted to city council who can hold a public hearing.

Any amendments to the comprehensive zoning ordinance would require a text amendment triggering city planning commission and city council approval.

If you have any questions, we would love to answer them.

Thank you so much for doing this study.

This is great.

I well, I guess what do you call it on my way out?

This is uh this kept me busy on my way out.

And um, so I've been reading this over the past few days, and um yeah, I'm just so struck by I don't there's nothing I just agree with in it, and um I just want to see it happen, you know.

So, what I like to know about is like can this so this is a study requested by a city council person, and as many studies are so if we want to move it to action, what can we what's within our um purview that we can timelines?

I don't want to ask you to do any more work, but how could and this might be Bob timelines be you know, like some of these things are low-hanging fruit or should be low hanging fruit, and some of them I did read and wonder, oh, this has been recommended for quite a while now, why is that never been done?

There must be something in the way that's not evident to me anyway, and so I'd love to be able to know that there was say a task force that was really committed to these changes that would stick with it and and would hold the feet to the fire to get these changes made because this will make a big difference in the city to streamline these things and to of course some of this will have to be debated, you know, the the CZO changes and all, but if you could take out the parts that are unlikely to have a lot of opposition and have a dedicated group of people who would really stick with you to get it done.

Is that something that can we can recommend as a planning commission to the city council?

Um so I would say yes.

Um I think that ultimately it is up to the council um to do the follow-up.

We're certainly here to support that.

We're here, you know, we're here to encourage that.

We're here to advocate for that.

Um, but at the end of the day, it's gonna be it's gonna require um someone or someone's on the council to um kind of take ownership of this idea of zoning reform and permitting reform, and um and carve out a path forward.

And I think you know, you their number of jurisdictions that have done exactly what you suggested is putting together a task force to um to dig into the ideas and make recommendations on prioritization and and moving them forward, and I I think that's a wonderful idea.

And there is a task force right now, right?

Uh uh from the permitting task force that council member King set up.

Do you know what referred to?

That was a um that was a task force that was put together.

They produced a report, we summarize the report in our report.

Um I don't think that it was something that task force um stayed together to follow through with implementation.

Um right, that's so that's exactly what I'm addressing, you know.

When I read, oh, there is a task force, I think I may uh oh something's being done, but what's not you know, what I don't know is that it's disbanded, you know.

So um, yeah, if we could include somehow in what we submit to the city council, that is our desire, you know, that action be taken to form a committed task force to implement the you know, to establish timelines and implement some of the changes that across the board, all the different stakeholders said they wanted to see happen, you know, uh not the things that require text amendments, but other things, you know.

Yeah, that's something that could be included.

Um in adopt if the commission sees fit to adopt the study, um, certainly can do it with that recommendation.

Okay, and I have uh a question also about a couple of things.

Like one of the things that a lot of things stood out to me, but one thing was when if I were to put in the application uh what for a building permit, I have to put it in to an email to city planning commission, but online on one stop, right?

For safety and permits.

So, yeah, the one stop app was set up as a department of safety and permits thing, um, and gradually other departments um came on board with that.

Before the pandemic, we only took them in as hard copies and in person.

Um that changed during the pandemic.

We were kind of forced to change.

Um, and because of the time and effort it takes to upgrade um the one stop app.

We have we we were forced to change in a way that relied on just sending it in through email.

So that has not changed from that status.

Um we've been talking about it for a while, but um the resources needed, the the um, you know, the the time and effort that it would take to actually make that change is something that we just haven't been able to get to yet.

So really you think that the holdup with that is the time and the effort, which comes down to resources.

Yes.

Okay.

And there may be a number of things that I've wondered why they aren't done that require resources, you know, and obviously that's the number one.

It sounds like the number one thing holding up a lot of these improvements, potential improvements, is financial commitment for staff, for training, you know, for for uh I imagine software also is a limiting the cost of the software.

Okay, I I mean, you know, I know what I can do is go say what I think to the city council, and since I'll be off planning commission, I'll have all this time, and um so I'll make a little visit to the city council meeting, and you know, I mean follow up on that.

I mean, one of the comments that I made in the forward was that you know the city tries to do a lot of things, and I think it's arguable the city tries to do too much given the resources that it has.

Um, and so focusing on what are the most important and most critical priorities and dedicating resources to those things, I think would be would go a long way instead of trying to spread it broadly across a lot of different types of things and not doing any of them um particularly well.

So I I think that's for me one of the most important takeaways.

Yeah, that I agree with that.

And that would be the kind of thing I would see a task force doing is helping helping put it into pieces where this is doable in our current financial situation.

This is something we can get to, you know, and that is what I think a lot of the studies don't quite go to that point, you know.

I think there's certain certainly some low-hanging fruit that we could you know incorporate nearly immediately without any cost implication.

Um so it's exciting.

Thank you for your work on this with this incredible, and it's just laid out in a very clear manner.

And if if we took it a step further, would just be to identify you know what are those tiers of achievability.

You know, this just requires a vote, this requires vote and money, this require, you know, whatever whatever the tiers are, but something that makes you know that that people get excited when they can achieve something and do something, you know, right away, and I feel like there's certainly um some scope here that we can take some quick wins.

Yeah, um, we have one information card.

I wanted to make room for uh John Sullivan, if you have anything like to say uh good afternoon, John Sullivan with Enterprise Community Partners 900 Camp Street and New Orleans.

Just wanted to come and say um you know, kudos and and thank you to the staff for putting together such a comprehensive um and well-considered uh study.

We're very much in favor of the reforms um that are laid out in the study.

This is an issue that's really taken hold nationwide.

Um, not just at the city level, but states are doing a lot about this.

The federal government's trying to do some things about this.

Um, I've seen Florida um, you know, they pass kind of some height considerations with with different types of uh developments.

Um I heard from a colleague yesterday that uh there's a bill introduced in Florida about uh legalizing ADUs statewide.

Um very important, and I think it's pointed out as in the study that the citizens of New Orleans are really hungry for this.

A couple things I would just point out and flag parking is a huge concern from the affordability standpoint ability to develop.

Just a few cities, you know, that have removed parking minimums.

Alston, Birmingham, Raleigh, North Carolina, Lexington, Kentucky, Richmond, Virginia.

These are all cities in the South that have, you know, kind of a similar or or larger population than us that have removed parking minimums completely.

That's just a few.

There's plenty more, but those are a few I would just flag.

But the the bulk and yard regulations is the other thing I would call out.

You know, let the markets dictate some of this on parking and sizes.

Okay.

Thank you for that.

Um I kind of just said it, but the other thing in addition to parking is just bulk and yard.

I think I read in the study there's uh some zoning classification where you know building um development more than multifamily development more than four units.

There's a 2700 square foot unit minimum, uh, which is very large and and the you know, pretty much very cost prohibitive.

We're dealing with higher costs, we're dealing with higher insurance costs.

You all know this.

Um, smaller unit sizes is is one way to address that.

And again, uh people are fine, you know, residents, you know, renters, uh even homeowners are fine with smaller units, smaller homes.

Um, so let's not prohibit that uh if it's a good market solution.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Uh Mr.

Sullivan, uh, I think there are maybe a question or two, but I just just for the record, could you just give context to the public who is enterprise community partners and what is what is their work both locally and nationally.

Yeah, I appreciate that.

Um yeah, enterprise community partners.

We're a national affordable housing nonprofit.

We work across the full spectrum uh of housing, so we worked at development, property management, financing, um, policy and solutions.

We have 12 market offices around the country that work locally.

I I work here in our our Gulf Coast market office and um I say Gulf Coast.

We've we so we cover Louisiana and Mississippi.

Um we have 11 other locations, and then we work nationally on uh rural, and then um like I said, we do financing nationwide from uh particularly low-income housing tax credit, but we have loans for uh affordable housing development as well.

Um so yeah, it's something you know the the land use and zoning is something we're we're uh putting more emphasis on.

We're actually kind of building up a staff right now to work nationally on this issue um and look forward to engaging the the CPC uh on that uh with with that group as they come on as well.

Thank you, Commissioner Lark.

Wow, that was really I wanted to ask that also.

And Enterprise uh it was founded by Jim Rouse, right?

That's right, yes.

Yes.

So back when I when I first started doing anything in New Orleans, um the River Walk had just been developed, and that Rouse Company developed that.

And then I remember Enterprise came into New Orleans, I believe, soon after that.

Um actually neighborhood housing foundation was created partly through Jim Rose.

And um anyway, I'm just really thrilled that you're still here, and it's great for New Orleans that you are really appreciate all of the work that Enterprise does.

Well, thank you.

Uh thank you so much for that.

Um yeah, I'll I'll be sure to can convey that to our staff and appreciate you remembering uh Mr.

Rouse uh who was you know uh kind of a noted for-profit developer for a long time and then late in his life.

I actually I'm still getting my last meeting, so I wanna we formed this group after World's Fair.

That's tells you something about my age, but um that we didn't want to see the bankruptcy of the World Fair damage the warehouse district.

Uh and um so uh we started this annual conference and family festival called Riverfront Awareness and invited um I I wanted to ask Mr.

Ross to speak as a keynote speaker, so I called his house and his wife Patty answered in wherever the Columbia, Maryland, I think where they live, and she said, Oh honey, he doesn't he doesn't do that development anymore.

He's doing you know like low income housing, you know, helping housing and I went, oh my god, we really need that.

What does it take to get that?

And she said, Well, 500,000.

And the man who was running for mayor at that time, Cindy Martellamy Moonlander set up a meeting for us to talk to him, and he said it anyway.

Jim Ross ended up coming town, and uh and we dedicated or the new mayor was elected and dedicated two million to uh to set up the neighborhood housing foundation and um enterprise foundation came in way back then, and it just was so cool to think you're doing one thing and get to do something even better.

You know, but it was because the direction he went in and you know it anyway.

It was um it was pretty cool to be a part of that.

And I I do I remember it all very well.

It could have been a different story in New Orleans, if not for his anchoring the riverfront with the route with the riverwalk development, you know, and then continued commitment to the city.

Okay, thank you.

Well, thanks for ringing that up.

I think you're you're educating me on uh interprocess history at this point.

Thank you.

Okay, so there are no other uh comment cards or folks here to speak.

Uh uh so we need to adopt this, correct?

Are we looking we'll so I'm looking for a motion for adoption?

The land use barrier study.

Need a motion for adoption?

So oh, like to move for adoption of the land use barrier study.

There's second.

I'll second.

And um at the beginning of the study I mentioned there were a couple of changes we wanted to make non-substantive, they don't affect any of our recommendations, but if we could get that discretion to do so, then we can make those changes before we send it off.

I'll include that with the motion, motion for adoption of the land use barrier study.

Uh can I also request that we suggest the the task force formation?

I was just gonna mention that if you wanted to include that into your um into your uh motion.

Yeah, I would like to actually convey that as part of your recommendation to the council.

That would be great.

So I'd like to move for adoption of land use barrier study with the recommendation from the city planning commission that a task force be formed to expedite implementation of as many aspects as possible of it.

And uh also to include the is it non-substantive changes that uh the staff needs to do and go forward without any further ado.

And Commissioner Flick is uh second still stand.

It's us.

Okay.

All right.

So we have a motion on the floor from Commissioner Flick and second, uh Commissioner Lunn and seconded by Commissioner Flick.

Is there any further discussion?

Um yes, I'd like to nominate Kathleen Lund to that task force.

I'll I'll say I thought about I thought I might regret.

I I actually thought I'm gonna regret this, and then I thought nobody said it.

Kelly got I was paying attention.

Okay.

All right.

Uh there's no further discussion.

We've all voted, and the study has been adopted.

Great words.

Um last or subdivision ratifications.

And there are just a few uh subdivisions to ratify, and the PDF doesn't appear to be loading.

Um so we can perhaps defer that to the next meeting.

Uh that's okay.

Uh deferring the ratification.

The ratifications, yeah.

That's the documents not loading, so that makes me concerned that no one has been able to do that.

So then uh deferled.

Do you have a do we have a deadline issue?

Oh, we we might I don't I'm gonna have to look at them individually.

Um yeah, if we could uh defer it to 1014.

I'll make a motion to defer.

1014.

Second by Commissioner Stewart.

Okay.

Uh any further discussion?

Okay.

Um we have a motion for deferral from Commissioner Flick, seconded by Commissioner Stewart, uh to uh October 14th with no discussion.

We vote our machines and the deferral is approved.

That concludes today's business.

Uh I am looking for a motion to adjourn.

Commissioner Commissioner Lund is their second.

Second.

Oh no.

Oh, okay.

So okay, we're going Commissioner Lunn and then Commissioner Gupta is a second.

That's my name.

Okay.

And we will vote our machines.

We really need something drawing closer.

You would think at some point somebody would have been like all right, meetings adjourned.