OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

City Planning Commission Meeting – July 14, 2026

City Planning Commission — Tuesday, July 14, 2026
BodyNew Orleans, Louisiana
SessionCity Planning Commission
DateTuesday, July 14, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:57:17

Transcript — Verbatim
8:16

Good afternoon, everyone.

8:17

Welcome to today's City Planning Commission meeting.

8:20

We're going to go ahead and get started.

8:22

I'm going to do roll call.

8:25

Commissioner Poche.

8:28

Commissioner Keffer.

8:29

Here.

8:29

Commissioner Abear.

8:31

Commissioner Flick.

8:32

Commissioner Whitry is present.

8:34

Commissioner Jordan.

8:35

Present.

8:35

Awesome.

8:36

Thank you.

8:37

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

8:43

Before speaking, each person shall give their name, address, and state who he or she is representing.

9:08

Each speaker will be allowed a maximum of two minutes.

9:10

Opponents will not be able to rebut.

10:00

All right, Commissioner uh Josie Gupta, let the record reflect that you are here.

10:04

And um I've just been informed that our new system is not up and running yet, so I am going to have to call votes for everyone.

10:13

And also um Commissioner Jackson is present as well.

10:17

So adoption of the meeting minutes um for June 9th and June 23rd.

10:23

Is there a motion?

10:23

Commissioner Flick will make a motion for approval for meeting minutes.

10:27

Thank you.

10:28

Thank you.

10:29

Commissioner Aber seconded, Commissioner Flick uh made a motion.

10:32

Is any discussion no, then let's go ahead and vote.

10:38

All right, Commissioner Jackson.

10:44

Yes.

10:45

All right, um Commissioner Jordan.

10:47

Yes.

10:47

Commissioner Whitry, yes.

10:49

Commissioner Flick, yes.

10:50

Commissioner Abear?

10:51

Yes.

10:52

Um Commissioner Josie Gupta?

10:54

Yes.

10:54

Commissioner Kepper, yes.

10:56

And um Commissioner Poche.

10:58

Yes.

10:59

All right.

10:59

The adoption has moved and meeting minutes have been approved.

11:03

We're gonna move on to the first um zoning docket, 059-26.

11:09

Zoning Docket 5926 affects a uh application for a commercial short-term rental on Toledano Street, um, where the Planning Commission staff recommended approval.

11:22

Um this kind of had an extensive back and forth at the July 14th meeting.

11:30

Um ultimately after several votes, the Commission uh decided to defer the matter to today's meeting and really had two questions that you as commission were seeking answers to uh between that past meeting and today's meeting.

11:47

So the first question is if this is denied, could it be resubmitted once new regulations for commercial short-term rentals are adopted, even if that is within two years?

11:59

Normally there is a prohibition on resubmitting that and a denied application within two years.

12:05

In this case, should there be, as there probably will be, uh new regulations adopted, that would essentially reset the uh the deck and allow for the application to be resubmitted.

12:18

It would not be viewed as the same application because the regulatory structure under which the application was submitted will have changed.

12:27

And so it could be resubmitted within two years.

12:30

The second question is um, you know, came up during the discussion.

12:37

It really got to this question of is it appropriate for the commission to be approving commercial short-term rental uh applications while there's an expectation that there will be a series of uh new regulations adopted such that the ones that are being approved today might have be grandfathered under a different set of regulations than will ultimately be adopted.

13:05

And it kind of got to the this question of has the commission generally approved or denied uh commercial short-term rental applications submitted under the interim zoning district that is now in place and which requires them all to be approved by uh conditional use.

13:21

And so just to augment that discussion, uh we provided some data as to uh what has been approved and what has not been approved uh in terms of applications that the planning commission has considered under the IZD.

13:36

Um in total, there have been 17 applications.

13:41

Uh 15 of the 17 have been approved, and then it's broken out by type.

13:46

Accessory bed and breakfast, which is the lower intensity bed and breakfast version.

13:51

Two of two applications have been approved.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Miscellaneous████████████████████████████████████████████44%
Arts And Culture██████████████████18%
Economic Development██████████████14%
Engineering And Infrastructure█████████9%
Procedural███████7%
Technology and Innovation████4%
Historic Preservation███3%
Transportation Safety█1%
Summary of Proceedings

City Planning Commission Meeting – July 14, 2026

The New Orleans City Planning Commission met on July 14, 2026, to consider a range of zoning and subdivision dockets. Key items included multiple commercial short-term rental applications, a car wash proposal, text amendments for recording studios and adaptive reuse, and a subdivision for the Omni Convention Center Headquarters Hotel. The meeting featured extensive public testimony and several votes, with some items passing narrowly and others being deferred or effectively denied.

Consent Calendar

  • Adoption of June 9 and June 23 meeting minutes – Approved unanimously.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Zoning Docket 066-26 (commercial STR on Toledano St.): Catherine Harman (architect for applicant) spoke in support, noting the lot is on a dense commercial corridor. Susan Johnson (Historic New Orleans Neighborhoods, unpaid) spoke in opposition, stating the neighborhood lacked bandwidth to formally oppose but was against it. An additional speaker representing the Strong Coalition at Jane Place Initiative opposed commercial STRs generally and relayed anecdotal neighbor opposition.
  • Zoning Docket 067-26 (car wash on S. Carrollton): Ethan McDonald (Tinford Ventures, applicant) spoke in support, highlighting local ownership, job creation (15 employees), and design modifications (CMU wall, landscaping, relocated access). Scott Tabury (civil engineer) and Avery Fournet (representing the development team) also spoke in support. Maddie Eason (resident of Yaloa Street) spoke in support, noting meaningful improvements and requesting more specific language on emergency gate use and landscaping maintenance. Mary Kabula (resident of Mid-City) spoke in opposition, citing concerns about traffic (600 cars/day), noise (13 vacuum stalls), flooding (lack of subsurface retention), and suburban architectural design.
  • Zoning Docket 068-26 (hotel conversion of former Robb Wayne High School): Avery Fournet (for developer) spoke in support, emphasizing historic rehabilitation and compliance with CBD5 criteria.
  • Zoning Docket 069-26 (indoor amusement facility): Laura Barth (applicant) spoke in support.
  • Zoning Dockets 070-26 and 071-26 (recording studio text amendment and conditional use): Jeff Miller (property owner), Miles Granderson (representative), and Ivan Neville (musician) spoke in support, describing a membership-based, not-for-profit recording studio with limited live entertainment. Jacqueline Case (neighbor and architect) spoke in support but requested provisos tied to the business, not the property. Mark Redding (chair of Irish Channel Neighborhood Association land use) spoke in support but expressed concerns about unlimited live music events and alcohol, requesting specific operational provisos. John Olson (neighbor) spoke in support but echoed concerns about potential future misuse.
  • Zoning Docket 072-26 (adaptive reuse text amendment): Ron Lazo (applicant) spoke in support, noting it would enable redevelopment of the Poor Clares monastery.
  • Zoning Docket 073-26 (adaptive reuse plan development): Susan Johnson (Historic New Orleans Neighborhoods) spoke in information only, lamenting the ongoing desacralization of Catholic properties.
  • Subdivision Docket 067-26 (Omni Hotel subdivision): Miles Granderson (for developer) spoke in support. Susan Johnson spoke in opposition. Bonnie Boohacker (resident of 900 S. Peters) spoke in opposition, citing lack of notification, traffic, and parking concerns.

Discussion Items

  • Zoning Docket 059-26 – Commercial short-term rental at a three-plex (5 beds per unit) on Toledano St. Staff recommended approval with two provisos. Commissioner Flick made a motion for denial, which tied 4-4 (Commissioners Poche, Flick, Whitry, Jordan voted yes; Kepper, Abear, Josie Gupta, Jackson voted no). Commissioner Josie Gupta then moved to approve with staff provisos, citing economic hardship and mixed messages from the city. That motion also tied 4-4 (Jackson, Josie Gupta, Abear, Kepper yes; Jordan, Whitry, Flick, Poche no). The matter was effectively denied.
  • Zoning Docket 066-26 – Commercial STR in a vacant lot in HMC2 district. Staff recommended approval. Motion to approve passed 5-4 (Jackson, Josie Gupta, Abear, Kepper, and one other yes; Jordan, Whitry, Flick, Poche no).
  • Zoning Docket 067-26 – Car wash at 4118 S. Carrollton. Staff recommended denial. Commissioner Flick moved to approve against staff recommendation, with provisos from the staff report and additional documents submitted. Motion passed 5-3 (Kepper, Josie Gupta, Flick, Whitry, Jordan yes; Poche, Abear, Jackson no).
  • Zoning Docket 068-26 – Hotel conversion of former Robb Wayne High School (79 rooms). Staff recommended approval. Motion to approve passed unanimously (8-0).
  • Zoning Docket 069-26 – Indoor amusement facility at 750 Carondelet St. Staff recommended approval. Motion to approve passed unanimously.
  • Zoning Docket 070-26 – Text amendment to allow secondary live entertainment with alcohol at recording studios in specified districts. Staff recommended approval. Motion to approve passed unanimously (8-0).
  • Zoning Docket 071-26 – Conditional use for recording studio with secondary live entertainment at former fire station. Staff recommended approval. Motion to approve passed unanimously, with understanding that neighbors and applicant would negotiate further provisos before City Council.
  • Zoning Docket 072-26 – Text amendment to allow new structures in adaptive reuse planned developments. Staff recommended modified approval. Motion to approve staff recommendation passed unanimously.
  • Zoning Docket 073-26 – Adaptive reuse of monastery into multifamily dwellings. Staff requested deferral to July 28, 2026. Motion to defer passed unanimously.
  • Subdivision Docket 067-26 – Major subdivision for Omni Convention Center Headquarters Hotel. Staff recommended approval with two provisos. Motion to approve passed unanimously (8-0).
  • Subdivision Ratifications – List of administratively approvable subdivisions. Motion to approve passed unanimously.

Key Outcomes

  • Zoning Docket 059-26 – Effectively denied (two motions each tied 4-4).
  • Zoning Docket 066-26 – Approved (5-4).
  • Zoning Docket 067-26 – Approved against staff recommendation (5-3), subject to eight provisos and additional conditions from the applicant.
  • Zoning Docket 068-26 – Approved (8-0).
  • Zoning Docket 069-26 – Approved (8-0).
  • Zoning Docket 070-26 – Approved (8-0).
  • Zoning Docket 071-26 – Approved (8-0), with ongoing neighbor negotiations.
  • Zoning Docket 072-26 – Approved as modified (8-0).
  • Zoning Docket 073-26 – Deferred to July 28, 2026.
  • Subdivision Docket 067-26 – Approved (8-0).
  • Subdivision Ratifications – Approved (8-0).

The meeting adjourned at an unspecified time.

Meeting Transcript

Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to today's City Planning Commission meeting. We're going to go ahead and get started. I'm going to do roll call. Commissioner Poche. Commissioner Keffer. Here. Commissioner Abear. Commissioner Flick. Commissioner Whitry is present. Commissioner Jordan. Present. Awesome. Thank you. The City Planning Commission has established certain rules governing the procedures to be followed at public hearings. Before speaking, each person shall give their name, address, and state who he or she is representing. Each speaker will be allowed a maximum of two minutes. Opponents will not be able to rebut. All right, Commissioner uh Josie Gupta, let the record reflect that you are here. And um I've just been informed that our new system is not up and running yet, so I am going to have to call votes for everyone. And also um Commissioner Jackson is present as well. So adoption of the meeting minutes um for June 9th and June 23rd. Is there a motion? Commissioner Flick will make a motion for approval for meeting minutes. Thank you. Thank you. Commissioner Aber seconded, Commissioner Flick uh made a motion. Is any discussion no, then let's go ahead and vote. All right, Commissioner Jackson. Yes. All right, um Commissioner Jordan. Yes. Commissioner Whitry, yes. Commissioner Flick, yes. Commissioner Abear? Yes. Um Commissioner Josie Gupta? Yes. Commissioner Kepper, yes. And um Commissioner Poche. Yes. All right. The adoption has moved and meeting minutes have been approved. We're gonna move on to the first um zoning docket, 059-26. Zoning Docket 5926 affects a uh application for a commercial short-term rental on Toledano Street, um, where the Planning Commission staff recommended approval. Um this kind of had an extensive back and forth at the July 14th meeting. Um ultimately after several votes, the Commission uh decided to defer the matter to today's meeting and really had two questions that you as commission were seeking answers to uh between that past meeting and today's meeting. So the first question is if this is denied, could it be resubmitted once new regulations for commercial short-term rentals are adopted, even if that is within two years? Normally there is a prohibition on resubmitting that and a denied application within two years. In this case, should there be, as there probably will be, uh new regulations adopted, that would essentially reset the uh the deck and allow for the application to be resubmitted.

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