Did you know that the New Orleans City Planning Commission (CPC) is in the process of evaluating applications to change our Future Land Use Map (FLUM)? As part of this process, residents are invited to voice their support and/or opposition to Master Plan Amendment proposals for their district through a series of public informational meetings continuing this week.
GNOHA and HousingNOLA have studied the applications submitted and plan to show our support for the amendments that will promote residential density, combat exclusionary zoning, and allow for a mix of commercial and residential uses. Unfortunately, our voice tends to be drowned out by NIMBYs with greater influence who rather maintain the status quo than open development opportunities for all walks of life. We encourage those who don’t normally engage in public meetings like these to attend for their designated district and be mindful of the rhetoric that often plagues these discussions around land-use.
PLANNING DISTRICT 9, 10, and 11
WHEN: 6PM – 7:30PM, THURSDAY, JANUARY 26, 2023
WHERE: JOE BROWN RECREATIONAL CENTER, 5601 READ BOULEVARD
Planning Districts 9, 10, and 11 include: All of New Orleans East, Village de L’Est, Venetian Isles and Lake Catherine
To determine your planning district and other important information by address, visit https://whereyat.nola.gov/
“We need to protect the integrity of our neighborhoods” is a common talking point uplifted by NIMBYs in these land-use conversations. This mindset suggests that “outsiders” who are currently cut off from accessing thriving neighborhoods will ruin the virtue of an area. This sentiment is often expressed by homeowners living in single-family neighborhoods that do not wish to live next to renters. FLUM changes that would aid in the creation of a diverse housing stock would allow service workers and culture bearers that have been pushed to the outskirts of the city to live closer to job opportunities and public transit lines. Homeownership is not a blanket solution to everyone’s immediate housing needs, and renters deserve to have equal access to the same neighborhood amenities as homeowners.
It is important to remember that a dubbed representative of a neighborhood does not and should not speak on behalf of all the residents in that neighborhood. Most individuals that routinely speak on behalf of a neighborhood are the public facing representative of a homeowner’s association. This excludes the input renters in the area may have towards pertinent zoning issues that affect them the most. Make your voice heard by participating in this year’s Master Plan Amendment process!
Visit CPC’s website to review the submitted amendment applications and to learn more about the overall community engagement process.
Put Housing First 