The City of New Orleans is currently in the process of revising Short-Term Rental (STR) regulations for residential permits due to a U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that deemed the city’s current regulations as unconstitutional. As part of the revision process, City Planning Commission (CPC) voted to approve their staff recommendations with the following additions:
- A six-guest limit per unit
- A three-bedroom limit per unit
- One permit per owner/natural person at least 18 years of age
- Density limit of one unit per block-face with an endorsement to include an appeal process
CPC’s recommendations will go to the City Council for a final vote.
As news broke covering the selling of a Brown’s Dairy site parcel to STR developers, we were reminded of the long-term consequences of poorly executed housing policies. Housing advocates have been calling on our city leaders for years prior to include affordability requirements for homeownership developments within the Smart Housing Mix to avoid situations just like this. It is unfortunate that it took a crisis to push our elected officials to act on this policy recommendation, and we see the same sense of reactive policy making mirrored in these new STR regulations. We encourage our city leaders to look beyond these proposed band-aid solutions and prioritize guaranteeing affordable housing development within all land-use, zoning, and STR policies moving forward, not just in times of crisis or urgency. Issues such as homelessness and lack of available housing stock are ongoing and will continue beyond whatever STR regulations are put in place, as noted by the annual Point-in-Time Count that happens to be coinciding with CPC’s vote. The conversation around addressing our city’s affordable housing crisis should not stop here.
“New Orleans STR policies must regulate with the needs of New Orleans residents top of mind. It is not enough to simply halt the proliferation of STRs because they alienate the powerful and the privileged. New STR regulations must prevent the displacement of New Orleans people while also creating affordable housing opportunities. The previous policies that focused exclusively on the whims of NIMBYs led to the creation of unconstitutional and inequitable STR policies. It is not enough to abide by the letter of the law and the court’s judgement of our failed STR regulations. We must put people first and #PutHousingFirst. That means that STRs must aid in the creation of affordable housing, and we cannot accept regulations policy, protocols, or regulations that do anything else.” – Andreanecia Morris, President of GNOHA
Put Housing First 