With little fanfare, the New Orleans city planning commission is finishing work on a new comprehensive zoning ordinance. I want to give some kudos to both the commission and their staff for getting this done — it clearly was a major, labor-intensive undertaking. Much of their work is perfectly fine in bringing the city’s zoning ordinance up to date, but there are also some major flaws...
The struggle over not just noise pollution but historic preservation and the basic quality of life in New Orleans — and more specifically the Vieux Carre, or French Quarter — is coming to a head. Officials here seem eager to approve a new project that would be the final nail in the coffin of livability in one of America’s great neighborhoods. A chain fast-food restaurant...
The Landrieu Administration says it wants to celebrate the city’s 300th birthday in 2018. Funny. Because in just nine days, the Administration demonstrated how fast it could ignore the very people who live and work here to sustain one of the world’s truly great cities. How, you may ask. The main reason is that the mayor has not cleaned out the historically corrupt Safety and Permits Department...
