New Orleans · issues
Civic issues
Topics getting the most attention in New Orleans public meetings, ranked by how frequently they come up.
St. Charles Avenue bed and breakfast dispute
The Mers family won approval to run a nine-bedroom principal bed and breakfast next to the Gallery condos, but neighbors cited their past illegal short-term rental conviction, noise, and parking. The Commission approved with provisos anyway.
West Rigolets Lighthouse reconstruction
A landowner wants to rebuild the historic lighthouse destroyed in Katrina, plus two fishing camps as short-term rentals, on land eroding into Lake Pontchartrain. The Commission sided with him over staff objections that the site is zoned for natural areas.
Transfer of Development Rights for Canal Street historic buildings
The adopted study lays out how development rights could be transferred between downtown properties so owners of historic Canal Street buildings can fund renovation and upkeep.
Trinity School nursery expansion
Trinity School gets to expand its Garden District campus and build a one-story nursery school building on Josephine Street, with design review by the Historic District Landmarks Commission still to come.
Adaptive reuse of Franciscan Poor Clares monastery into 24 apartments
The long-vacant monastery campus at 720 Henry Clay would become 24 homes, keeping the historic monastery building and opening a landscaped courtyard to the public. Neighbors and the developer worked out the design over many meetings, and there was no opposition at the hearing.
University-area private dorm development tracking
A nonprofit watchdog tracking private dorm development in the university area appeared on the Carrollton-area appeal and asked the board to keep neighbors informed as that case is deferred.
Downtown hotel and amusement development
Two unanimous approvals — a hotel and an indoor amusement facility on Carondelet Street — add to downtown's visitor and entertainment economy.
Monastery conversion on Henry Clay Avenue
The planned conversion of the Poor Clares monastery into apartments was deferred so the applicants can come back with more information.
Monastery adaptive reuse at 720 Henry Clay Avenue
The Franciscan Poor Clares proposed turning their monastery into multifamily apartments, guided by a planned development overlay. The case raises questions about density, historic character, and housing along Magazine Street.
Withdrawn Tulane Avenue appeal and lessons for the board
After a years-long court fight over the Trader Joe's-anchored development lost in the appellate courts, neighbors withdrew their permit appeal — but not before telling the board to demand actual evidence from developers and to use its power to impose design conditions on variances in historic neighborhoods.
John Churchill Chase right-of-way sale for hotel development
The Convention Center authority can buy a piece of John Churchill Chase and a 731-square-foot sliver of the Mississippi River Heritage Park for a future hotel.