NEW ORLEANS – The City's Home Rule Charter requires that a Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance (CZO) be adopted and that it be consistent with the Master Plan. After several years of development, including many public meetings, the City Planning Commission (CPC) recommended and the Council approved as recommended by the CPC (by motion M-14-464) the new CZO on October 24, 2014.
The Council has now, as the final legislative step in the CZO adoption process, introduced and will consider an ordinance to officially adopt the new CZO and replace the current CZO in its entirety.
The Council recognizes that there are substantial conversations still to be had, and that additional public comment and debate will further inform the process and result in a better product. With that in mind, the Council presents the following timeline:
• Immediately and ongoing: Written comment not previously provided to the Council or CPC may be submitted on the Council's website, www.NolaCityCouncil.com. This feature will remain available throughout the public comment period.
• Thursday, March 12, 2015: The Council officially introduced Ordinance Calendar Number 30,637 on first reading. The ordinance is the culmination of four years of work by the City Planning Commission, the City's law department, consultants and the public, whose input was provided at numerous public meetings. For the convenience of the public, amendments proposed by Councilmembers and the Administration will be made available for download on the Council's website and at the Clerk of Council's office beginning on Monday, March 16, 2015, and as they are submitted by Councilmembers.
• Early April 2015: The Council will hold a Committee of the Whole meeting in early April to receive public comment and engage in debate regarding the ordinance and proposed amendments.
• April 2015: It is expected that the Council will take up Ordinance Calendar Number 30,637, offer amendments, and vote to officially adopt the new CZO and replace the current CZO in its entirety at a regular Council meeting in April 2015.
The public is advised that on March 12, Ordinance Calendar Number 30,637 was introduced on first reading, but the Council did not take any formal action or vote, and no public comment or discussion was heard. The ordinance must lie over for 21 days before the Council may vote on it, so it will first appear on a Council agenda on April 9. The Council may vote on the ordinance and any amendments at that meeting or choose to defer it to a later meeting.
The City Council is comprised of five districts and two councilmembers-at-large. Council President and Councilmember-at-Large Stacy Head; Council Vice President and Councilmember-at-Large Jason R. Williams; District "A" Councilmember Susan G. Guidry; District "B" Councilmember LaToya Cantrell; District "C" Councilmember Nadine M. Ramsey; District "D" Councilmember Jared C. Brossett; and District "E" Councilmember James Austin Gray II.
