Forum on the Master Plan; Master Plan language explanation

On Thursday, October 23, there will be a public forum on the proposed master plan charter amendment. It will take place from 6:30 - 8:00 PM at St. Matthew's Church, 1333 S. Carollton Avenue. Panelists will be Bill Borah and Ron Nabonne, and Keith Twitchell of CBNO/MAC will moderate. There will be a lot of time for questions from the audience.

Following is an English Language Summary of the proposed Master Plan Charter Change developed by CBNO/MAC.

Proposed Amendment to the New Orleans City Charter
Regarding the Master Plan, Zoning Ordinance and Citizen Participation
Appearing on the November 4, 2008 Ballot

English Language Summary

This summary does not cover every individual detail of the proposed Charter change. Rather, it seeks to translate the substantive changes into easily understood language. It does not take any position for or against the proposed change. CBNO/MAC thanks Neighborhoods Partnership Network and the Louisiana chapter of the American Planning Association for their assistance in preparing this summary.

Section 5-401
This section impacts the appointment of members to the City Planning Commission (CPC). It eliminates the nominating committee to recommend new members, as well as the two-term limit for Commission members. It eliminates the requirement that vacancies on the Commission be filled within 90 days, but it ensures that at least one new member will be appointed every year.

Section 5-402
This is the section that mandates that the city will create a “twenty year Master Plan”. Specific reference is made to including maps, and Plan elements including Vision, Goals and Policy; Land Use; Transportation; Housing; Community Facilities and Infrastructure; and Historic Preservation. It says that other elements may be included. It also says that the “elements are to be interrelated with each other and shall provided the overall guidance for city policy and priorities.”

At the same time, the section eliminates references to streets, bridges, waterways, parks and open spaces, public buildings and structures, public utilities, public housing, “slum clearance”, and redevelopment projects in the Master Plan guidelines, and also eliminates the power of the Planning Commission to “hear and decide all applications for conditional uses”.

This section also mandates that “consistent with the Master Plan” a zoning ordinance will be developed, and that the ordinance will include an official Zoning Map. Both the Master Plan and the zoning ordinance (CZO) are required to be developed “… consistent with the requirements of Section 5-404”.

Section 5-403
This section requires a certain amount of public participation in the development of the Master Plan and CZO, and also in any future changes to the documents. Specifically, it requires that the CPC “shall hold at least one public meeting for each planning district or other designated neighborhood planning unit” prior to adopting the Master Plan, and states that the purpose of the meetings is to “solicit the opinions of citizens that live or work in that district or planning unit”. It also requires a minimum of one citywide hearing. The standard for public notice of these meetings is also defined: they must advertised in “a newspaper of general circulation” between 15 and 45 days prior to the meeting. And, it requires CPC to “comply with the requirements of any neighborhood participation program that the City, pursuant to Section 5411, shall adopt by ordinance.”

The section also defines the process for the City Council to adopt or reject the Master Plan once it has been approved by CPC; if the Council makes any changes, the Plan goes back to CPC for approval. However, the power of CPC to modify the Plan any time it chooses to do so is eliminated.

This section is where the “force of law” is given to the Master Plan. The amendment states that once the Master Plan has been adopted, “no public project or facility, and no public utility … shall be authorized or significantly altered” unless it conforms to the Master Plan. It also requires that all future land use decisions and regulations, including the CZO, must be consistent with the Master Plan. Consistency with the Master Plan is defined as advancing, or at least not interfering with, the “goals, policies and guidelines” of the Master Plan. However, no procedure for determining whether or not something conforms to the Master Plan is defined.

The section states that changes or modifications to the Master Plan and CZO cannot be made more than once per year, except in response to “a disaster or other declared emergency”, but requires that the documents be reviewed at least every five years to see if any changes are needed. At least one public hearing must be part of making this determination. If CPC proposes any changes, it must follow the same procedures as previously described for getting public input and City Council approval.

Section 5-405
This section requires the City Council to follow the Master Plan when it adopts or modifies street plans or any other part of the official city map.

Section 5-406
This section requires that any zoning ordinance or zoning amendments “adopted by the City Council must be consistent with the Master Plan.” It also requires CPC to review the CZO whenever it makes changes to the Master Plan.

Section 5-407
The amendment deletes this entire section that used to require CPC to hold “a public hearing” prior to recommending any changes to the CZO. The new section increases the time CPC has to consider “any proposal” from 60 days to 90 days, and eliminates the ability of any “governing authority” to override a negative vote by CPC regarding any proposal involving “the expenditure of public moneys”. Primarily, this means that if CPC rejects a proposal that includes any city funding, the City Council cannot subsequently approve it.

Section 5-408
This section increases the Board of Zoning Adjustments (BZA) from five to seven members, and eliminates a nominating committee to recommend new members.

Section 5-409
This section requires that all CPC and BZA members have a minimum of six hours of orientation and training prior to taking office or within one year of taking office, and that they all receive at least six hours of continuing education within each calendar year. Members who fail to meet these requirements may be removed by a majority vote of their boards, but decisions in which they participated are still valid.

Section 5-410 contains no changes.

Section 5-411
This section mandates that the city will “establish by ordinance a system for organized and effective neighborhood participation in land use decisions and other issues that effect the quality of life.” It requires “timely notification” to any neighborhood of any proposed land use action that will impact the neighborhood (though it does not define what “timely means”, nor how such notice will be delivered. It also requires that neighborhoods have an opportunity for “meaningful neighborhood review of and comment on such proposals,” and that they have an opportunity for “meaningful” participation in the creating and amending of the Master Plan.

Section 5-412
This section defines certain terms used in the document, including Future Land Use Map, Land Use Action and Zoning Map.