Get Ready for a Planning Revolution:  World-Renowned Land-Use Authority

     Releases Watershed Report to Propel New Orleans into the 21st Century



Attorney  Daniel Mandelker to Present Dramatic Recommendations at Public Meeting

      Monday, Jan. 14th at 7 p.m.      Port of New Orleans Administration Building

 

It could be the most comprehensive, independent analysis of an urban planning process ever undertaken for an American city. 

 

It was commissioned over six months ago by a broad-based, non-profit coalition – who quietly raised $30,000 from supporters as diverse as grassroots neighborhood groups¼. to prominent real estate developers.  While both have often found themselves on opposite sides of the fence, both stand to benefit immeasurably from a clearly-defined, orderly planning process.

 

Now, eminent land-use attorney and St. Louis law professor Daniel Mandelker will present this ground-breaking report during a public meeting on Monday, January 14th at 7 p.m. in New Orleans’ Dock Board Auditorium.  And his tough recommendations about the city’s current chaotic and highly-politicized planning process, which he has candidly described as the “mockery of ad hockery,” call for nothing less than a radical planning revolution.

 

That revolution will start with New Orleans’ diverse and often historic neighborhoods, who must be legally structured into the planning process.  Following a revision of that process, a master plan must be developed and given the force of law at the City Council level. The  zoning ordinance, moreover, must track, conform to, and be consistent with this plan.  Mandelker points to neighboring Baton Rouge’s city charter as a successful model for integrated public planning.

 

Mandelker gives failing marks to New Orleans’ 1999 land use plan, in part “because it does not consider the distinctive quality of the city’s historic neighborhoods.”  He also finds that the draft comprehensive zoning ordinance is inadequate and should be “shelved”until a more effective zoning ordinance can be prepared.                                                                   

As high-profile, reactive land use battles ranging from the recent Arabella Bus Barn redevelopment to the controversial St. Thomas/Wal-Mart proposal continue to consume massive amounts of time, energy, and money, the Mandelker Report outlines a visionary, pro-active planning process with a legal backbone.   It will put residents, developers, and elected officials of the city that Mandelker deems “a national treasure” finally working together on the same page.

 

For more information, contact:

William E. Borah at (504) 944 - 4010       wborah@aol.com