Letters From Our Readers

Proposed Charter Changes from UNOP District 1 Steering Committee

Ladies and gentlemen -

The Nagin administration is poised to sign a contract with the highly respected planning firm of Goody Clancy to complete a Master Plan for New Orleans - a plan that will direct the future use of land as well as the rebuilding of the city. Part of that contract will entail the creation of a new Zoning Ordinance that will assist in the implementation of the plan. That planning effort will include citizens in the planning process, and it will utilize the conclusions reached in the numerous planning efforts that citizens have been engaged in seen Katrina devastated this city.

So that the Master Plan when completed will be followed by public officials as well as private citizens, so that in the future land use regulations and capital expenditures will be required to be consistent with the plan, and so that henceforth all citizens will be structured into the planning process, the Unified New Orleans Plan (UNOP) District 1 Steering Committee supports the amendments to the Home Rule Charter recently prepared by Smart Growth for Louisiana. Furthermore, in order to receive a favorable vote on the Charter amendments from the City Council and to have the Council place these amendments on the November 4, 2008, ballot to receive a favorable vote from the electorate, the Steering Committee forwarded a copy of the nonprofit’s Charter amendments, with accompanying cover letter and a Citizen’s Guide to Land Use Reform, to each Council member. (A copy of the Charter amendments and accompanying materials are attached to this E-mail.)

I ask that each of you — and the organizations that you are associated with — to join with the UNOP District 1 Steering Committee in supporting the attached Charter amendments, and that you request the City Council to approve the amendments and to place them on the ballot for a vote in November. With work soon to begin on a Master Plan and a new Zoning Ordinance for the city, we now have the opportunity to establish a planning process to go along with this serious undertaking that can gain the respect of citizens - both here and across the nation. This is a great opportunity — shame on all of us if we do not take advantage of it.

Respectfully yours,

William E. Borah
President
Smart Growth for Louisiana
533 Esplanade Avenue, Suite B
New Orleans, Louisiana 70130
(504) 944-4010
(504) 942-3176 (fax)

Download a copy of the proposed amendments [PDF]