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Like politics in general, land use decisions are a contact sport in New Orleans. A limited supply of available land, combined with our bewildering system of zoning codes and a political system that rewards back door deals pretty much ensures that any major development plan in the city will be contentious. There isn’t much we can do about the lack of available land. New Orleans East has potential for development, but help is needed to ensure that suburban sprawl doesn’t completely overtake it in the process. And perhaps there is not a great deal that can be done about overly complex zoning guidelines; there are mixed opinions about that. But where we can make an impact is by articulating and identifying the highly dysfunctional process that surrounds virtually every major land use decision. A key need is to demand transparency from public and civic leaders.

The Urban Conservancy, like many other individuals and organizations, receives updates from Leo Watermeier, spokesman for Friends of Armstrong Park and perennial thorn in the side of WWOZ’s efforts to expand their footprint in the Treme area park. Leo’s updates combine warnings about the latest political machinations and the observations of a person who cares deeply for the neglected park and feels an indefatigable optimism for its unrealized potential. Some Watermeier e-mails are blunt statements regarding his dealings with WWOZ and city and federal officials. Other e-mails have been much more convivial, such as a recent dispatch reporting the appearance of pelicans and ducks in the park’s waterways and soliciting volunteer help with planting hedges and picking up litter. His latest e-mails have detailed the maneuverings being obscured from public view, including what Leo termed a “secret meeting” between members of the Mayor’s staff and WWOZ personnel, their hired architects and of course, their Public Relations team (Katz and Columbus, a firm whose clients have included HRI during their battle over the Wal-Mart in the Lower Garden District). At any rate, the most glaring issue is the matter of non-public meetings that involve the use of resources paid for by each of us. Is the secret meeting situation with WWOZ and the city an isolated case for this administration, or have there been others? Right or wrong, too many people in New Orleans assume that local politics is all about the backroom deal.

There are many reasons for the decline of participatory democracy in our country as well as our city, but nothing is quite as poisonous to democracy as the idea that decisions are made somewhere else, far from public review. We expect more from our elected officials and their staff. Of course, there is a business case for this. Transparency in planning helps property owners maximize their investments and outside capital is more likely to invest in a city that is known for operating above board, with predictable outcomes for development projects. However, more important than the business case, citizens are likely to become more active when they feel that they are generally being respected in the process and an environment where land use issues are dealt with in a forthright, codified, transparent manner, citizen involvement in development issues will likely be constructive and positive, in contrast to the current tendency toward suspicion and reactionary fervor. No matter how you justify it, the city wins.

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