What We Offer New Orleans

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Executive Summary

All neighborhoods – flooded and dry – need a short-term recovery and rebuilding plan; that plan is the Unified New Orleans Plan.

All neighborhoods also need a long-term master plan; for the Carrollton-Audubon neighborhoods of New Orleans, that plan is the Carrollton-Audubon Renaissance Plan.

CARI begins where the Unified Plan ends; we complement each other.

CARI focuses on issues the Unified Plan does not focus on, such as zoning and land use, building codes, transportation, parks, educational, cultural, and religious institutions, economic and workforce development, tourism, and public safety.

Our Renaissance Plan is a master planning tool developed before Katrina by the City Planning Commission to allow neighborhoods and citizens to plan their own future. It was used successfully before Katrina in the Lower Garden District and New Orleans East to develop community-based plans for their future.

For the first time, 18,000 citizens in Carrollton-Audubon neighborhoods will have a permanent, legal voice in the planning process – at the front end of the process.

CARI will benefit all neighborhoods, the City Planning Commission, the City Council, and the City of New Orleans.

CARI is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit planning organization. Join with us and help plan our neighborhoods’ future. Visit our web site at http://www.carrollton-audubon.org. Email us at info@carrollton-audubon.org.

The Unified New Orleans Plan,
http://www.unifiedneworleansplan.com

• The Unified Plan is a “recovery and rebuilding” plan. It is a short-term planning process to guide the use of money that New Orleans will receive from the Louisiana Recovery Authority and other donors to rebuild our damaged infrastructure. After the Unified Plan is complete and the City receives the money the Unified Plan will blend into the long-term master plan of the City.

• The Unified Plan is designed to bring New Orleans back to the present – to where we would have been today if not for Katrina.

• The Unified Plan has no mechanism yet for neighborhoods to work with City Hall to monitor and implement the Plan into the future.

• The Unified Plan will not stop zoning battles and land-use woes; it does not address the need for long-term planning in the Carrollton-Audubon area.

Carrollton-Audubon Renaissance, Inc. (CARI)

• CARI is a long-term planning organization founded in 2004. CARI is designed to revitalize the historic Carrollton-Audubon neighborhoods and bring us into the future – to where we wanted to go, regardless of Katrina.

• A Renaissance Plan is a tool developed by the City Planning Commission (CPC) to allow neighborhoods and citizens to plan their own future. T he City Planning Commission Administration Policy defines our Renaissance Plan as a “covenant” between City Council, City Planning Commission, and neighborhood; we have a sacred contract with City Hall.

• City Planning Commission staff will help us prepare our Plan. The City Council will incorporate it into the City’s Master Plan, giving it the force of law.

• A jointCARI-CPC Renaissance Committee will oversee implementation of our Renaissance master plan. The Committee will monitor the effectiveness of our Plan and allow it to evolve to meet the changing needs of our community. Our CARI Renaissance Plan will be a “living plan,” and serve as guideline for all new projects in the Carrollton-Audubon area.

• CARI is the only IRS-sanctioned, not-for-profit neighborhood planning organization endorsed by City Councilmembers and neighborhood organizations.

• CARI is a partner of the Revitalization Institute at www.revitalization.org.

Benefits of a CARI-CPC Renaissance Committee

• The CARI Renaissance Plan will be implemented and monitored forever by a joint CARI-CPC Renaissance Committee to ensure everyone follows our long-term Renaissance master plan.

• For the first time, 18,000 citizens in Carrollton-Audubon neighborhoods will have a permanent, legal voice in the planning process – at the front end of the process.

• The result will be more transparent, democratic, fair, and sensible decisions for our neighborhoods.

CARI offers a new way of dealing with land-use issues in New Orleans

• As recovery and rebuilding continues, neighborhoods will come under pressure to increase development and residential density – including high-rises, bars, widening streets, and zoning changes. Neighborhood-developer disputes will arise as residents move to higher ground and density increases in high and dry areas.

• The Unified Plan is silent about these issues, but CARI will help. We seek to prevent disruptive zoning battles proactively, while encouraging orderly, community-friendly growth.

• Divisive developments will be examined first by a CARI-CPC Renaissance Committee; developments will be vetted by neighborhoods and CPC before it gets to our Councilmember's desk. 

Benefits to the City Council and the City Planning Commission

• Solving development and land-use problems at the level of a CARI-CPC Renaissance Committee allows more efficient use of City Council and City Planning Commission time, personnel, and resources.

• CARI will ease quarrelsome public debate, lessen government burden, and reduce neighborhood-developer tension. As recovery and rebuilding progress, CARI is needed more than ever.

• CARI is an educational tool, an electronic forum, and an open channel between neighborhoods and City Hall. Using this planning tool to solve problems and chart our post-Katrina future will be a model for other New Orleans neighborhoods.

Stakeholders in the Unified Plan and the CARI Renaissance Plan

• The Unified Plan is focused on neighborhoods.

• CARI’s Board of Directors has broad stakeholder support. We use citizen participation to work with neighborhood, business and educational, cultural and religious organizations to fold their planning vision into a single blueprint for our neighborhoods’ future. CARI board members are drawn from:
   
  • Neighborhoods – CARI has members of five neighborhood associations
  • Merchants – CARI has merchants from Maple Street, Oak Street, and the Riverbend
  • Universities – CARI has members from Tulane and Loyola Universities
  • Churches – CARI has neighborhood pastors
  • Schools – CARI has a charter school President
  • New Orleans business community
  • US Army Corp of Engineers
  • Audubon Park
     
• Except for neighborhoods, these stakeholders have no voice in the Unified Plan; yet they are important for long-term growth and economic vitality of our neighborhoods.
   
• Since 2004 our planner is Steve Villavaso – the same master planner chosen by the City of New Orleans for the Unified Plan. This ensures seamless joining of the Unified Plan and the CARI Renaissance Plan. Mr. Villavaso led the successful development of the New Orleans East Renaissance Plan in 2003.

The City Planning Commission Neighborhood Planning Guide,
June 2006, http://www.cityofno.com/Portals/Portal52/portal.aspx?portal=52&tabid=22

The City Planning Commission Neighborhood Planning Guide states the Unified New Orleans Plan is a recovery plan and not a master plan:

“Unlike master planning, recovery planning is the process of addressing actions to be taken before, during and after a disaster. This process in particular will specifically address damages sustained from Hurricane Katrina and Rita and recommend projects to aid in the community’s recovery from those disasters.” (page 6)

The Unified Plan time frame is too short for master planning. It requires neighborhood groups hold only four public meetings (page 8), and should be completed in autumn 2006 (page 16).

The Unified Plan is focused on recovery and rebuilding. “Mandatory Plan Elements” which must be addressed in the recovery plan include,

• Housing, architecture & historic preservation
• Flood protection and environmental management
• Utilities & municipal services
• Human services/community facilities (page 13)

CARI will address issues the Unified Plan does not address

According to the CPC Neighborhood Planning Guide, “Elements” with low priority, which may not be addressed in the recovery plan include:

• Land use & zoning
• Building codes & design
• Transportation & public transit
• Parks, open space and landscape architecture
• Educational, cultural, and religious institutions
• Economic & workforce development, including tourism
• Public safety & emergency preparedness (page 13)

These “low-priority planning elements” form the heart of CARI’s planning process. These Unified Plan low-priority issues are high-priority issues for CARI; they are vital to our neighborhoods’ long-term master plan. CARI will also:

• Study long-term residential, commercial, and economic development patterns.
• Study our riverfront development.
• Begin a dialogue with Tulane and Loyola Universities, Audubon Park, and our local Corps of Engineers.
• Encourage suitable commercial development along our business corridors.
• Provide a forum for neighborhood and developers at the neighborhood level.

CARI brings a new way of dealing with neighborhood disputes. Citizen participation promotes transparency and trust in government. We seek to partner with City Hall to transform our Neighborhood-City Hall covenant into reality.

We need your help to begin our master planning process

CARI is seeking tax-deductible contributions and grants to begin our work. We are a 501(c)3, not-for-profit Louisiana corporation.

CARI benefits all New Orleans. Help us travel beyond recovery and rebuilding, into the master plan for our future.

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Thank you,

Sheldon Hersh, MD
Secretary, Carrollton-Audubon Renaissance, Inc.