Planning District Three(Continued)

Central City/Garden District

The following section provides a synthesis of citizen comments and input gathered at a public workshop held at St. Henry Church on the evening of July 14, 1998 and a follow up meeting on October 13, 1998. Approximately 100 residents and business owners, in six small groups, participated in the workshop identifying pivotal development parcels and land use conflicts and creating a proposed land use map for the district.

In general, workshop participants expressed happiness with living in the district, particularly mentioning the area's ease of access to Audubon Park and downtown. Participants indicated strong support for maintaining residential neighborhoods as well as keeping new commercial activity on main thoroughfares. Traditional neighborhood commercial corridors such as Oak and Maple Street, the southern end of South Carrollton Avenue and Freret Street were noted as assets, although intensity of commercial development in these areas should be monitored. Many expressed concerns about non-conforming uses, and emphasized the need to reduce their number through enforcement of the city's zoning ordinance. While residents appreciate positive aspects of universities located within the district, some ancillary activities such as parking and local taverns serving this population were mentioned as concerns. As in other districts, encroaching commercial and institutional development (especially university and medical facilities) were identified as cause for concern. While residents appreciate and use existing commercial services, sensitivity about the preservation of the historic level and intensity of use was expressed. Regarding institutional uses, a buffer zone for Memorial Hospital was specifically suggested. More public recreation facilities are needed throughout the district, and the existing facilities need better upkeep. Participants indicated that the Tchoupitoulas corridor is an appropriate place for future development of residential and recreational activities, especially if industrial uses are slowly phased out of the area. 

Pivotal Parcels

Like other planning districts, much of the land in District Three is currently developed. Participants expressed happiness with the district's overall development, and proposed future land use changes for pivotal parcels that support current uses. Pivotal parcels discussed by participants included buildings currently under used or slated for future changes and vacant lots. 

Workshop participants discussed empty or under used buildings, including the Regional Transit Authority's Bus Barn on Magazine Street and Arabella (used to repair and house city transit system buses), the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA) school which is moving to a new location, and the empty automobile dealership on North Broad Street, outside the district's border. Workshop participants suggested the development of the Bus Barn include a neighborhood market or upscale grocery, an arts center with studio area for artisans, a mixed use development with neighborhood commercial and residential activity, a school, or a park and open space. Suggestions for use of the parking lot behind the building included a park or open space or residential development. Many participants expressed the need for development of adequate parking for any type of future development. Concerning the NOCCA facility, participants expressed desires to see the property developed as condominiums, an elementary school or a senior center. Other vacant or under used buildings were mentioned in small group discussions, but did not include information on potential development. These include the buildings listed below:

• St. Francis of Assisi School, planned for future change
• Haywood Thompson-former chemical plant at Pine Street and Earhart Expressway 
• Priestly School on Leonidas Street 

• Tchoupitoulas and Dufossat Streets 
• Louisiana Avenue and Dryades Street 
• Residents also mentioned other areas as pivotal for development, but did not stipulate what should or should not occur for future use. Further investigation revealed concerns about potential increasing commercialization of the areas near parks. Residents expressed the desire for more local, neighborhood playgrounds and green walking boulevards with shade trees. 
• Audubon Park 
• Park at Prytania & Lyons Street 
• Palmer Park 
• Light Industrial vacant parcels on Tchoupitoulas 

The schematic map which appears facing page 86 summarizes comments recorded on district maps during the workshop. The summary schematic is an attempt to represent graphically the most frequent and consistent comments made by citizen participants. For ease of interpretation, various local landmarks, such as parks, housing developments, and large-scale developments, have been included.

Section VI: Proposed Land Use for Planning District Three
Planning District Three has many positive attributes making it one of the most attractive areas in the city for both residents and businesses. Residents of the area enjoy the district's "livability" with small-scale commercial services, a diverse population, and historic neighborhoods with a multitude of architectural styles and oak trees lining the handsome boulevards. Land use in District Three reflects the historic evolution of early city suburbs with a variety of land uses that work well to serve residents' needs including commercial, recreational, educational and medical. The District contains one of the city's largest recreational spaces, Audubon Park and a Zoo and a number of smaller neighborhood parks and playgrounds. Access to the Mississippi River levee and recreational possibilities have also improved over the recent years. Furthermore, the city's three oldest institutions of higher learning are located within the district: Tulane and Loyola Universities and St. Mary's Dominican College. These schools offer attractive architecture and manicured campus areas. Moreover, three hospitals, DePaul and Children's Hospital and Memorial Medical Center are located within District Three, as well as recently upgraded port facilities and related industrial uses. The historic St. Charles Streetcar and the road network allow for ease of access to other parts of the city, although major routes are occasionally congested. 

District Three - Uptown is one of the most stable areas in the city, with only a minimal population loss projected for 2002 of 3%. District Three is also relatively wealthy, recording an average household income in 1997 equal to one half times that recorded for the city as a whole. On the negative side, the district recorded higher decreases in total number of housing units (owner occupied as well as rental), and a higher increase in the number of vacant units for the last ten year period than the city as a whole. 

Issues/problem areas:

Uptown is generally considered to be a vital healthy neighborhood. The many institutional assets (Tulane and Loyola Universities, Audubon Park, Memorial Medical Center) have kept the district moving in the worst of times and allowed it to flourish in the best of times. However, there are still problems of vacancy and blight in some areas (Oak Street, Hollygrove, Freret area) and overdevelopment and commercialization in others (Riverbend, Maple Street). The universities and hospitals, while giving vitality to the area, are creating conflicts: traffic congestions, parking pressure and encroachments into residential neighborhoods. 

In the course of developing this plan, citizens have identified these and other problems related to the existing pattern of land uses in District Three. The residents' assessment of problems is confirmed in detailed neighborhood plans as well as in the daily duties of the City Planning Commission to research zoning applications. Briefly, they are as follows: 

Pressure from institutional uses on the adjacent residential neighborhoods (traffic congestion, parking problems, noise, litter); 

Pressure from high intensity commercial uses on residential neighborhoods (particularly ABO outlets - bars and clubs, attracting patrons outside the neighborhood, parking pressure, noise, litter, crime); 

Disinvestment in some commercial corridors, and development pressure in others; 

Proliferation of certain problematic uses (bars, restaurants, pharmacies); an absence of needed stores and services (quality grocery stores, repair and personal services); 

Increase in number of nonconforming uses due to the lack of enforcement of the existing regulations; 

Increase in spot zoning which creates additional conflict and destabilizes neighborhoods; 

Incompatibility of industrial uses with the abutting residential neighborhoods (truck deliveries, noise, environmental and health concerns); 

Lack of adequate access to the river, lack of recreation and green space, bike paths; 

Inadequate respect for historic character of the area, incompatible development, lack of design standards. 

Plan recommendations:

The proposed land use plan seeks to strengthen the district's residential character by reducing conflicts between commercial/institutional properties and residential areas. The most significant recommendations for District Three include application of a mixed use land category in areas where residential uses have traditionally coexisted with commercial, and the proposed evolution of former light industrial areas on parts of Tchoupitoulas into regional commercial center and a low intensity, mixed use development corridor. These and other recommendations of the 1999 Land Use Plan are as follows:

Mixed Use category. As defined for the 1999 Land Use Plan, the mixed use land designation is a hybrid category that encourages a flexible mix of residential, commercial, office and certain light industrial uses. In New Orleans, mixed use development has a long history that includes the development of some of the city's most vibrant neighborhoods. The historically thriving "urban centers" where one can live, work, dine and shop on the same street are still present today throughout Uptown, and this hybrid category of land use offers a tool to recognize the value of this mixture while helping assure a balance and compatibility among the different uses. The new category can also apply to some of the Uptown areas plagued by vacancies, disinvestments and overall decay (sections of Freret, Oak and Tchoupitoulas Street corridors). In the latter areas, projecting a land use that is all residential or all commercial, is unlikely to encourage redevelopment in a way that utilizes existing features of the area, that is compatible with the surrounding area, or that recaptures the traditional vitality of the street. For these areas the Plan recommends the creative application of the mixed use land category. 

For the 1999 Land Use Plan, the mixed use category has been further distinguished as being either Neighborhood Mixed Use or Urban Mixed Use, depending upon the development intensity of the area where the category is to be applied and the size of the buildings involved. The Urban Mixed Use land category, intended to encourage redevelopment of large vacant or underutilized historic buildings with rather intensive land uses, has not been proposed for Planning District Three. 

Neighborhood Mixed Use designation is proposed for Magazine Street, Freret Street between Jefferson and Napoleon Avenues, a section of Maple Street, Dryades Street between Valance and Napoleon Avenue, Tchoupitoulas and Riverbend area, including Oak Street. By establishing neighborhood mixed use in these areas, small scale commercial and residential activities can co-exist. The greatest challenge of mixed use planning is to ensure compatibility of permitted uses and harmonious scale and design of development with the surrounding properties. The best way to ensure sensitive mixed use development is for planners and citizens to come together to develop unique standards for different types of neighborhoods. The Riverbend area illustrates both the care and the flexibilities that will be needed in the mixed use standards. This area needs standards to assure that residential uses aren't overwhelmed by pressures from new or expanding businesses. 

Concentration of commercial services To minimize the negative effects of commercial developments on the adjacent residential neighborhoods -- one of the most commonly cited land use conflicts in Planning District Three -- the 1999 Land Use Plan proposes concentration of these services along major transportation corridors such as portions of Carrollton and Claiborne Avenues, Earhart Boulevard and Tchoupitoulas Street, and in sections of these corridors that are already almost exclusively commercial. The high intensity Regional Commercial land use designation is proposed for only two areas of Uptown, while low intensity, neighborhood commercial designation is applied for several sections of the major street corridors in the District. 

Regional Commercial. The river side section of Tchoupitoulas Street -- between Octavia and Bellcastle Streets -- is designated as regional commercial area, thus eliminating its current industrial designation. This designation is consistent with the current development of the property as a shopping center with three large retailers (Winn Dixie Supermarket, Stein-Mart and Pier One) and several smaller retail and service stores. Another section of the Tchoupitoulas corridor, at the intersection with Napoleon Avenue, is also designated as regional commercial to indicate the existing use of the site: a large grocery store - former Superstore. The mixed use area between these two regional commercial sections is intended to encourage flexible future development. In addition to the two Tchoupitoulas locations, the existing Carrollton Avenue Shopping Center located between Palmetto Street and I-10 has been marked as regional commercial area. The center includes two mini-strip malls (the Wieners and the McFrugal sites) with a number of smaller retailers. 

Neighborhood commercial land use category is proposed for certain areas along major street corridors where there is an existing concentration of commercial activities and where the area immediately abuts residential neighborhoods. The low intensity commercial uses serving the area residents are proposed for certain sections of Carrollton and Claiborne Avenues, Prytania and Broadway Streets, Earhart Boulevard and Airline Drive. Because of such potentially disruptive aspects as noise, headlights, litter, and the hours of operation associated with many businesses, the nature and intensity of uses permitted should be carefully examined and any potential expansion of the area closely monitored. 

The proposed concentration of commercial services and mixed use developments should result in reduction of spot zoning and gradual reduction in non-conforming uses that are identified as primary causes of the land use conflicts within Planning District Three and throughout the city. 

Industrial and Recreational Uses. The Land Use Plan proposes major reductions of the existing industrial land use designation for properties along the Mississippi River and the adjacent Leake Avenue and Tchoupitoulas Street corridors. With few interruptions (such as Audubon Park!), this industrial strip currently extends from the Parish line to Napoleon Avenue. With the Plan's proposal for centralization of maritime and related industrial activities to the Industrial Canal and Intercostal Waterway, the industrial land use designation within District Three has been reduced to the area of Port facilities between Napoleon and Audubon Park, on the River side of the levee. The upriver section of the levee, from the Park to the Parish line, is designated as park and recreational area in response to the residents' call for more recreational and green space and greater public access to the river. Development of a walking/bicycling path along the riverfront from the Riverbend to the CBD via the levee and Tchoupitoulas, has also been recommended. 

The lake side of the Leake and Tchoupitoulas corridors is proposed for residential and mix-used development. In this instance, the mixed use land designation has been used to transition industrial port facilities toward development that is compatible with and that can enhance surrounding communities. As proposed, land adjacent to the levee has a potential of becoming an exciting site for development where one can dine, play or reside by the river. Certain low impact manufacturing uses may still coexist with residential, commercial and recreational uses, providing a work place for some residents. However, to ensure compatible and sensitive mixed use development, clear standards for specific sections of the corridor need to be developed. Furthermore, in the light of the proposed changes, the Plan recommends that the existing major truck routes within District Three be reevaluated and unnecessary routes eliminated.

Institutional uses. While recognizing problems regarding the pressure from various institutional uses on adjacent residential neighborhoods, the land use planning solutions to the problem are rather limited. The Plan's recommendations are directed primarily toward restrictions of further expansion of institutional uses, and toward the mitigation and/or dispersion of deleterious effects on residential areas. The Plan foresees confining all institutional uses to their current boundaries and recommends great scrutiny regarding any request for expansion. Furthermore, it is suggested that all large institutions develop or update parking and traffic circulation plans, to be reviewed and approved by the City Planning Commission with the neighborhoods' input. Other issues, mainly related to problems of bars and clubs with live entertainment catering to student clientele, should be addressed through zoning and ABO regulations (imposing performance standards and/or restrictions on number and location) and by strict enforcement and policing measures. Examples of efforts to tackle these problems are already in place; for example, there has been formed a committee consisting of representatives from universities, police department and residents of the Riverbend area who are trying to work out mutually-acceptable solutions. 

Redevelopment of vacant properties. Based upon extensive public input and other considerations including the analysis of the adjacent land uses, traffic circulation patterns and overall stability of the area, the Plan proposes redevelopment of several properties identified as "pivotal" parcels. The land use designation pertinent to the proposed use of the property has been recommended on the proposed land use map. For example, one of Uptown's most significant pivotal parcels is the RTA bus barn on Magazine Street, which is proposed for redevelopment as a mixed use project with a combination of "high end" multi-family residential and small-scale commercial uses with on-site parking facilities. The NOCCA school site at Webster and Coliseum Streets retains its institutional land use designation, indicating citizens' preference that the site be redeveloped as a community or senior center, or as an elementary school. Pivotal parcels located in residential areas have been designated as residential or green space, rather than as commercial. 

Other recommendations. Due to their general nature, Land Use Plans do not provide recommendations regarding many site specific land use problems that are of concern for the neighborhoods. These problems are analyzed on the level of detailed neighborhood plans or zoning applications, or through other initiatives. As a guidance for future planning actions, the 1999 Land Use Plan proposes development of the following detailed studies and guidelines: 

Prepare detailed neighborhood plans/studies for Hollygrove and Freret neighborhoods and recommend comprehensive strategies for addressing complex problems of decay, vacancies and disinvestment; 

Conduct special land use, zoning and traffic studies, and/or site specific redevelopment studies for sections of Leake Avenue and Tchoupitoulas corridor to ensure successful redevelopment of this prime riverfront area; 

As a part of the work on the revision to the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance, develop design guidelines for specific neighborhoods and commercial/mixed use corridors (such as Magazine, Oak, Maple, Freret Streets) to ensure harmonious relationship between the existing and infill developments and enhance the overall appearance of the area (Claiborne, Earhart, Airline Drive corridors). Recommend buffer zones and strips as a part of site design to reduce potential conflict between the residential and adjoining commercial and institutional uses. 

 

 
 
 

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Planning Disctrict Four
(Mid-City)

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