Buffer -- refers to the use of a transitional area to separate uses that are not naturally compatible. Often the buffer is green space, and is termed a landscape buffer. Other times it can be structures: neighborhood commercial uses can separate industrial and residential uses quite effectively.

CBD -- Central Business District; see Downtown

Commercial -- there are two categories of commercial activity in the Land Use Plan:

 
• Neighborhood commercial -- a land use category describing small-scale retail or service operations that serve the surrounding residential area and have limited impact on the surrounding area in terms of traffic, parking, and hours of operation. 

• Regional commercial -- a land use category describing large-scale retail or service operations that draw from outside the neighborhood and potentially bring heavier impact in terms of traffic, parking, and hours of operation. Examples of regional commercial include shopping centers and large department and grocery stores. 

Downtown -- a land use category that encompasses the high density office, high-rise office and commercial services buildings in the heart of the city. This category includes a variety of retail, institutional, tourism-related and residential uses which provide services to the entire city and the metropolitan region, and which serve important national and international functions. Downtown is often referred to by the common acronym, CBD, which stands for Central Business District.

Industrial -- a land use category describing manufacturing, processing, warehousing, packaging or treatment of products. The category is usually divided into two sub-categories, depending upon the intensity of operations: 

• Heavy Industrial -- a land use category characterized by manufacturing and processing operations that produce relatively high levels of noise, vibration, dust, smoke or pollution or that include outdoor storage. 

• Light Industrial/Office -- a land use category characterized by warehouses, distributors, research and business support services, and light manufacturing that does not produce high levels of noise, vibration, dust, smoke, or pollution and does not include outdoor storage or intensive activity. 

Legal non-conforming uses -- uses that do not match the allowed uses in a specific area, but that have legal status. Non-conforming uses often cause land use conflicts which lower the quality of life for residents or that interfere with commercial operations. There are three main sources of legal non-conforming uses in New Orleans:

 
• Historical development -- commercial, industrial, and residential uses grew up side by side as the city developed, either before adoption of a zoning ordinance or during a period when the zoning allowed the use (even though current zoning does not). Such a use is said to be "grand fathered" and has the right to continue operation without complying with current zoning. Historical development has resulted in industrial uses (in many cases declining or vacant) within residential neighborhoods, and small groceries or services on the corners. Examples exist in St. Claude, Bywater, Mid-City, Algiers, Central City, and many other neighborhoods. 

• "Prescription Statute," or legal status by default -- under Louisiana state law, any use that does not conform to the zoning code gains legal status if the city does not initiate proceedings (to close the use or require its compliance) after having received written notice of a violation. 

• Spot zoning -- rezoning of a lot or parcel of land to permit a use incompatible with surrounding zoning and land uses. Spot zoning indicates special or privileged treatment to benefit a specific owner and does not comply with the concept of a comprehensive plan and zoning ordinance . 

• Neighborhood Mixed-Use -- a category intended to encourage small scale commercial and residential activities to co-exist, either in the same building or in adjacent ones. The classification encourages preservation of existing housing stock while allowing for the unique mixes of neighborhood services and residential uses currently found in many parts of New Orleans. The category is most typically applicable to areas with small scale structures (2 or 3 stories) and low to moderate population density. 

• Urban Mixed Use -- a category intended to encourage redevelopment of large vacant properties or to permit a modern adaptation of large historic buildings that once housed rather intense activities. This category is appropriate for redeveloping areas of declining industrial or commercial use, especially warehouses/downtown buildings with architectural/historical quality. This category would apply to larger scale structures, moderate to high population density, and a mixture of office, retail, and residential uses as well as non-polluting light manufacturing. Appropriate building scale and density depend upon the surroundings of the area. 

Residential -- three general categories of residential use appear in the 1999 Land Use Plan.

 
• Single Family -- low density residential areas characterized by single-family houses. (Note: this does not mean that the area has been exclusively developed or will be exclusively developed as single-family; there might be some other structures or uses in the area. However, the area is predominantly single-family, low-density, which is what the phrase "characterized by" means to convey.) 

• Single and Two Family -- low to medium density residential areas characterized by a mixture of single-family houses and doubles. (Note: this does not mean that the area has been exclusively developed or will be exclusively developed as single and two family uses; there might be some other structures or uses in the area. However, the area is predominantly single and two family, low-density, which is what the phrase "characterized by" means to convey.) 

• Multi-family -- high density residential areas characterized by townhouses, low-rise apartments or high-rise apartments. (Note: this does not mean that the area has been exclusively developed or will be exclusively developed as multi-family; there might be some other structures or uses in the area. However, the area is predominantly multi-family, which is what the phrase "characterized by" means to convey.)