A proposal for a new music club on Frenchmen Street was rejected Tuesday by the New Orleans City Planning Commission after staff said the zoning district is already maxed out with similar establishments. The final decision is up to the City Council. The site is in Councilwoman Kristin Gisleson Palmer's district. Since a commission hearing two weeks ago, applicant...
A proposal for a new music club on Frenchmen Street was rejected Tuesday by the New Orleans City Planning Commission after staff said the zoning district is already maxed out with similar establishments. The final decision is up to the City Council. The site is in Councilwoman Kristin Gisleson Palmer's district.
Since a commission hearing two weeks ago, applicant Penny Young downsized her original proposal from two stages and three bars to two stages and one bar. She also said she would rent the second floor of the building at 516 Frenchmen St. for use as a law office and would limit the total bar and dining areas to just under 4,000 square feet, the maximum allowed by law.
However, the planning staff said that as calculated by the city, the business would still be almost 6,000 square feet, far above the limit.
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The City Planning Commission on Tuesday rejected a proposal to bring a 6,000 square foot club called Bamboula's to Frenchmen St.
Even more damaging to Young's chances was the fact that under a special Arts and Cultural Overlay District zoning created for Frenchmen Street in 2004, no more than 20 percent of the buildings in the three-block stretch between Esplanade Avenue and Royal Street are supposed to be clubs offering live entertainment. The commission was told that from 35 percent to 50 percent of the buildings now house such clubs.
Young's original proposal called for renovating the former Laborde Printing Co. building at 516 Frenchmen St. into a club called Bamboula's. The two-story, 7,000-square-foot building has been vacant for several years.
Despite the terms of her first submission, Young insisted she does not want to open a nightclub or a cocktail lounge. Rather, her business would emphasize food and music, with more than 50 percent of sales coming from food, she said.
Representatives of the Faubourg Marigny Improvement Association and some other clubs on the street said the district is saturated with live music and is threatening to turn into another Bourbon Street. They said the former printing company should be put to some use that would benefit residents, not converted into another club for tourists.
The commission voted Jan. 8 to defer action for two weeks to let Young and her partners, including building owner Andre Laborde, try to come up with revised plans that might win approval from the neighborhood association. However, the association continued to oppose her proposal.
Noting the strong opposition and the fact that the 20 percent zoning guideline for live entertainment has already been far exceeded, the commission voted 6-0 to reject Young's proposal.
