Critics object to omission of bars and live-music venues from list of approved uses
A plan that will allow limited commercial uses in about 20 residentially zoned buildings in Treme has won approval from the New Orleans City Council.
View full sizeA procession to honor the late Albert Morris Jr., chief of the North Side Skull and Bone Gang, makes its way through Treme on Aug. 10. The buildings once were used as stores or for other commercial purposes but have been vacant in recent years and lost their legal nonconforming status, meaning they can legally be used only as residences. They are in the area bounded by Orleans Avenue, North Rampart Street, St. Bernard Avenue and North Claiborne Avenue.
The zoning change, a device known as a residential diversity overlay district, is intended to allow the opening of small neighborhood-oriented businesses that Treme lacks, such as coffee houses, small grocery stores and bakeries.
The affected buildings include four on Ursulines Avenue, five on Gov. Nicholls Street and four on St. Philip Street.
The plan, backed by the Historic Faubourg Treme Association though opposed by several residents, was approved 6-0 at the council's Aug. 12 meeting.
Association President Naydja Bynum said the change would help revive an economically depressed neighborhood that has scores of blighted properties and overgrown lots.
But opponents such as L.J. Goldstein said the proposal was the result of a "hasty, piecemeal process" that simply adopted a zoning tool already in place in nearby Faubourg Marigny and did not sufficiently respect the unique culture of Treme.
The critics' biggest objection was that the types of businesses allowed by the overlay district do not include bars or establishments offering live music, which the critics said is central to the neighborhood's history and culture.
Supporters of the plan said the residentially zoned buildings affected by the change aren't allowed now to house businesses featuring live music or selling alcohol and that approving the overlay district would not affect owners' right to seek a zoning change to allow such uses in the future.
After the City Planning Commission held a public hearing on the proposal in July, the two sides agreed on several amendments designed to satisfy the music supporters. One change made clear that the new district will not affect the legal status of any existing businesses. Another spells out that it will not apply to any commercially zoned properties on major streets such as Orleans Avenue, North Rampart Street or North Claiborne Avenue.
Critics also complained that Bynum's association did not reach out to all Treme residents before offering its proposal, though she said it made extensive efforts to reach them.
Councilwoman Kristin Gisleson Palmer, whose district includes Treme, said she was "very comfortable with" the association's position and its efforts to solicit all residents' opinions.
She emphasized that the change is designed solely to promote small businesses that will make Treme more "livable and sustainable." It won't limit anyone's ability to apply for permission to sell alcohol or present live music, she said.
Palmer suggested the neighborhood hold further discussions on the idea of making Treme an arts and culture overlay district, a device used to allow bars and music clubs in commercial sections of Frenchmen Street and Freret Street.
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Bruce Eggler can be reached at beggler@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3320.