A very important message from Lee Stafford

SAVE MYRTLE BANKS SCHOOL

Myrtle Banks Elementary School (formerly known as the McDonough 38 School) is threatened with demolition under the Orleans Parish School Board School Facilities Master Plan. This historic structure is a cornerstone on Oretha Castle Haley Boulevard. It offers tremendous redevelopment potential and is critical to the revitalization of the Boulevard. Join in supporting the renovation of the school building and opposing the demolition plans.

Friends and Residents of Central City for the Reuse of Myrtle Banks School


SIGN THE PETITION HERE:

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/save-myrtle-banks-school

We are a C1A neighbohood!

Thanks to Elizabeth Gary and Colleen for all your hard work.

Meeting notes from October 9, 2008

Thursday October 9, 2008
Attended by:
Elizabeth Eckman
Colleen Lusignan
Dwayne Johnson
Sean Clark
Jacqui Gibson-Clark

Discussion included neighborhood outreach and education regarding the rezoning of the squares 239 and 253.

Collective talking points regarding this initiative:
- Insure continued enjoyment of property
- Environmental equity
- Property value
- Continued prosperity of Browns Dairy that does not include geographic expansion within squares 239 and 253
- Increasingly residential area
- Preservation of architectural and historical integrity in neighborhood

Follow up action items include:
1. Development of FAQ's one-sheet to include for distribution
2. Distribute petition to gauge support and opposition in among residents in the affected blocks

Rezoning FAQs

1. What is the zoning change that is being proposed?
Your area is currently zoned as L1 or Light Industrial, and there is a proposal to rezone it for C1A or Mixed Use

2. What does L1 mean?
L1 is what you are currently zoned for which is Light Industrial.
L1 or Light Industrial designation refers to an area that allows for a wide variety of light manufacturing, fabricating, processing, wholesale distributing and warehousing uses appropriately located near or adjacent to major thoroughfares or railroads for access. Commercial uses and open storage of materials are permitted; new residential development is excluded except for certain specified uses deemed appropriate adjunct to industrial operations.

3. What does C1A mean?
C1A or Mixed Use is intended to provide for a wide variety of commercial, miscellaneous service activities and residential uses, generally serving a wide area and located particularly along certain existing major thoroughfares where a general mixture of commercial, service and residential activities now exist. The district is intended for application in older developed areas of the City. The district regulations are designed to encourage a proportionate mixture of commercial and residential activity, to encourage the retention of existing historic and architecturally significant structures, and to encourage compatibility with adjacent or nearby land uses and the general character of the area

4. So, what’s the difference between LI and C1A?
L1 will allow for a much larger scale industrial operation to occur on your property than C1A. C1A will probably allow for things like art studios, barber shops, and retail venues given that your property already suits the existing requirements to obtain the licensing.

5. Will rezoning to C1A decrease my property value?
Given the interesting times we live in, one cannot promise to know how property values will behave at any time or why they will behave any way. What we can do is consider a few factors.
• At this time the land in the squares in question is primarily being used as residential property
• There is a significant upward trend in residential land use and historical preservation in Central City
• Allowing industrial growth around your residential property will definitely impact the enjoyment and livability of your residential property, and thus it will probably have a negative influence on the resale value of your residential property.

6. What do I have to gain from rezoning?
• If your block is rezoned as C1A or mixed use, it would prevent the expansion of industrial activities and allow the quiet enjoyment of your property.
• It would also help maintain long-term environmental quality in this area by limiting emissions, sound, and debris that will come with industrial expansion
• All of the work that you have done to maintain the architectural and historical integrity of your home that should inherently increase the value of your property, will not be interfered with by expanding industry.

7. What do I have to loose from rezoning?
If you were planning on using your property to manufacture, distribute or warehouse commercial goods at a volume that would exceed a mixed use level of propriety, then C1A is may not be in your best interest.

8. Why is this rezoning being proposed now?
Brown’s Dairy is currently attempting to expand their operations between Erato and Clio Streets, near O.C. Haley. This expansion into the 253 square is unwelcomed expected to devalue and interrupt the enjoyment of the residential property already in that square.

9. Does this rezoning mean that I cannot conduct business out of my house?
No.

10. What area will the proposed zoning change affect?
Square 239 (Baronne, Erato,Carondelet and Clio) and Square 253 (O.C. Haley, Erato, Baronne, Clio)

11. Will this zoning change impose operational hardships on existing business in the neighborhood?
No. The businesses in the area designated for zoning change can continue business as usual.

Reunited and it feels so good

I just realized that this blog has been untouched for about 2 years. Yikes. This blog was put together, 2005. A few of us had come together and decided to form an official neighborhood association. We called it Central City Muses. Then the storm came, we all got very busy and never actually made it official or did anything much aside from creating this blog.

Many of us used it to communicate and keep in touch during the storm and post news and information. Now that it has been dusted off, I would like to invite everyone to use this to post comments or send me an entry and I will be glad to post it for you.


It was really great to get to see everyone last week. Please use the comment field to post some ideas regarding a date for the next meeting and suggestions for specific items that you think should be on the agenda. I will collect any suggestions, ideas, or recommendations that are given by email, or comments left on the blog and use them to create an agenda for the next meeting. I will send the agenda out with a meeting notice.

If I do not receive any input from y'all, I will either knock on doors or make it up all by myself, which seems a little lonely, so please send me your thoughts.

As long as I have the virtual mic, I'd like to propose that we spend the next meeting organizing ourselves, and end by defining our next steps.

Ok. I look forward to hearing from everybody.

One more time...

AAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHHH!

Sean and I went to yet ANOTHER BZA meeting on Feb 13th. If there is anyone out there that is smarter or more informed than I am, please come forth. I need you.

Mr. (perhaps reverend) Allen, who I believe is the vice-chair of the board, has informed us that the BZA is a group of volunteer do gooding citizens that are not required to be there in the first place, so we should stop bothering them with our complaining.

So smartypantses.... who the hell are these people and do they have actual authority? Are these benevolent protectors of code either liable or responsible for maintaining the architectural integrity of the city? If not, what the hell are we asking them for?

I actually sat there and watched the BZA deny permission to a man from Audubon Place to build an outdoor bathroom / pool cabaña in his back yard, which is protected by a 12-foot concrete fence on all sides. The potential builder brought his architect to explain the effective drainage system she had designed to prevent intrusive runoff. The board agreed with the applicant’s complaining neighbor that the proposed structure did not meet variance requirements, and would likely ruin the neighborhood vistas, and create an unsightly and cluttered back yard. There goes the neighborhood.

When it was our turn, we were treated as disrespectable complainers who were standing in the way of progress. We were warned (with forceful voice) not to claim that she is receiving favoritism from the board. We were told that the board is tired of our complaining.

Most importantly, and for the 4th time, there were not enough “volunteer” members present to form a quorum of any sort. So, we must go again…. in another 30 days, back to the angry scowls of the BZA and the ornery grin of Lisa Mazique.

I will post the time and date when I receive the notice. I will ask anyone who as the time or energy to show up in our support.

In the mean time, does anyone have any information regarding the BZA and how it is formed? What qualifies a person to volunteer on the BZA? Who are these people?

New Year Luck

I don't know, but I've been told that each black-eyed pea eaten on New Years Day offers some indiscriminant amount of good luck forwarded towards your next year.

So, If you don't eat black eyed peas on Sunday, we will know who to blame for the next hurricane!

I will have a big fat pot of beans at my house on Jan 1st. All are welcome. You bring the beer.

Holiday Party

So, late notice, as is my style, all are invited:

Billy and I will be hosting our annual holiday party this year on

Friday, December 16
8:30 pm til...

The idea is that you bring a gift valued no more than $10.00 and then
you wrap it so that it is not easily identified and then we draw
numbers and take turns stealing from each other in the true, New
Orleans style.

The game starts at 10pm, after everybody feels fuzzy and assertive...


Also, bring a snack and or booze.

The theme for this year: Velvet
(intepret how you wish)

Please RSVP: nikkipage@mac.com

Like a gourth grade note,
Are you coming?
Y or N?

The skinny on the neighborhood meetings

Ok, this is the press release version:

“A community at work rebuilding its own community” is the mission statement of Central City Comeback Committee. Each week members of the community gather and discuss news, events, meetings, and concerns. The attendance at these meetings varies somewhat, but they consistently are attended by representatives from Urban Impact, Sixth District police officers, and lead by Pat Evens of the UNO Urban Roots project.

Members of this committee bring information to the table concerning the results of each week’s bevy of meetings that were attended throughout the city by committee members. Regular topics of discussion include: charter schools, housing, trailer and plot allocation, job resources, information distribution, safety, and community / police relationship enhancement.

The jist of this group, is that it is very slow moving towards small actions….but it has been a good place for people to ask questions and share info. After the holidays, this group will be making a concerted effort to go-public, so I will fill you all in.

jacqui