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Plan for the 21st Century: New Orleans 2030, the official citywide master plan, has emerged from  the cauldron of a recent history unique among major American cities. Leading the way as the sponsors and stewards of the plan, the citizen members of the City Planning Commission called for a plan centered on New Orleanians’ hard-won experience and their aspirations for the future. This citywide master plan builds on the foundation of the intensive, neighborhood-based planning that followed Hurricane Katrina. Every aspect of the master plan was also rooted in a new round of vigorous public participation: more than 5,000 people from every neighborhood and walk of life participated in shaping this plan. The Commissioners also called for a plan that could be put into action—aspirational yet practical, focused on the long-term 20-year horizon yet recognizing that New Orleanians were hungry for short-term, visible progress in recovery. The planning process and this document were designed to meet those goals.

It is important to remember that the Master Plan is neither a prediction nor a projection of the future. It is a plan. All the New Orleanians who participated in the planning process shared their hopes and goals for the city’s future. They talked about what they want to happen in the city they love. Sometimes they also voiced understandable cynicism, resignation, pessimism, distrust or bitterness. Built on aspirations for the future, the citywide plan recognizes the existence of obstacles and unresolved practical questions. It provides strategies for overcoming the obstacles and answering the questions. But no plan is self-implementing. Ultimately it will be New Orleanians who must work together to achieve the goals of the plan.

While New Orleans is famed worldwide as a crucible of jazz, and for its historic architecture, delectable cuisine and genial people, it is also a city that encompasses a fishing village, a wildlife refuge, suburban family lifestyles, lakefront beaches—and life science researchers, space ship builders, and digital media entrepreneurs. This plan recognizes New Orleans’ many identities and its future potential. The plan is completed at a time of great transition and promise.

When this plan was written four years after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, New Orleans’ population is estimated at more than three- quarters of its pre-storm total.[1]  By the end of 2015, the city had regained nearly 86% of its pre-Katrina population, with nearly 390,000 people calling the city home.[2]  Structural improvements to ensure levee protection to the 1 in 100 year storm level have been completed, bringing greater protection to the city. New mixed-income housing and neighborhoods are being completed. The city’s unique culture is alive and vibrant. Much still remains to be done and many improvements are needed. New Orleans’ recovery from the nation’s greatest urban disaster may still continue for years, but this recovery period is the opportunity to lay the foundation for new opportunities and enhanced livability, making New Orleans a leading world city and a sustainable community building an exciting future for all its residents—all the while continuing to preserve and nurture the physical and cultural legacy of the past.

Today, the stories the people of New Orleans tell are deeply bound in family, religion, music, race, art, and the city’s river delta setting. People share a cultural memory that blends legacies from Europe, West Africa, and other parts of the world. Every aspect of the city’s life is shaped today by the strength and richness of this heritage, unique among American cities. The purpose of this master plan is to carry New Orleans’ stories into the future.

Moving forward begins with the recognition that the years of economic stagnation that followed the oil and gas bust created pessimistic stories, as some New Orleanians lost confidence. Many residents saw the city as a place with a golden past it could never hope to recapture. Competition over a shrinking economic pie eroded New Orleanians’ sense of shared destiny.

Yet with effective government, a new era of partnerships, and the shared political will to make tough decisions, New Orleans is poised over the next twenty years for a transformation that brings new economic growth, opportunity, and innovation into a city that continues to honor its roots. By 2030, the city can achieve the promise of this vision, adding to its story in tangible, visible and subtle ways.

How will this happen? Hurricane Katrina could have broken the city’s spirit, but it did just the reverse. In houses of worship, at dinner tables, and in the aisles of grocery stores in Houston, Memphis and Atlanta, New Orleanians told their Hurricane Katrina stories to each other—often complete strangers—who in turn shared, listened, and were moved. As people found common threads in their stories, they returned and wove them together, finding the collective will to write a remarkable new chapter together. This master plan contains their voices, hopes and determination. It sets the stage for the stories to come.

1. ^{Brookings Institution/Greater New Orleans Community Data Center. “New Orleans Index.” August, 2009. Available at: www.gnocdc.org. Retrieved August, 2009.}
2. ^{U.S. Census Bureau (2015, December). Annual Estimates of the Resident Population: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2015. Retrieved August 19, 2016, from http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=PEP_2015_PEPANNRES&prodType=table}

Livability, opportunity and sustainability—the overall themes of this master plan—are at the foundation of all communities in the 21st century. As New Orleans turns the corner from post-storm recovery planning to long-range planning for the next several decades, this plan seeks to provide guidance in addressing several fundamental questions: 

•  How do we keep the city safe from flooding and natural hazards? 
• How do we fund and rebuild our infrastructure? 
• How do we grow the city’s economy to provide opportunity for all residents and a prosperous future for our children? 
• How do we ensure that all residents can fulfill basic needs for decent and affordable housing, quality education, reliable health care, a robust transportation system, diverse parks and open spaces, varied recreation and useful community facilities? 
• How do we preserve and nurture New Orleans’ cultural, artistic and architectural heritage and sustain its cultural traditions (among them the traditions of ingenuity, inventiveness, cultural diversity, and the ability to adapt to change) for future generations? 
• How do we meet the needs of current residents while making a place for residents displaced by Hurricane Katrina who still have not been able to return home and attracting new residents from around the country and the world? 
• How do we provide predictable land use and zoning guidelines that both preserve the city’s historic character and encourage new development and economic growth—meeting the needs of developers and neighborhoods alike? 
• How do we ensure fair and meaningful public participation in implementing this plan and in future investment decisions—both public and private—that affect local quality of life? 

In answer to these questions, the plan provides: 

• A summary of the context that shapes the master plan. 
• A practical set of citywide goals and policies to guide civic leaders and public agencies in making decisions about public investments and priorities, including capital budgets. 
• Clear, step by step strategies and actions that public and private actors can take to achieve the goals. 
• A future land use map that describes the kinds of places we want to preserve and create, and guides the zoning regulations that will help to achieve them. 
• A framework for meaningful public participation in decision making about land use and development. 
• Benchmarks for the public to use in monitoring progress of the plan’s implementation. 
• A basis for advocacy for state and federal resources to support projects that the city cannot carry out on its own. 

Equity and resilience are the principles with which the citizens of New Orleans build communities by 
honoring our environment and each other. 

Equity

As an essential component toward achieving equity in New Orleans, the Master Plan builds upon the great strides we have made rebuilding our neighborhoods, celebrating our culture and sharing our unique landscape.  Every element of this Master plan will serve to engage all members of our city in visioning, crafting and implementing policies that affirm all citizens’ rights to economic opportunity, housing, recreation, education and health.  The goals of the Master Plan will align with the City of New Orleans’ Equity Strategy to improve the opportunities of the underserved and underrepresented and ensure their participation in the plans and projects that affect their lives. 

Resilience

As a framework for the city’s physical development and operations, the Master Plan will embrace Resilience by enhancing the capacity of individuals, communities, institutions, businesses, and systems in New Orleans to survive, adapt, and grow no matter what kinds of chronic stresses and acute shocks we may experience.  As we celebrate 300 years in our unique setting, we acknowledge with optimism and urgency that we must learn to live with and care for the natural systems which sustain the city as responsible stewards for future generations of New Orleanians.  The distinct urban character and unparalleled natural context of our city provide the challenges and opportunities that the Master Plan must address if it is to be the successful blueprint for our future. 

EQUITY

RESILIENCE

An equitable city government acts with purpose to achieve just and fair inclusion, ensuring that all residents participate, prosper, and reach their full potential.  It leverages its power and resources to dismantle institutional racism and discrimination wherever they exist.  It implements bold strategies to eliminate income and neighborhood inequities.

As a resilient City, New Orleans will: Adapt to thrive: By adapting our city to our natural environment and the risks of climate change, we can create opportunities for all New Orleanians to thrive. Connect to opportunity: By investing in equity – the driving force behind our economy’s growth and innovation, our communities’ safety and stability and our families’ health and prosperity – we are investing in resilience. Transform city systems: We are building a New Orleans for the Future – on that embraces change, prepares for risks of the future and honors our traditions.​

 

Just having a plan can help make it a reality. A good plan supported by a community consensus and a government committed to implement the plan attracts funding and private investment:

• A plan shows that the community knows what it wants. Funders and investors like to know what   to expect and what is expected of them, because it means that their investments can go to work more quickly
• A plan  shows  that  the  community  is  willing  to  invest  some  of  its  own  resources  to  achieve its goals. For example, when a community makes public improvements or works hard to improve its effectiveness, it demonstrates its seriousness about making the plan a reality.

• A  plan shows that; a community; knows what; to do with new; resources. Federal funds increasingly come with requirements for coordinated planning. Without a plan, funds can go unspents, even though needs are evident in the community. A citywide plan provides a framework of policies and strategies for using resources to accomplish goals.  

The plan has three parts: 

• Vol. 1—Executive Summary is a condensed version of the longer, technical plan. It presents the essential points of analysis and recommendations to tell the story of the plan. 
• Vol. 2—Strategies and Actions contains more detailed analysis, recommendations, maps and graphics in 16 chapters. This is the volume you are reading now. 
• Vol. 3—Context and Appendix includes additional background analysis, other materials prepared for this plan, and information resources.  

This document, the Technical Plan, is organized in five parts: 

•  Part One, “Setting the Stage”—provides the context for the plan, background information, a review of existing conditions, and a description of the Master Plan participation process. 
• Part Two, “How We Live”—focuses on four elements critical to the daily quality of life of everyone who lives in New Orleans now and who may come to live here in the future: Neighborhoods and Housing; Historic Preservation; Green Infrastructure Parks, Open Space and Recreation; and Health and Human Services. 
• Part Three, “How We Prosper”—concerns economic development. The chapter focuses on important existing, emerging and potential industries and sectors, and analyzes the environment for economic development, including workforce development, research capacity and technology commercialization, entrepreneurial culture and resources, and business-friendly government. 
• Part Four, “Sustainable Systems”—embraces the citywide systems that support residents and business: city facilities and services; water, sewer and drainage infrastructure; and transportation infrastructure and services. This section also incorporates a focus on managing storm and flooding risks and creating a resilient community that can bounce back quickly from stressful events thanks to a clear understanding of risks and how households, businesses and governments share responsibility for managing risk.  The Adapt to thrive: Environmental stewardship, disaster risk reduction, and climate change element concerns enhancement of New Orleans’ energy- efficiency, understanding and adapting to diverse aspects of climate change, and promoting resiliency. 

• Part Five, “From Plan to Action”—provides specific recommendations on how city government and other agencies can organize to implement the plan. It includes the Future Land Use Map (which must be reflected in zoning and land use decisions following the 2008 charter amendment), including conceptual plans for opportunity sites; a framework for the Citizen Participation Program (also mandated by the charter amendment); and a set of recommendations for improving organization, coordination and communication, information-sharing, accountability, and for making city decisionmaking and actions consistent with the Master Plan. This includes a newly strengthened requirement that the capital improvement plan and capital budget reflect the recommendations contained in the Master Plan.  

At the end of each of the chapters in parts Two through Five, there is an implementation matrix headed by a brief section, “Getting Started,” which lists a few quick actions that can be taken to get going on the recommendations of that chapter. Many of them are organizational and do not require new funding. The implementation matrix is a more detailed list of short-, medium-, and long term actions that will lead to 
achieving the goals. 
 
This Master Plan is prepared for use by residents, businesses and developers, nonprofit organizations, elected and appointed officials, the City’s administration and staff, and others with a stake in the future of New Orleans. Implementation will depend not only on government but on partnerships across the city. New Orleans residents can use this plan to further their understanding about how their neighborhoods fit into the broader patterns of community throughout the city. The plan’s vision and recommendations forthe future combine respect for the city’s past and its established way of life with exciting new opportunities for New Orleans in the 21st century. As a citywide framework, the Master Plan outlines a picture of the future, but the details have to be filled in by New Orleanians working together. 

Administration of the Land Use Plan 

1. Administrators 

The Executive Director of the City Planning Commission, or the Director’s designee, shall have the 
following authority, pursuant to this Master Plan: 

1. To make final decisions on minor map adjustments to the Future Land Use Map. 
2. To make final decisions on interpretations of the Future Land Use Map 

 The City Planning Commission shall have the following authority, pursuant to this Master Plan: 

1. To make final decisions on appeals of minor map adjustments to the Future Land Use Map by the Executive Director of the City Planning Commission. 
2. To make final decisions on appeals of interpretations of the Future Land Use map by the Executive Director of the City Planning Commission. 

 Appeals of the City Planning Commission’s review of the Executive Director’s decision on appeals of minor map adjustments to the Future Land Use Map and interpretations of the Future Land Use Map shall be under the jurisdiction of the Orleans Parish Civil District Court. 

The City Council shall have the following authority pursuant to the City Charter: 

1. To make final decisions on amendments to the Master Plan 
2.    Interpretation of Land Use Plan Language 

As discussed above, the City Charter mandates that land use actions have the “force of law” – that they further, or at least not interfere with, the goals, policies, and guidelines of the Land Use Element, and that they be compatible with the proposed future land uses, densities, and intensities designated in the Land Use Element.  Accordingly, the language of the Land Use Plan shall be interpreted in accordance with the “Interpretation of Laws” elements of the Louisiana Civil Code: 

When a law is clear and unambiguous and its application does not lead to absurd consequences, the law shall be applied as written and no further interpretation may be made in search of the intent of the Legislature.  La. Civ. Code Art. 9. 

• When the language of a law is susceptible of different meanings, it must be interpreted as having the meaning that best conforms to the purpose of the law.  La. Civ. Code Art. 10. 
• The words of a law must be given their generally prevailing meaning.  Words of art and technical terms must be given their technical meaning when the law involves a technical matter.  La. Civ. Code Art. 11. 
• When the words of a law are ambiguous, their meaning must be sought by examining the context in which they occur and the text of the law as a whole.  La. Civ. Code Art. 12. 
• Laws on the same subject matter must be interpreted in reference to each other.  La. Civ. Code Art. 13. 

Louisiana Civil Code Article 13 – providing that laws on the same subject matter must be interpreted in reference to each other – is especially important with respect to consistency determinations.  It may be tempting to pull out isolated passages from the Land Use Element in arguing that a particular proposal is consistent with the Master Plan.  However, Article 13 makes clear that in order to be deemed consistent, a proposal must be evaluated against all of the relevant language of the Land Use Element.  For example, relying on broad, non-specific language describing a land use goal cannot be sufficient to establish consistency if the proposal is not compatible with the specific language describing the Future Land Use Category that applies to the site.

 

In this respect, the Future Land Use Category descriptions – found in Section C of this Chapter – are probably the most important language in the Land Use Element for consistency determinations because they speak directly to the specific places in which projects will be proposed.  Unlike the other provisions of the Land Use Element, the Future Land Use Category descriptions establish specific land use goals for each part of the city, delineate the specific uses permitted in these areas, and define the desired development character for each category.  In short, the Future Land Use Category descriptions essentially define what consistency means for each category.  As a general rule of thumb, if a proposa is not compatible with the Future Land Use Category description for a specific location, the proposal is not consistent with the Master Plan.   

3. “Force of Law” Consistency Determinations

Louisiana Civil Code Article 13 – providing that laws on the same subject matter must be interpreted in reference to each other – is especially important with respect to consistency determinations. It may be tempting to pull out isolated passages from the Land Use Element in arguing that a particular proposal is consistent with the Master Plan. However, Article 13 makes clear that in order to be deemed consistent, a proposal must be evaluated against all of the relevant language of the Land Use Element. For example, relying on broad, non-specific language describing a land use goal cannot be sufficient to establish consistency if the proposal is not compatible with the specific language describing the Future Land Use Category that applies to the site. In this respect, the Future Land Use Category descriptions – found in Section C of this Chapter – are probably the most important language in the Land Use Element for consistency determinations because they speak directly to the specific places in which projects will be proposed. Unlike the other provisions of the Land Use Element, the Future Land Use Category descriptions establish specific land use goals for each part of the city, delineate the specific uses permitted in these areas, and define the desired development character for each category. In short, the Future Land Use Category descriptions essentially define what consistency means for each category. As a general rule of thumb, if a proposal is not compatible with the Future Land Use Category description for a specific location, the proposal is not consistent with the Master Plan.

In this respect, the Future Land Use Category descriptions – found in Section C of this Chapter – are probably the most important language in the Land Use Element for consistency determinations because they speak directly to the specific places in which projects will be proposed. Unlike the other provisions of the Land Use Element, the Future Land Use Category descriptions establish specific land use goals for each part of the city, delineate the specific uses permitted in these areas, and define the desired development character for each category. In short, the Future Land Use Category descriptions essentially define what consistency means for each category. As a general rule of thumb, if a proposal is not compatible with the Future Land Use Category description for a specific location, the proposal is not consistent with the Master Plan.