NEW ORLEANS (WGNO)— The City Planning Commission held a meeting today to discuss the on-going issue of short term rentals in New Orleans. Neighborhood organizations feel the City Planning Commission’s plans are inadequate and want a complete ban of these rentals in neighborhoods.
The message is clear. Vieux Carre Property Owners do not want short term rentals in their neighborhood.
“Places where people used to have neighbors now all of a sudden. There’s bachelorette parties and a neighborhood should be a neighborhood,” Nathan Chapman, President of VCPORA said.
Nathan Chapman put up the billboard on Canal Street near The Saenger Theater to get the City Council’s attention.
“We put this billboard up to say don’t forget about the French Quarter with a total ban,” he said.
Since the 1960’s short term rentals have been banned in the French Quarter and that’s the way they want it to stay when the City Planning Commission reconsiders short term rental zoning laws.
“Neighbors are complaining their neighborhoods are almost not neighborhoods anymore,” Chapman said.
Other neighborhood organizations and advocacy groups feel the City Planning Commission’s recommendations are inadequate and need revisions especially with unlimited permitting for bed and breakfasts and they want to restrict short term rentals from two per block.
“We are under assault by short term rentals. This is a real pivotal point if we don’t pass the right laws we will see a massive increase in developers coming here,” Y. Frank Southall, Community Engagement Manager at Jane Place said.
They feel only commercial areas should allow them.
“We only want to see short term rentals in CBD zoning districts,” Southall said.
They also feel owners need to be restricted on how many properties they can operate and they wan the Commission to consider capping it to six people staying in a rental property rather than ten in residential neighborhoods.
“If people want to rent a room out of their home that is great, but once it becomes a commercial enterprise that’s something different,” Southall said.
The City Planning Commission’s recommendations will go before City Council. A federal judge said by the end of March there needs to be new short term rental laws.
