Proponents of the Hospitality and Entertainment Taxing District have released a new draft of the bill they hope to get passed by the legislature this session.  Please click below to read this version.

Last night, over 100 concerned citizens attended a meeting hosted by VCPORA, French Quarter Citizens, and Faubourg Marigny Improvement Association to learn more about the proposed Hospitality and Entertainment Taxing Zone legislation.  What we heard loud and clear was the the public is unhappy with the bill (SB 573) as written.  You can read the article in the Times-Picayune here, and see the WWL-TV story here.


And below is the informational document that we passed out at the meeting.  In it, we try to answer as many questions as possible about the bill as filed.



What’s this all about?

There are some signficant concerns with a proposed Hospitality Zone (HZ) proposal, an initiative of Mayor Landrieu and the tourism industry to “promote tourism in the hospitality zone” and to improve the overall experience of tourists.  Concerns include its structure, lack of oversight and even the way in which it has been planned to date, in private meetings with no public planning. Here are some basics:
·    New taxes would be implemented in the downtown neighborhoods, including French Quarter, Marigny, Treme, CBD and Warehouse District.  Taxes are expected to include: 
o    Hotel rooms
o    Food and beverage (all restaurants and bars in the Zone)
o    Parking at hotels
·    Most of all the annual funds raised will be used for additional marketing to attract more tourists. 
·    A smaller amount will go to enhanced sanitation, improved infrastructure, and security in the Zone.

Bills:  There are multiple bills (SB 473, SB 573, SB 608, HB 967 with possible companion bills SB 588, SB 598, HB 855, HB 859) but the primary bill now is SB 573 which may be heard in the Senate’s Local and Municipal Affairs Committee.  Multiple amendments have been proposed, but none of been made public or adopted.

What is this $30 million pledge by the Convention Center?

In anticipation of the 2013 Super Bowl, the Convention Center pledged $30 million (to be matched with federal money) for infrastructure improvements in the HZ, including the French Quarter.  This money was raised from Hotel-Motel taxes levied to build Phase IV of the Convention Center, which was canceled.  Those dollars, according to published reports, will be spent on Super Bowl-inspired improvements REGARDLESS of whether a hospitality zone is created or not this year.  On the other hand, unpublished reports say the Convention Center will renege on its offer unless a hospitality taxing zone is created to ensure future funding.

What is proposed in the bill (as written today)?  All quotations are taken directly from SB 573.

·    Unelected Board:  A proposed “Superboard” will be made of tourism-industry appointments, excluding residents of the zone or even “regular” citizens of New Orleans unless they have a “substantial business interest” in the zone.  It is made up of 9 tourist industry leaders and 8 mayoral appointees – with all mayoral appointees serving “at his pleasure.”  This means, the Mayor or any future Mayor could remove board members at his discretion.  If negotiations add residential seats, it is anticipated they will be in the minority.

·    Gerrymandering:  The HZ can grow or shrink.  As written now, SB 573 includes the French Quarter, CBD, Warehouse District and “any other contiguous area formally designated by the mayor of New Orleans.”  (Some of the other bills specifically mention the Marigny triangle and Treme.) The bill also empowers the District itself to divide into smaller “subdistricts” enabling the district to draw out significant pockets of opposition for tax election purposes. 

·    Taxes on tourists AND residents:  Taxes include increased hotel-motel taxes with the vast majority of those proceeds funneled to the NOCVB and Marketing Corporation for marketing.  Other taxes, which will be paid by residents and other visitors, include an additional tax on prepared food and beverages consumed in the zone and “other activities within the Hospitality Zone that, as a class, benefit directly from tourism or tourist- related activities…”

·    Spending without accountability:  The unelected board is allowed to spend money “in furtherance of its purposes” without input from citizens, neighborhood organizations, the City Council or bodies like the French Quarter Management District.  There is little explicit guidance on how funds are spent.

What are bill backers saying?

·    The bill will be amended to reflect our concerns.  While amendments are being discussed, there is no guarantee at this late date that or how the bill will be amended for residents or even FQ businesses.  Conference committees are notoriously non-transparent in the Legislature: Ideas, once dismissed as dead, often come back to life. Last minute changes can be made without time for citizens to respond.

·    Distrust must end for the betterment of the French Quarter!  We couldn’t agree more!  Discussions about a hospitality taxing zone began between city government and industry officials nearly two years ago.  Residents and even FQ businesses were not brought into discussions until months later, after SEVEN bills were filed, and only after we requested information.  Trust is built with open dialogue and transparency - not by filing bills in the Legislature without input.

What neighborhood associations are saying?

·    What’s the rush?  While HZ proponents state without permanent funding, the $30 million investment in capital improvements will over time deteriorate –like investments made for the 1984 World’s Fair - there’s not a reason to rush.  We can do everything we need in the next Legislative session.  The Mayor, Governor, and most (if not all) of our Legislative delegation will be the same persons.  The $30 million in improvements should not need intense maintenance so soon - there’s time to get this right. 

·    What about FQMD?  The logical body to manage any funds targeted to the French Quarter is the French Quarter Management District, which already has the state-granted legal authority to do so.  It was set up after many months of discussion and compromise.  It represents residents, businesses, neighborhood associations, and elected leaders.  It was set-up to improve the Quarter for EVERYONE.

·    A tourism-dominated “Superboard” is a bad idea.  We welcome visitors!  However, our neighborhoods, including the world-famous French Quarter, do not belong to the tourism industry.  And, tax money, even when collected in hotels, does not belong to the tourism industry.  So, while tourism leaders should have a place at the table, they should not have so much power over the care and maintenance of our historic neighborhoods.

What should I do next?

Time is running out.  Tell your Legislators now how you feel.  To find your legislator, go online to http://senate.la.gov/Senators/ByAddress.htm Send a copy of your e-mail or letter to your neighborhood association.  We want to know your thoughts as well!    

       
           
   

   

VCPORA Annual Meeting

Monday, November 7, 2011

 Muriel’s Jackson Square

801 Chartres Street

 

6:30 p.m.  Socializing with complimentary wine and cash bar

7:00 p.m.  Annual Meeting and Election of Board

Program with Guest Speaker to follow the Annual Meeting

 

Election of Board of Directors for VCPORA

Message from the President

Program

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MANY THANKS to all of you who have taken the time to send emails to the City Council.  Your emails have made a difference, and have demonstrated that, despite the developer's claims to the contrary, there is widespread opposition to this particular project.


Whether you're in the French Quarter, Bywater, Lakeview, Mid-City, Carrollton, Treme, Broadmoor, New Orleans East, Faubourg St. John, or any of the other wonderful parts of New Orleans, this issue affects you because it's the first test of the Master Plan.  That's the document that is supposed to protect neighborhoods from having to deal with request after request after request for exemptions to the rules, and instead is supposed to allow for changes to the rule as a whole, once a year.

Fifty-five thousand voters enshrined the Master Plan in the city charter. Five thousand-plus people attended the numerous master planning and zoning meetings held all over the city.  It's clear that the citizens of New Orleans support the Master Plan and want a reliable, fair, and predictable land use process.  That's good for neighborhoods, businesses, and developers!

This out-of-scale, inappropriate design is being proposed at the iconic corner of Rampart and Canal, at the gateway to the French Quarter, a neighborhood which is valuable not just to those who live and work here, but to the entire city.  This project will have an effect on everyone - as VCPORA described in Why 1031 Canal Matters.

Please, if you haven't already, show the City Council that you care about protecting the French Quarter; that you care about the Master Plan; and send in an email.

And please join us on Thursday for the City Council vote.  We've been told that the matter will come up after 1 p.m.  Also, the council has placed a 15 minute time limit each for supporters and opponents to speak - what we really need are people in the audience, to show support for the Master Plan and protecting the French Quarter!

On Thursday, September 22, the City Council will take up a proposal to allow a 190’ tower in the French Quarter, at the corner of Rampart and Canal.  While VCPORA supports the redevelopment of that parcel, we cannot and do not support the specifics of the plans that are under consideration.  We believe that the proposed building’s design would harm the character, charm and tout ensemble of our neighborhood, but just as importantly, that approval of this plan would seriously undermine the Master Plan via a huge override of its companion Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance.
 
 
Please tell the City Council that we want to end the era of ad hoc planning and what Council President Jackie Clarkson has called the practice of developers “kissing the ring” to get what they want. Ask them respectfully to vote against this proposal by the developer of 1031 Canal.


Dear City Council Members:

I’m writing to urge you to vote against the proposal to allow a massive 190’ building at the corner of Canal and Rampart Streets.

The City Planning Commission staff’s recommendation – based on the new proposed Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance (CZO) – is for a height limit of 120’ on Canal Street and 70’ on Iberville Street.  An approval for anything in excess of those heights would violate the spirit and intent of the Master Plan, which was supposed to end the practice of allowing parcel-by-parcel zoning changes, ushering in an era of fairness and predictability to our land use decisions.

Citizens voted to enshrine the Master Plan in the City Charter to ensure that it could not be tinkered with.  Changes, when needed, should be made to entire districts, not for individual properties and their property owners.  That’s not good planning and it’s not fair.

A vote for this project would break faith with the tens of thousands of citizens who want to create a local economy driven by a strong efficient planning process.

Please, vote no to this 1031 Canal proposal – to protect the invaluable, irreplaceable French Quarter, and to demonstrate support for the Master Plan and CZO!

Regards,    

Dear Neighbors and friends,
 
A lot has been written about 1031 Canal Street, at the corner with North Rampart.  VCPORA would like to share with you why this issue should be of interest to all of us who love New Orleans.
 
Isn’t redevelopment of that corner good?  OF COURSE!  VCPORA wholeheartedly supports redevelopment of that parcel, as I’m sure you do!
 
So, doesn’t that mean that we have to accept this proposal?  As a community, we can do much better.  With the reopening of the Saenger and Joy Theaters, the coming Rampart Streetcar, and the redevelopment of the Iberville Housing Development, the only thing that might stop that corner from redeveloping is, frankly, greed.  That area is so prime for development, it’s hard to believe that someone will not develop it.
 
Fairness – and the Master Plan – dictate that the rules should be followed.  As a community, New Orleans citizens voted to change the Master Plan because we wanted to stop the project-specific “spot zoning.”  Why would should this developer be given a pass to good public policy?
 
Is that corner part of the French Quarter?  The boundaries of the National (note, not city) Historic Landmark district go to the center of Canal Street – and that designation is the most important that this country can bestow on a site.  (Other National Historic Landmarks include the Brooklyn Bridge, the Pearl Harbor Naval Base, and the home of Harriet Beecher Stowe.)
 
What’s wrong with tall and dense buildings?  The important thing is context.  Virtually all respected urban planners agree that the low rise of the old French Quarter should gradually slope up in height and density as you go farther away from the French Quarter.  That’s why unlimited height is allowed on Poydras Street, not Canal.  Planners urge that there NOT be a cliff of non-historic high rise buildings at the edge of the Quarter.  Transition matters.
 
Can’t we just grant an exception here?  Why do the rules apply to some and not to others?  Fairness matters. When the public voted for the city charter change for the Master Plan, they said, “Stop the ‘spot zoning.’  Stop changing the rules for one developer at a time.”  That’s exactly what the current 1031 Canal Street proposal would do.  It’s not fair to others who do play by the rules, and it is blatant disregard for the Master Plan. This would be a terrible precedent.  It’s the “old way” of city government.  We are hopeful that our current leaders recognize that planning = fairness = progress.
 
Why turn down an investment like this?  Experts agree that in the long run, these kinds of exceptions are harmful to the real estate market because they encourage speculation, which can lead to vacancies and blight.  But don’t take our word for it – listen to David Dixon of Goody Clancy, the nationally respected planning firm who headed the Master Planning process for our city:  When in New Orleans, he explained that when a city is well known for giving massive variances to the Master Plan and Zoning Ordinance, this actually pushes up the value of the properties in those areas, which then pushes up the cost of buying these properties, which then pushes up the developers’ demands (like height and mass) needed to “make the numbers work.”
 
He continued, if you have a city system in which the rules are known in advance, and everyone plays by the same rules, not only is it more fair, the market finds its own balance and you’ll find MORE projects being developed.  In other words, this “greed temptation”, if you’ll excuse our phrase, actually leads to lack of development!
 
Why should 1031 Canal matter to you?  This is the first major challenge to the Master Plan since its adoption.  Let’s continue the progress made by this city since Katrina.  Let’s not go back to the old way of doing business here.  I hope you’ll agree with me, we can do better, and we must do better.
 

Carol Allen
President
Vieux Carre Property Owners, Residents & Associates, Inc.
July 24, 2011    

Since November, we've been telling you about a proposal to construct a building at the corner of Canal and Rampart Streets on the site of the former Woolworths.  Recent plans had the building at 189' - over two and a half times the height limit of 75' -

   

GALA TICKETS: $150 EACH	PATRON TICKETS: $250 EACH
Please specify: Single $150.00 Pair $300.00	Please specify: Single $250.00 Pair $500.00

   

          



 

•     A 2 night stay at the Monmouth Plantation in Natchez   
•     Wine tasting for 6
•     New Orleans Athletic Club membership
•     An exquisite brunch or dinner at the Bourbon Street home of Anthony Marino

   
                        Monmouth Plantation                  New Orleans Athletic Club               Marino Kitchen
 
But there’s even more!  You could:

•  Treat your pet to a spa grooming treatment, or a visit to the French Quarter Vet.
•  Invite friends and neighbors over to enjoy hand rolled cigars after a night at the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra
• Get creative with professional design consultants who have an eye for fine detail.  They'll help provide you with a personalized interior design and garden/patio consultation.
• Antiques, antiques, antiques..a chandelier, Cheng Dynasty platter, Beleek vase...and many more!

  

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