FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

May 2, 2024

Councilmembers with Tahj Williams and Flagboy Giz

New Emergency Reporting Penalties for Residential Care Providers 

The Council passed an amendment to the City Code via Ordinance 34,632 to institute a daily fine for any residential facility that fails to provide situational updates to the New Orleans Health Department during a declared emergency. This will improve preparedness and response efforts during hurricanes, as well as longer and less acute declared emergencies such as saltwater, extreme heat, etc., by addressing the lack of compliance measures for failures to report currently in the City Code. 

During times of declared emergencies or disasters in New Orleans, all residential facilities will be required to provide situational updates to the City at least once every 24 hours, have a point of contact on-site at the facility and available at all times, and give immediate notification by email or phone to the Office of Homeland Security or Health Department if the facility evacuates, temporarily relocates, or stops operations. Furthermore, all facilities for seniors or those with disabilities will be required to submit an evacuation plan to the Department of Safety and Permits, which must be updated annually. 

Council Funds Summer Youth Feeding Program 

While the Louisiana Legislature is moving forward to fund the Summer EBT program for 2024 despite State agencies rejecting the program earlier this year, the question remains whether the State, even though funding will likely be available, will administer the program this summer.

In preparation for a worst-case scenario, the Council passed Ordinances 34,657 and 34,658, which allocate $1 million from the City Budget to the New Orleans Health Department for the Summer Youth Feeding Program. This money will boost resources at Second Harvest Food Bank, helping to provide food to more than ten thousand families in need.

Odyssey House Partnership for Homeless Shelter Services

The Council approved Motion M-24-212, authorizing a contract between the City and Odyssey House of Louisiana, Inc. to provide emergency shelter services to approximately 296 homeless individuals in New Orleans on the second and third floor of the Low Barrier Homeless Shelter at 1530 Gravier St. The year-long agreement includes $3.25 million for Odyssey House to offer housing with three balanced meals a day, as well as staffing and security services to ensure a clean and safe environment for residents at the facility.

Odyssey House will officially start its operations at the Low Barrier Shelter on June 1. 

This partnership represents ongoing efforts by the Council and Administration to meet the needs of homeless residents and their families. 

Zoning Changes Aimed at Increasing Affordable Housing Developments

The Council passed several zoning instruments today to reduce certain barriers for developers and support the construction of more affordable housing units across the city.

Motion M-24-211 amends the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance (CZO) to permit by-right dwellings above the ground floor in many commercial and institutional zoning districts. 

Many historic and suburban non-residential zoning districts already permit above-the-ground dwelling units by right. However, mixed-use developments in certain zoning districts require developers to go through the conditional use process to allow dwelling units above the ground floor to create mixed-use developments. Other districts do not permit dwellings above the ground floor at all. Today's amendment will align the land use regulations for dwellings above the ground floor with existing zoning permissions for multifamily housing, while also permitting by right above-ground residential units within mixed-use developments in more intense commercial and institutional zoning districts. All of these changes are expected to address the city's lack of affordable housing units, especially in areas close to downtown amenities and jobs.

In a separate motion (M-24-200), the Council approved a CZO amendment updating small multi-family affordable (SMFA) regulations so that these developments can be spread across two detached structures on one lot. The SMFA use was created in 2022 as another way to encourage the creation of more affordable housing through low-density fourplexes that must include at least one affordable unit. Only eight of these projects have been created since then. Developers have pointed to one significant barrier to their development: the International Building Code requires that three- and four-unit developments must include commercial sprinklers, which are cost-prohibitive. By allowing SMFAs to be spread across two units on one lot of record, today's change will allow developers to immediately move forward with affordable housing projects without including sprinklers. Several developers with stalled projects will soon begin work, thanks to the new SMFA regulations.

Third-Party Consultant to Review High-Profile Police Cases

Through Motion M-24-213, the Council signed off on a professional services agreement between the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) and Transcendent Law Group for a year-long independent investigation into high-profile cases. 

Action to Ensure Timely Payment of Judgment Creditors

Motion M-24-199 authorizes the Department of Finance Director, in consultation with the City Attorney, to issue payments from the Judgment Fund to unpaid judgment creditors who have confected settlements of their judgments against the City within 30 days. The Council has appropriated nearly $11 million to the City’s Judgment Fund to significantly reduce the sum of unpaid judgments accrued by the City. Despite the available money in the fund and efforts of the Law Department to negotiate settlements and decrease the City’s total judgment liability, judgment creditors who agreed to settle all or a portion of their claims have not been tendered the agreed-upon proceeds. Through this motion, the Council is utilizing its legislative authority to direct immediate payment of these individuals.

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Media Contact:

Paul Harang

Chief of Staff

504.658.1101

Paul.Harang@nola.gov