The New Orleans City Charter requires that the City Planning Commission (CPC) prepare a long-term Master Plan. Before Katrina, the CPC had been working on a Master Plan for several years and had approved some sections of the plan. These older sections will be reviewed and updated, while new sections will be prepared on topics such as housing and human services, infrastructure and facilities, environmental quality, and economic development. The New Orleans Master Plan will focus on integrating and balancing the many interests and perspectives of neighborhoods, organizations and more, while defining a “roadmap” for the city’s future. When completed, the Master Plan will:

 

• Provide vision, goals, policy and strategic guidance, and an action plan for the future physical development of the city.
• Guide the city to actively seek positive change and deflect negative change, rather than simply react after change has occured.
• Provide predictability for residents, businesses, and developers.
• Help the city save money because it plans for orderly investment in services, facilities and infrastructure.
• Help New Orleans preserve the sense of place and identity that make it unique.

The Master Plan content will be developed through a community engagement process. The Master Plan will be organized to cover the following topics:

Vision and Principles

The City’s vision for the future and the principles that will guide city decision makers to achieve that future

How We Live

Housing and Human Services: promoting neighborhood quality of life, affordable housing, and human services

• Parks and Recreation: maintaining and expanding park and recreation opportunities
• Historic Preservation: preserving New Orleans’ historic neighborhoods

How We Prosper

• Economic Development (including Tourism): creating economic opportunities for all New Orleanians

   

Sustainable Systems

 

Future Vision

draft and final versions of each chapter within the Master Plan will be posted to this website.

 

 

• Environmental Quality and Sustainability (including Natural Hazards and Energy): “greening” and protecting the future city
• Community Facilities and Infrastructure: maintaining and expanding infrastructure and facilities to serve the whole city
• Transportation: promoting a multifaceted and efficient system of transportation choices
• Arts and Culture: supporting artists, cultural institutions and cultural visitors to maintain the city’s cultural uniqueness

 

• Future Land Use: identifying the general type and density of land uses desired in the future
• Stewardship and Citizen Participation: reviewing the plan regularly and ensuring citizen participation in land use and development decisions.

Each of the Master Plan elements will include an implementation and action plan identifying WHAT should be done, HOW it should be done, WHO should do it, WHEN it should be done, and WHERE the funding could come from. The new Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance will reflect the land use policies in the Master Plan as they become available.