Inclusionary Zoning Under Consideration in New Orleans

Alex Woodward reports on the details of a City Planning Commission Staff Report [pdf] released recently that requests a text amendment to the city's Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance, in the words of the report, "to incorporate certain recommendations and initiatives contained in the 'Smart Housing Mix Ordinance Study' to specifically capture three potential mandatory inclusionary zoning initiatives."

According to Woodward, City Planning Commission staff recommends that units created by inclusionary zoning "remain affordable for at least 99 years and create housing in centrally located and desirable neighborhoods where cost-burdened residents are feeling the squeeze or displaced further from work, schools and other services."

The city shelved recommendations from a 2017 study on the matter, according to Woodward, and the possibility of inclusionary zoning anywhere in Louisiana was under threat until "Gov. John Bel Edwards vetoed a measure that would prevent municipalities from instituting their own inclusionary zoning requirements, only on the condition that New Orleans decide whether it wants them, otherwise he’ll plan to sign similar legislation next year."

The reports presents inclusionary zoning as a necessary step to combat the city's worsening housing crisis.