Ordinance Passed to Bring Vacant Corner Commercial Buildings Back into Commerce

October 29, 2024 | From City of New Orleans

Ordinance Passed to Bring Vacant Corner Commercial Buildings Back into Commerce

An ordinance signed by Mayor LaToya Cantrell and spearheaded by the Mayor's Office of Community Assets and Investment will help bring vacant, historic corner commercial buildings back into commerce, while supporting small businesses. The ordinance was recently approved by the New Orleans City Council.

This initiative is a part of the Residential Diversity Overlay 1 (RDO-1), which has existed in the Marigny/Bywater neighborhoods since 2002 and has served as a useful zoning tool to redevelop vacant corner commercial buildings, firehouses, churches, and other historic structures into small, local businesses. The recently approved ordinance will now expand the existing overlay into the 7th, 8th, and 9th wards. A similar overlay was established by neighborhood groups in parts of the Treme community in 2010, as well. The Residential Diversity Overlays can help with historic preservation of structures and can reduce spot zoning. The RDOs were created to help redevelop blighted, historic properties that had a history of non-residential use, but became non-conforming uses as the zoning code changed in the latter half of the 20^th century.

The following non-residential uses are now permitted in the RDO-1 area to include, doctor's offices, dental clinics, banks and financial institutions, general business offices, retail goods establishments, such as bakeries, delis, specialty restaurants like coffee shops, ice cream parlors, and sweets shops, personal services establishments, pet stores, art studios and galleries, and cultural facilities. All are prohibited from the sale of alcohol and have additional restrictions on their hours of operations, among other nuisance related restrictions.

The City has identified more than 50 properties that can benefit from the expanded options of the RDO but are not compelled to build commercial businesses on their properties.

Learn more at:

https://nola.gov/next/community-assets-and-investment/topics/policy/rdo-1-residential-diversity-overlay-district/ or by contacting the Safety and Permits at (504) 658-7200 or [email protected].