More Live Entertainment In FQ?
Details of new zoning ordinance reveal possible spread of live entertainment to restaurants

By Lee Tucker

The city is putting the final touches on the new Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance and the new city Master Plan. The Master Plan is not a zoning law but does make general recommendations about the best use of specific areas so they fit into the master plan and thereby influences future zoning designations. Many of the recommendations that were made by the residents of the Vieux Carré have been reflected in the new CZO and Master Plan. However, at the risk of being trite, the devil is in the details.

For example, the new CZO allows live entertainment in places where it is now prohibited, such as in all standard restaurants [Section 4.3.7 on Pages 4-64 to 66 of the new CZO]. This could happen without changing the zoning, by changing what is allowed under current uses in a specific zone. Under the present zoning laws, live entertainment is permitted ONLY in a VCE (Vieux Carré Entertainment) zone in the French Quarter. Under the new CZO, live entertainment would be permitted in VCC-1 (Vieux Carré Commercial-1), in VCC-2 (Vieux Carré Commercial-2), and in VCS (Vieux Carré Service) zones [Page 4-9 and Map 1b of the new CZO]. Taken to its logical conclusion this could turn most of the Vieux Carré into an entertainment zone. The live entertainment would be limited to no more than a three-person combo, but that alone could produce all the quality of life problems associated with live entertainment close to residential areas.

There is already a built-in zoning problem in the Vieux Carré, in that there are so many zones in such a small area, that it is next to impossible to resolve conflicts. Ideally, zoning areas are big enough so that conflicts on the borders of zones affect only a minor portion of the zone. However, in the Vieux Carré some zones are so small that they consist entirely of borders. There are more zones in the Vieux Carré than in the rest of the city! Therefore, we need to at the least maintain the integrity of the current VCC zoning.

The CZO is still a work in progress and overall a great improvement, but it needs everyone's considered attention. The PRC meeting on January 7 will consider the impact of the sections of the ordinance which would allow live entertainment in standard restaurants. The above referenced sections of the new CZO can be accessed on the web at www.new-orleans.la.us/cnoweb/cpc.