CALL TO ACTION! Defeat SB 75!
***CALL TO ACTION!!!***
YOUR HELP NEEDED TO DEFEAT
SENATE BILL 75
In November, 2008, with the broad-based support of citizen and neighborhood leaders, business and good government groups and developers, the voters of New Orleans approved a charter change to give the city's master plan the force of law.
Now, despite that favorable vote, Sen. Ed Murray of New Orleans has introduced legislation (SB 75) to require yet another favorable vote of the citizens of New Orleans. That's not fair!
THE TRUTH ABOUT SB 75:
- IT'S AN EFFORT TO UNDO A VOTE OF THE PEOPLE
- IT'S AN ATTEMPT TO RE-POLITICIZE THE PLANNING PROCESS
- IT'S A VIOLATION OF THE CITY'S HOME RULE CHARTER! (the city attorney agrees!)
New Orleans went through months of discussion about the charter change. It was on the ballot of the biggest turn-out election in the city's recent history. Since then, thousands and thousands of citizens have participated in dozens of planning meetings all over the city. This bill seeks to undo all of that, and to KEEP POLITICS THE DRIVING FORCE IN OUR CITY’S LAND USE PROCESS.
It is critical that you make your voice heard.
PLEASE EMAIL THE LEGISLATORS TO LET THEM KNOW THAT YOU WANT THEM TO VOTE
AGAINST SENATE BILL 75!!!
TAKE ACTION NOW! It takes only a minute. Go to:
https://secure2.convio.net/cgno/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=281
and PLEASE personalize your message!
***CALL TO ACTION!!!***
YOUR HELP NEEDED TO DEFEAT
SENATE BILL 75
In November, 2008, with the broad-based support of citizen and neighborhood leaders, business and good government groups and developers, the voters of New Orleans approved a charter change to give the city's master plan the force of law.
Now, despite that favorable vote, Sen. Ed Murray of New Orleans has introduced legislation (SB 75) to require yet another favorable vote of the citizens of New Orleans. That's not fair!
THE TRUTH ABOUT SB 75:
- IT'S AN EFFORT TO UNDO A VOTE OF THE PEOPLE
- IT'S AN ATTEMPT TO RE-POLITICIZE THE PLANNING PROCESS
- IT'S A VIOLATION OF THE CITY'S HOME RULE CHARTER! (the city attorney agrees!)
New Orleans went through months of discussion about the charter change. It was on the ballot of the biggest turn-out election in the city's recent history. Since then, thousands and thousands of citizens have participated in dozens of planning meetings all over the city. This bill seeks to undo all of that, and to KEEP POLITICS THE DRIVING FORCE IN OUR CITY’S LAND USE PROCESS.
It is critical that you make your voice heard.
PLEASE EMAIL THESE LEGISLATORS TO LET THEM KNOW THAT YOU WANT THEM TO VOTE
AGAINST SENATE BILL 75!!!
TAKE ACTION NOW! It takes only a minute. Go to:
https://secure2.convio.net/cgno/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=281
and PLEASE personalize your message!
*************
THE FOLLOWING GROUPS SUPPORTED THE CHARTER CHANGE -
THEY KNOW IT'S A GOOD GOVERNMENT EFFORT!
The Times Picayune
Gambit Weekly
New Orleans City Business
Bureau of Governmental Research
Citizens for 1 Greater New Orleans
The American Planning Association
Committee for a Better New Orleans/Metropolitan Area Committee
League of Women Voters
New Orleans City Council (Approved by 7-0 Vote)
The Downtown Development District
National Trust for Historic Preservation
The Business Council of New Orleans and the River Region
The American Institute of Architects
Vieux Carre Commission
The African American Male and Female Institute
Baptist Pastors Conference
The Berman Group, Economic Development Consultants
Corporate Realty
City-Wide Tenants Organization
Louisiana Speaks
The Preservation Resource Center
Smart Growth Louisiana
Stay Local + The Urban Conservancy
Renaissance Neighborhood Development Corporation
Audubon Riverside Neighborhood Association
Bakery Condominium Association
Bouligny Improvement Association
Coliseum Square Association
French Quarter Citizens
Garden District Association
Gibbs Development
Guste Homes Resident Management Association
Lafayette Square Association
Maple Area Residents, Inc.
Mid City Neighborhood Association
North Rampart Main Street
Old Algiers Main Street Corporation
Vieux Carre Property Owners and Residents Association
REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD OPPOSE THE BILL
* SB 75 violates the Home Rule Charter and therefore is unconstitutional
* Senate bill 75, by requiring a vote of New Orleans citizens before the city’s ongoing Master Plan can become law, is a functional amendment to the New Orleans Home Rule Charter; and, therefore, unconstitutional.
* By granting to the City of New Orleans a charter to conduct it own affairs decades ago, the state legislature can not come in at this late date and impose requirements on the city that nullify procedures outlined in the city’s current charter -- procedures related to land use planning, incidentally, that were approved by voters of the city on November, 4, 2008.
* Citizen Participation Process assures a forum for input prior to implementation
* Protection for citizens and the assurance that a Master Plan will be produced that will reflect the values and aspirations of the populace is already insured in the language of the New Orleans Home Rule Charter.
* Before the Master Plan can become law, it must receive a favorable vote by the City Planning Commission, following a public hearing. That same plan must go to the City Council, where there will be another public hearing, and following that hearing, the Council will decide whether of not to approve the Master Plan.
* Under the recent amendments to the City Charter adopted in November of last year, should the City Council amend the plan that bubbles up to them from the Planning Commission, the plan must go back to the Commission for another public hearing – a second bite of the apple – before it must go back to the Council for a final vote.
* This extensive and well-thought-out procedural process insures that an approved Master Plan will indeed reflect the will of the community, and a requirement for a municipal vote on the plan to insure citizen approval of the plan is unwarranted and an unnecessary expense.
* A formal citizen participation process is currently being created and must be implemented adopted by City Council no later than 10 months from now. The 18 month clock started clicking with our vote on the Charter Change. The details proposed in the plan can be implemented only AFTER projects are vetted through the proposed process.