City Planning Commission set votes on monastery reuse and data center ban; BZA Rules Committee adjourns without action
The New Orleans City Planning Commission was scheduled July 28 to vote on converting a former monastery at 720 Henry Clay Avenue into multi-family housing and on a text amendment that would create an interim zoning district banning data center operations. Official minutes from that meeting have not yet been published, so the outcomes are not yet available in the public record.
City Planning Commission — July 28 (agenda only)
The Commission's posted agenda listed three items:
- **Zoning Docket 073/26:** Adaptive reuse of the monastery at 720 Henry Clay Avenue into multi-family dwellings in the HU-RD2 District.
- **Zoning Docket 036/26:** Text amendment to create a Data Center Interim Zoning District, which would prohibit data center operations.
- **Ratification of subdivision applications** that staff have already approved administratively.
The Commission was also set to adopt minutes from its July 14 meeting. Because only the agenda is available, this roundup reports what was scheduled, not what was decided.
Board of Zoning Adjustments — July 20 public hearing (agenda only)
The Board of Zoning Adjustments posted 18 zoning variance and appeal cases for a public hearing. Listed items included:
- **BZA032-26:** Variance at 2022-24 Philip Street (Team Robot, LLC)
- **BZA050-26:** Variance at 6500 Vicksburg Street (Katie Beck Mitchell)
- **BZA053-26:** Variance at 3914 Prytania Street & 3915 Perrier Street (Rosalyn L'Amir)
- **BZA058-26:** Appeal at 4501 Toulouse Street (JNJ Amusement, LLC)
- **BZA060-26:** Appeal at 7600 Maple Street (MGZ, LLC)
Minutes have not been published, so no vote tallies or outcomes are available.
BZA Rules Committee — July 29 (decided)
The Board of Zoning Adjustments Rules Committee reviewed Section I and Section II through C.5 of its Rules, Policies and Procedures, with staff and legal counsel discussing possible revisions. No formal actions or amendments were adopted. The meeting adjourned on a 3-0 vote.
Coming up
- **Aug. 5 — Planning Advisory Committee:** Meeting cancelled because there are no items to consider. The PAC advises the Executive Director on technical issues and does not approve projects, zoning changes, or property transactions.
- **Aug. 11 — City Planning Commission:** Public hearing on seven zoning and conditional use requests, including a multi-family expansion at 1227-1229 Calhoun Street; a zoning change and retail alcohol sale request at 3315-3319 North Galvez Street; a conditional use for a hotel over 10,000 square feet at 1722-1732 Pauger Street; Trinity School campus expansion and nursery school construction at 1223 Josephine Street; and a conditional use for a standard restaurant at 4001 Magazine Street and 910 Constantinople Street.
- **Aug. 17 — Board of Zoning Adjustments:** Several variance and appeal cases, including a court-remanded request for a 75-unit multi-family dwelling at 1100 Sere Street (remanded by the Louisiana Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal); a Mardi Gras den variance at 201 De Armas Street; a front-yard swimming pool, cabana, and parking pad at 3322 Esplanade Avenue; an appeal regarding a permit for an 80,500 square foot prison facility at 2900 Perdido Street; and an appeal on legal non-conforming use status for a hotel at 717 Barracks Street.