Held on John Andrews’ back porch. Present: Julie Jones, Anthony Eschmann, John Andrews, Susan Korec, Joe Brown, Brian Luckett, Tyler Harwood, Molly Henderson
The meeting started at 7:17 p.m. with a discussion of what to do for our next meeting, which would fall on Ash Wednesday this year. All agreed postponing is necessary. This would be the meeting that the annual board member election is held.
The owners of the “Sun Yard” property (3000-3032 St. Claude – the old “Truck Farm”) are once again requesting a zoning change for the back part of the property, technically key lots, from HMR3 (residential) to HMC2 (commercial). [https://council.nola.gov/getattachment/979fffa8-d4f7-4a7e-91a3-e1fe177772b9/file – page 36] The motive is unknown. Councilmember King visited the property and met neighbors yesterday and is requesting the proposal, which was on the agenda for Feb. 17, be deferred to April 7. Neighbors have asked for NFB support once again and it would be good to have them come to the next general meeting to inform membership of what is happening. Since the proposed deferral would put the item up again on April 7th it was agreed it would be good not to postpone our next meeting until what would be our next usual time, April 6th.
Brian suggests we invite someone to speak about the port expansion in St Bernard Parish. Port of New Orleans has acquired a large piece of land to build a cargo terminal, but there are serious concerns about traffic and other impacts to the surrounding area. Port traffic could be a problem for Bywater if trucks use St. Claude Ave. Brian agreed to see when the period for public comment ends so we can be sure to invite a speaker before then.
Other issues the City Council are currently discussing are changes to the CZO regarding outdoor live entertainment permits and “parklets” (outdoor seating areas in the street for bars and restaurants). Staying aware of what is happening would be judicious as either could have a big impact on near neighbors.
It was agreed we should push the March general meeting back one week to March 9th. We will invite neighbors of the 3000-3032 St. Claude property and someone from St Bernard Parish if possible. The meeting will be held on Zoom. Tyler will research if holding the vote for board members is possible on Zoom, or if another electronic method may work better. An email will be sent to membership seeking any potential new nominees.
The meeting ended at 8:15 p.m.
Submitted by Tyler Harwood, secretary