Board of Zoning Adjustments                                                                                              1300 Perdido St                                                                                                               New Orleans, LA 70112

Docket 064-20

Dear Board of Zoning Adjustment Members, We are writing in opposition of BZA Docket Number 104-19, which would allow the applicant to build a two family residence with insufficient lot depth (Article 9, Section 9.3.A (Table 9-2) – Lot Depth). This two family residence would be a two-story home ( in a neighborhood of one-story homes) that is out of context for our neighborhood.

We oppose this variance on the following violations of the Nine Criteria of Section  4.6.F of the CZO:

Section 5- “The variance, if granted, will not alter the essential character of the locality”- The CZO allows for two-family dwellings, but states that it should “protect the existing residential development and maintain the desirable character of such development. This is a neighborhood of one story residential properties, with a significant number of them shotgun doubles. This property, which the applicant has referred to as a “stacked double” is not consistent with our Historic District and would prove to be an outlier, a clear violation of Section 5.

Section 7- “The request for the variance is not based primarily upon a desire to serve the convenience or profit of the property owner or other interested party(s)”- The applicant lives in Los Angeles, and will use one of the units for himself when he comes to visit. He has told the neighbors that the other unit will be used for a Short Term Rental, which would improve the economic feasibility of this project, thus necessitating the need to build the second story. We believe this is a clear violation of Section 7.

Section 9- “The property variance will not impair an adequate supply of light and air to adjacent property, increase substantially the congestion in the public street, increase the danger of fire, or endanger the public safety”- This two-story building will block the sunlight of the adjacent one-story homes, an inarguable violation of Section 9.

We welcome the construction of residential housing that is in context with the HMR-3 Residential Zoning. We ask that you decline this variance, and that the applicant would come back with a development that would embrace the “tout ensemble” of the Marigny. 

Sincerely,

Allen Johnson

President