Lower 9th Plan: Start 'From Scratch'
Residents of the New Orleans neighborhood will hear results of a
consultant's study today. But it's not the only proposal in town.
By Ann M. Simmons, Times Staff Writer
September 23, 2006
NEW ORLEANS — A consulting firm hired by the New Orleans City Council to
devise a plan for the city's most storm-damaged neighborhoods will recommend
rebuilding the Lower 9th Ward — considered by many "ground zero" of the
destruction wrought by Hurricane Katrina — "from scratch."
Miami-based urban planner and housing consultant Paul Lambert, along with
other urban planning groups, met with Lower 9th Ward residents and
incorporated their ideas into a proposal to change the area's street pattern
to create a new "town center." That idea is part of a report he is to
present to residents today.
In some 300 community meetings and workshops over the last five months,
residents of most New Orleans neighborhoods have told a variety of urban
design and planning sub-consulting firms that they want their old
neighborhoods rebuilt as they were. "But that's different in the Lower 9th
Ward … because of the destruction," said Lambert, whose firm is co-managing
the neighborhood planning process. "It was so decimated that you're really
rebuilding the entire neighborhood from scratch."
Lower 9th Ward residents were adamant that their neighborhood not be razed
and left fallow or taken over by developers.
"The idea is that [the area] will come back in its entirety," Lambert said.
The city is expected to receive the official report by October.
Across 49 neighborhoods, wish lists include repair of streets and sidewalks;
school reconstruction; revitalization of parks, community centers and
libraries; and the reopening of shops. "Every neighborhood just wants the
grocery store back, just wants the pharmacy back, just wants a sit-down
restaurant," Lambert said. "Retail consistently shows up in terms of what
people want."
The report is part of the city's broader neighborhood rebuilding process.
Meanwhile, another initiative — the Unified New Orleans Neighborhood Plan,
which encompasses all neighborhoods, not just those damaged by Katrina — is
financed in large part by the Rockefeller Foundation and is managed by a
nonprofit created for the purpose. And the Unified plan has strong support
from the Louisiana Recovery Authority, which is charged with directing
billions of dollars in federal Katrina aid.
The plan for the most damaged neighborhoods has no funding source. It may be
folded into the Unified plan.
But some people have grown impatient. Lambert has publicly criticized the
pace of the Unified process, saying the plan has delayed release of federal
recovery aid to the city.
The head of Concordia, the New Orleans firm coordinating the Unified
planning process, said orientation sessions had been held and the first
public meeting would be Oct. 14, with final recommendations — incorporating
many ideas from Lambert's plan — expected by the end of the year.
"We are all anxious to get to the finish," Concordia President Steven B.
Bingler said. "We just know that the finish is not partial plans. It's a
unified plan for the whole city." And, he added, that's what the Louisiana
Recovery Authority requires.
New Orleans Councilwoman Cynthia Willard-Lewis, whose constituency includes
the Lower 9th Ward, called for "a sense of urgency" to move beyond planning
to implementation.
"We cannot be stuck in a malaise of planning," she said.
Residents are also frustrated, and confused.
"There are too many hands in the pot," said Cory Turner, a fair-housing and
criminal-justice activist. "There are too many planning groups. The Unified
plan was meant to unify, but it's not doing that. Six months from now, we're
going to be in the very same spot, arguing about what plan to use — that's
my fear."
Bywater neighborhood resident Elizabeth Cook said she doubted some proposals
would ever be implemented because they were unrealistic and too grandiose.
"This is pie in the sky," she said. "They're stringing people along. A lot
of it is fluff … to give the illusion of reconstruction."
Other residents, however, said they welcomed such recommendations as more
bike lanes, parks and beaches, because they were fed up with the devastation
and needed to be able to dream of better days ahead.
For the Lambert-managed plan, neighborhoods such as suburban New Orleans
East have asked for a reduction in the density of low- to-moderate income
rental housing, and for the lakefront beach and entertainment district to be
restored.
In upscale Lakeview, residents' priority is maintaining property values,
Lambert said, and homeowners are keen to have first dibs on a neighboring
property where the owner has decided to sell.
"This gives them the opportunity to expand their home, or rebuild for
another family member," Lambert said. "This is a way of keeping the wealth
in the community" and ensuring properties comply with the area's codes and
zoning regulations.
Lambert acknowledged that much work remained to finalize a vision for
certain neighborhoods but said the recommendations are "an important step
into the future of this city."
ann.simmons@latimes.com