Note:
Donations are still needed; however, we lost the lawsuit on June 2, 2021. Thanks for your support.
Please make a donation to help save our neighborhood.
“Before” 
“After”
On March 19, 2021, a lawsuit was filed against the City of New Orleans, the Board of Zoning Adjustments (BZA), and Tammie Jackson in her official capacity as Director of the Department of Safety and Permits (DSP)—concerning the construction project at 7612-14 Burthe Street, owned by Amicus Properties of New York City.
I am a co-plaintiff in the suit along with my not-for-profit organization, Town of Carrollton Watch, LLC, which monitors and analyzes development activity in and around the Carrollton neighborhood. I grew up at 7414 Burthe Street, where my family lived for over fifty years, two blocks away from the house under construction.
Burthe Street neighbors Claudia Garofalo and Robert Strain joined the suit as co-plaintiffs on April 30. (Robert Strain filed and argued the BZA appeal on behalf of the neighborhood.)
The suit seeks to reverse the BZA appeal ruling of February 18, 2021 (.pdf), which upheld the approval of a work permit issuance by the DSP for an application filed on March 5, 2020, the very day on which the New Orleans City Council enacted “the IZD”—the University Area Interim Off-Street Parking Zoning District.
The intent of the IZD—a temporary emergency measure that could be made permanent later this year as a zoning “overlay”—is to control density in our historic neighborhoods by requiring an off-street parking place for each new bedroom constructed within the bounds of the IZD.
It was specifically enacted to control development by private student housing investors, who have purchased over 65 homes in and around Carrollton—over 50 of these in the past three years—increasing the number of bedrooms to the legal limit (and often beyond it) so as to maximize their profits.
Attorney Lloyd Shields of Shields Mott, LLP, has been retained as advocate for the case. His fields of practice are construction, zoning, and historic preservation law. He is an expert on the Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure. Mr. Shields is Past President of the Preservation Resource Center (PRC) and former Chairman of the New Orleans Historic District Landmarks Commission (HDLC). He is also Adjunct Professor of Law at Loyola University and at Tulane.
I have not hesitated to call upon the best attorney I could find to help in this fight for our neighborhood. Whatever the outcome, I am solely responsible for the cost.
On the other hand, I appeal to other Carrolltonians and to all New Orleanians to donate to the 7612-14 Burthe Street Legal Defense Fund, which has been established for the case. In this way you will show your support for your neighbors on Burthe Street, renters and homeowners alike—working people, retirees, and their families—and for other New Orleans neighborhoods that are experiencing this brand of destruction.
We need to oppose the private student housing trend together, as a neighborhood and community, to preserve our historic houses and keep them affordable for the individuals and families who want to live here. Our homes should not be converted into commercial establishments providing luxury accommodations for college students at a maximum profit.
Please make a donation:
- via PayPal—paypal.me/CarrolltonWatch
- or checks may be written to Town of Carrollton Watch, LLC, and mailed to the organization at 2822 Lepage St., Apt. 3, New Orleans, Louisiana, 70119.
All donations will be used for litigation expenses—and not for overhead.
With your help we can fight this together. Please do not hesitate to contact me with your questions or concerns.
With sincere thanks,
Susan Johnson
Principal, Town of Carrollton Watch, LLC
sjohnson@townofcarrolltonwatch.org
Posted at noon on April 25, 2021
[amended April 30, 2021; July 17, 2021]
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