Café Habana was on todays VCC ARC meeting agenda. French Quarter Citizens VP Susan Guillot and Exec. Dir. Carol Gniady, and VCPORAs President Patricia Meadowcroft, and others spoke in opposition, citing several lingering concerns and unanswered questions particularly pertaining to site capacity and appropriateness of this project for the French Quarter. The VCC ARC voted to support the conceptual approval. The project now heads to the Vieux Carre Commission for a January 7 hearing. The following was released earlier today. We are sharing it with you for your information. Thank you. Contact: C. Brylski (504) 897-6110 Release for December 9, 2014 FRENCH QUARTER GROUPS: SEAN MEENAN UP TO OLD TRICKS Those who seek to protect the French Quarter from an incompatible commercial development at the corner of Esplanade and N. Rampart are again crying foul over the actions of New York entrepreneur Sean Meenan, who has sought for the last two and a half years to squeeze a nearly-800+-person restaurant and club called Café Habana into the last residential corner of the Vieux Carre. Said Meg Lousteau, VCPORA, “If Mr. Meenan were willing to operate within the confines of existing zoning and land use law, he could have had his establishment up and running by now. Instead, he continues to seek to impose his ‘vision’ on one of the most historic, architecturally significant neighborhoods in North America.” At the last presentation before the Vieux Carre Commission’s Architectural Committee, Mr. Meenan and his Habana representatives were told not to resubmit for the committee’s approval until there was action from the City Planning Commission about the project’s proposed re-subdivision of multiple lots, a report on project occupancy was provided, and corrections of various inconsistencies in Mr. Meenan’s architectural plans were made. None of these reports has been presented to date, say residents and other project watchers. Preservationists, residents and resident groups continue to denounce the proposal as out of scale for the area and also for violating multiple rules for commercial developments, including restaurants, in the National Landmark area. Opponents are urging the current proposal to be relocated to a more commercial, non-historic area of the city. Residents have stepped up and offered to buy the properties from Mr. Meenan. Chain restaurants, like Habana Café, which operate in several American and foreign cities, are against zoning rules for the lower residential end of the Quarter, and zoning in the historic area prohibits the bundling and consolidation of separate properties into mega-developments. The Vieux Carre Property Owners, Residents and Associates (VCPORA), French Quarter Citizens, Inc., preservationists and residents have repeatedly urged the VCC to review city laws, zoning ordinances and its own rules when considering the Habana project. VCPORA’s Executive Director Lousteau said, “We believe – and city ordinances require – that when you decide to do a project within the boundaries of the French Quarter, you must abide by the regulations that have been put in place to safeguard the architecture, the zoning, and the tout ensemble. This precious, tiny, irreplaceable historic neighborhood must be protected, and its long-term health and viability must remain the prime objective of our cityʼs regulatory agencies.” Preservationists have reiterated in various public hearings for more than two years that the Meenan concept violates City Zoning Code (Section 8.1), threatening the historic character and value of the Quarter as a unique place of interest. For more information, contact C. Brylski (504) 897.6110. VCPORA stands for Vieux Carre Propoerty Owners, Residents and Associates. Cheron Brylski The Brylski Company 3418 Coliseum Street New Orleans, Louisiana 70115 brylskicompany (504) 897-6110 FX (504) 897-0778 Cell (504) 460-1468
Posted on: Wed, 10 Dec 2014 02:23:20 +0000
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