Article 1 General Provisions

Title

These regulations shall officially be known, cited, and referred to as the Subdivision Regulations of the City of New Orleans.

Authority

In accordance with the provisions of Louisiana R.S. 33:101-119 and the Code of the City of New Orleans, Chapter 118–41, the City Planning Commission of the City of New Orleans (hereinafter “Commission”) is vested with the authority to review, approve, conditionally approve and disapprove applications for the subdivision of land, including tentative, engineering, and final plats.

Statement of Policy

Implementation of the Master Plan.

It is hereby declared to be the policy of the Commission to consider the subdivision of land as one of the principal steps in carrying out the general purpose of the Land Use Chapter of the City’s Master Plan, as may be updated.

Public Safety and Services.

Land to be subdivided shall be of such character that it can be used safely for building and other purposes without danger to health, or peril from fire, flood or other menace.  Land shall not be subdivided until adequate provision is made for drainage, water, sewerage and access, as well as other improvements required by these regulations, and unless adequate community facilities such as schools, parks, recreation areas are available within the subdivision  or in reasonable proximity.

Establish Clear Standards and Processes.

These regulations establish clear predictable, transparent processes governing the division of land, acknowledging the varied development pattern throughout the city, and crafting polices which respond to the historic platting patterns in the different places within the city.

Consistency with Other Regulatory Documents.

Proposals made pursuant to these subdivision regulations shall be consistent with the Master Plan, the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance; the Major Street Plan; and the Capital Improvements Program of the governing bodies of the City of New Orleans and respective agencies having responsibilities for public improvements. These regulations are intended to supplement and facilitate the enforcement of the provisions and standards contained in the building, housing and related codes, zoning ordinances and other regulatory documents governing development of the city.

Reasonable Accommodations.

These regulations implement the policy of the City of New Orleans, pursuant to the federal Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 and applicable state laws, to provide individuals with disabilities reasonable accommodation in the City’s zoning laws and land use regulations, rules, policies and practices to ensure equal access to housing and to facilitate the development of housing for individuals with disabilities.  Reasonable Accommodations in the zoning and land use context means providing individuals with disabilities, or developers of housing for people with disabilities, flexibility in the applicant of land use, zoning and building regulations, policies, practices and procedures, or even waiving certain requirements, when it is necessary to eliminate barrier to housing opportunities.

Statement of Purpose

In pursuit of this policy, these regulations shall be applied to accomplish the following purposes:

Master Plan Implementation.

These regulations guide the future growth and development of the City in accordance with the Master Plan. 

General welfare.

These regulations promote, protect and provide for the public health, safety, convenience, and general welfare of the residents of the City of New Orleans.

Growth management/Social and economic stability.

These regulations protect the character and the social and economic stability of all parts of the City. To encourage the orderly and beneficial development of the community through appropriate growth management techniques which assure adequate public facilities accompany new development. To promote infill development in existing neighborhoods and in non-residential areas where adequate public facilities already exist. To assure orderly development and adequate open space and protection of environmentally sensitive areas and areas premature for urban development.

Health and safety.

To provide for adequate light, air, and privacy. To secure  safety from fire, flood and other danger, and to prevent the overcrowding of land and undue congestion of population.

Land uses.

To protect, conserve and enhance the economic and ecological value of land and the value of buildings and improvements on the land, and to minimize the conflicts among the uses of land and buildings.

Circulation.

To provide for safe and efficient circulation of traffic with particular regard to the avoidance of congestion, to the proper separation between pedestrians and local and through traffic, and to provide for the proper location and width of streets, buffer zones and building lines.

Environment.

To prevent the pollution of air and water bodies, to assure the adequacy of drainage, and to encourage the wise use and management of natural resources in order to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the community and the value of land. To preserve the natural beauty of the land and to ensure appropriate development with regard to those natural features.

Open space.

To provide open space through efficient design and layout of subdivisions. To encourage the designation as permanent open space those lands that are subject to flooding or unsuited for development for other geo- morphological reasons.

Design standards.

To establish reasonable design standards and procedures for subdivisions in order to further the orderly layout and use of land. To encourage innovative subdivision design that will produce attractive, convenient and diversified living environments.

Public services and facilities.

To ensure that public facilities and services are available concurrently with development. To ensure that the community will bear  no more than its fair share of the cost of providing facilities and services by requiring the developer to make improvements, pay fees, dedicate land, or establish mitigation measures to ensure that the needs for capital facilities generated by the development are borne in fair proportion by the development itself.

Jurisdiction

These regulations apply within the City of New Orleans to all subdivisions and resubdivisions of land, as defined in Article 6, Section 6.2. Definitions, of these regulations. The boundaries of the city are the same as those defined in the Home Rule Charter of the City of New Orleans.

No land shall be subdivided through the use of any legal description other than with reference to a plat approved by the City Planning Commission in accordance with these regulations.

Subdivisions which have been approved by the Commission and endorsement shown thereon shall be recorded in the Conveyance Records of Orleans Parish Civil District Court, Land Records Division, as required herein (Article 3, Section 3.2.12).   No plan or plat shall be recorded, and no lots shall be sold from such plat unless and until approved as in these regulations.

No certificate of occupancy shall be issued for any lot of land created by subdivision, as defined herein, unless such subdivision has been approved and recorded as required by these regulations.  No excavation of land and no construction of public or private improvements shall take place or be commenced except when in conformity with these regulations.

Enactment/Effective Date

These regulations are hereby adopted and made effective as of September 9, 2024. All applications submitted in complete form as of the date of effectiveness of these regulations shall be reviewed under these regulations. All applications submitted in complete form prior to the effectiveness of these regulations shall be reviewed under the regulations in effect when they were submitted.

Interpretation and Conflict

The City Planning Commission Executive Director shall be authorized to rule on the meaning, spirit and intent of the provision of these regulations as is necessary for the administration thereof.

All subdivisions shall comply with these Subdivision Regulations. However, where conflicts occur with the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance, as determined by the Executive Director of the City Planning Commission, the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance or other applicable code shall prevail.

All subdivisions shall comply with these Subdivision Regulations. However, where conflicts occur with the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance or other code, as determined by the Executive Director of the City Planning Commission, the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance or other applicable code shall prevail.

An applicant may appeal the decision of the Executive Director within forty-five (45) days of the date of the decision.  The City Planning Commission shall consider the appeal within forty-five (45) days of the appeal being made in complete form.

Severability

If any section, clause, paragraph, provision or portion of these regulations shall be held invalid or unconstitutional by any court of competent jurisdiction, such holding shall not affect any other section, clause, paragraph, provision or portion of these regulations.

Enforcement, Violations and Penalties

The Executive Director of the City Planning Commission shall be authorized to enforce these requirements and to bring to the attention of the City Attorney, the Director of the Department of Safety and Permits, or any other applicable department or agency any violations of these regulations.

Whoever, being the owner or the agent of any land located within a subdivision, transfers or sells, or agrees to sell any land by reference to, exhibition of, or by other use of a plat of a subdivision, before such plat has been approved by the City Planning Commission and recorded at the Land Records Division of the Clerk of Civil Court, shall forfeit and pay a penalty of 500 dollars for each lot or parcel so transferred or sold or agreed to be sold, and the description of such lot or parcel by metes and bounds in the instrument of transfer or other document used in the process of selling or transferring shall not exempt the transaction from such penalties or from the remedies herein provided. The City may enjoin such transfer, sale or agreement by suit for injunction brought in any court of competent jurisdiction or may recover the said penalty by a civil action in any court of competent jurisdiction. The City will not recognize any lots that are not approved pursuant to the subdivision regulations.

Administration, Modification and Amendments

Administration and Amendments.

The Commission may, from time to time, adopt, amend and publish rules and instructions for the administration of these regulations to the end that the public be informed and that approval of plats be expedited, in accordance with Section 2-1000 of the City Code.  A notice setting forth the date, time, place and purpose of the public hearing shall be published once a week for three (3) consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the City of New Orleans.  At least twenty (20) days shall lapse between the first publication and the date of hearing.

Modification and Amendment.

The Commission may adopt certain policies to be carried out in the administration of these regulations without the formal amendment procedure to Subdivision Regulations, provided that: (a) such policies protect the public welfare and interest of the City and facilitate and expedite the approval of subdivisions by the Commission; (b) the public is duly informed of such matters by the publication of rules and instruction as to their use; and (c) such policies do not constitute a substantive change in the administration of the regulations that would fall under the provision of Section 1.10.1 of these regulations.

Fees for processing subdivision regulations

All required fees are set by Chapter 118, Article II, Section 118-43 of  the Code of the City of New Orleans. The cost of advertising for public hearings and the cost of the State required registered mail shall be borne by the property owner(s).  Fees and costs may be refunded in the following situations:

Errors

Overpayment will be refunded when an error is made in calculating a fee.

Full refund

A full refund will be given if a written request for the withdrawal of an application for a subdivision is received before staff has notified other agencies.

Waivers from the Subdivision Regulations

Where the Planning Commission finds that extraordinary hardships or practical difficulties may result from strict compliance with the design standards contained in these regulations, or the purposes of these design standards may be served to a greater extent by an alternative proposal that deviates significantly from the literal interpretation and intent of these design standards, it may approve waivers to the design standards, provided that all of the following criteria are met:

 

• The granting of the waiver will not be detrimental to the public safety, health, or welfare to the community or injurious to other properties.
• The granting of the waiver will not be in conflict with the provisions of the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance (as may be modified through the variance process) or the Master Plan.
• The modified requirement imposed by the City Planning Commission is more appropriate given the characteristics of the property, its context, and the objectives of these regulations.

 

Petition for waiver from these regulations may be made by written request of the applicant, stating fully the grounds for the request and the facts relied upon by the petitioner. 

 

The City Planning Commission has no authority to grant waivers of requirements of the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance, except where explicitly authorized by Article 2 of these regulations.  

 

Minor Deviations from Strict Compliance with the Design Standards

The City Planning Commission or its Executive Director (for subdivisions receiving administrative approval) may authorize minor deviations from strict compliance with the design standards contained in these regulations when appropriate to address existing conditions or serve the practical needs of the property. These changes may be authorized administratively, subject to ratification by the City Planning Commission, when allowed by state law.

Variances of the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance

Where variances of the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance requirements are necessary to allow a proposed subdivision, said variances shall be approved by the Board of Zoning Adjustment prior to submission of a subdivision application.

Conflict with State Law

Nothing authorized in these regulations shall enable the Executive Director to approve something that is against State Law. Whenever there is a conflict with State Law, State Law shall prevail.