Three Uptown land-use projects that have each generated a fair amount of controversy — the proposed demolition of a historic home on St. Charles Avenue, permission for a restaurant to open in spite of unpermitted additions and a new nightclub on Freret Street — are all slated for New Orleans City Council hearing on Thursday, according to the agenda.
The most pressing issue will be a decision on the proposed Johnny V’s restaurant next to Monkey Hill bar on Magazine Street, which City Council rules prohibit from being delayed any longer. At issue is whether to modify the property’s land-use restrictions to incorporate additions to the building that were added without permission during a recent renovation.
The Audubon Riverside Neighborhood Association has been tentatively in favor of a good-neighbor agreement with the restaurant for several months, and met again about the issue Tuesday night. With no written agreement yet in hand, the association agreed to sign one prior to the meeting if Johnny V’s attorneys produce a legal document that outlines all the verbal agreements made with the association so far, association president Sara Meadows Tolleson said after the meeting.
Making its first appearance on the City Council agenda is the proposed demolition of a home at 5428 St. Charles Avenue that has sharply divided neighbors. The owners want to replace the house with a new one of their own design, a request that split the Neighborhood Conservation District Committee by a 6-5 vote, falling one short of what is needed for an official recommendation to the council. The deadline for this item is Nov. 19.
Another project appearing before the council for the first time is the proposed Publiq House nightclub planned for part of the first floor of the Neighborhood Housing Services building in the 4500 block of Freret Street. The City Planning Commission approved the plans last month but recommended that, because of the building’s proximity to two schools, the owners be required to first get signed approval from 75 percent of the property owners within 300 feet — two of whom appeared to speak against the project. The deadline for a City Council decision is Dec. 24.
Also on Thursday’s agenda:
- A proposed child-psychology clinic in a home in the 7500 block of Maple Street,
- A design review appeal by Urban Trendz LLC for property at Claiborne Avenue and First Street,
- A technical amendment to the conditional-use for alcohol sales at the Walgreens on Claiborne Avenue.
The meeting begins at 10 a.m. Thursday in the City Council chambers at City Hall at 1300 Perdido Street.
Why would anyone oppose the Publiq House nightclub? I am interested in hearing their reasoning. From what I understand, this should draw an upscale clientele and really help balance the Freret St. nightlife. We have the restaurants, now we need someplace to go after we eat. Well, someplace besides Cure!
Why would anyone oppose it?
Hmmmmm lets see…. Noise for one… Litter for another.. Human waste in all its forms for a third.
My guess is you’ve never lived near a night club.
Nope, I have not lived right next to a club. But I do live on Freret and would welcome a business that would help revive my neighborhood. Plus, with a name like Pubik House, I am pretty sure it will be uber-bourgeois.