After a month’s hiatus, public meetings resumed for New Orleans’ local government last week, beginning with the Board of Zoning Adjustments, followed by the City Planning Commission and City Council. Each of the meetings was broadcast live online, and recordings can be viewed here. Each contains a summary of the modified meeting rules; before starting the City Council meeting, President Helena Moreno explained the rationale for virtual meetings and parameters for public comment.
During this period of online-only meetings, members of the public are invited to submit comments using an online form during a special 30 minute recess, held between the presentation of items and voting. Comments will be read aloud by a city staff person before the body debates an item and votes.
The Historic District Landmarks Commission will hold its regularly scheduled New Orleans and Central Business District HDLC meetings on May 6 via Zoom video conference. HDLC will use the same format as the City Council, BZA and City Planning Commission.
The HDLC’s Architectural Review Committees will meet on April 21 by phone and WebEx. Links to the agendas and instructions on how to participate can be found here. The public is invited to view them live via WebEx and comment as appropriate on each item; however the meetings will not be rebroadcast. These committees — like the Vieux Carre Commission, which already met by phone and WebEx on April 1 — do not meet in the Council Chambers and their meetings are not broadcast or recorded under normal circumstances. The VCC reconvenes on April 29; check nola.gov/vcc/calendar for their agenda and WebEx participation links.
Photo via Wikimedia Commons
