City Planners to Study New Orleans’ Affordable Housing Shortage

The New Orleans City Council has voted unanimously to ask the City Planning Commission to create a study on how to expand the local inventory for affordable housing.

According to a New Orleans Advocate report, this new study follows a 2015 report that determined the city needs 33,000 additional affordable housing units over the next decade to meet the residential needs of its working class population. The commission is being encouraged to consider whether changes to the city’s zoning ordinance could benefit this housing shortage.

“People are living paycheck to paycheck because they’re paying 30 to 50 percent of their income toward rent,” said Councilman Jared Brossett, who sponsored the motion. “When we’re talking about land use, when we’re talking about where multifamily (housing) will go, this is where the rubber meets the road. At the end of the day, in terms of quality of life and affordability and ensuring people have the ability to stay in our communities and continue to invest in them, this is so important.”

The City Planning Commission will have 120 days to conduct the study, and public hearings on the subject are to be held within 60 days of the study’s publication.